A slice of pizza and a Facebook group brought these smitten Eagles fans together for a Phillies date
Aliza Phillips tracked down Aaron Jones via a blind item in the Philaqueens Facebook group after sharing a slice of pizza with him during an Eagles game. Now, the pair is preparing for a second date.
Philadelphia’s version of first base? Sharing a slice of pizza at a Birds game.
This love story begins during the Eagles’ nail-biting game against the Washington Commanders at the Linc on Oct. 1 — and it continues with a first date as witness to the Phillies’ win over the Miami Marlins during the second wild-card game at Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday.
It all started when Aliza Phillips of South Philadelphia asked Aaron Jones for a drunk bite of pizza while descending the Linc’s stairs at the end of the Birds game. Jones, of Phoenixville, readily obliged.
The slice of pizza had been sitting under Jones’ seat for more than half the game, but that didn’t stop Phillips from becoming smitten.
» READ MORE: Share your Phillies love story with The Inquirer
Phillips wanted to find out who her pizza partner was, so she took to Facebook the next day with a picture of Jones’ side profile and a dream.
“Shot in the dark here but I’ve seen you ladies work before... possibly missed connection here. I was drunk at the game yesterday and this gentleman let me have a bite of his pizza,” Phillips posted in the popular Philaqueens Facebook group, next to a photo of what amounts to Jones’ jaw, on Monday morning. “Would like to buy him one.”
A friend of Jones’ who is a member of the 35,000-member Facebook group connected the lovebirds within the hour. Now, internet onlookers have been clamoring for updates from Phillips and Jones about their eventual first date, and — of course — when their wedding is.
“They’re definitely getting married,” wrote one Instagram user under a photo of the pair on their first date that Phillips posted on the Instagram page she started to chronicle their journey. (It’s aptly called @howimetyourfather215).
“If y’all don’t get married and live stream the wedding for all of us I swear to god …” wrote another.
“I felt I owed people a little something because they helped me out,” Phillips, 29, said about the Instagram account. “I don’t plan to post every little thing.”
The not-quite-a-couple has received support from people as far away from the United Kingdom and Australia, and even received an offer from Angelo’s Pizzeria in South Philly to cater the wedding when the time comes.
“We have Cowboys fans saying, ‘We’re here for this,’” Jones, 34, said. “It’s crazy.”
» READ MORE: ‘I feel amazing about these guys’: As Phils advance, the fans’ energy propels them forward
‘A dream of mine to meet my wife drunk leaving a game’
The kismet meeting is actually the partial realization of a dream for Jones: to meet the love of his life at an Eagles game.
Once Phillips had verified Jones’ identity, he texted her that it was “actually a dream of mine to meet my wife drunk leaving a game.” (Swoon.)
“I’ve been going to Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, and Flyers games since I could walk,” Jones said. “It was more of a sarcastic icebreaker … but I definitely want [to date] someone who enjoys the atmosphere of the games and wants to watch them together.”
The pair had their first date on Wednesday, where they started the night by feeding each other slices of Angelo’s before watching the Phils advance to next round of the MLB playoffs. They celebrated with karaoke at McGillin’s Olde Ale House. Jones abstained from taking the mic, but Jones said Phillips brought the house down with a rendition of “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse, her go-to karaoke song.
“She crushed it,” Jones said.
A second date is on the horizon, the pair confirmed, but they’re hoping to do something more low-key, though Dock Street Brewery has offered to host them for more pizza and beer.
“We both said right from the beginning we want to see each other again, but we don’t feel pressure because everyone is covering us,” Jones said. “I like that Aliza just wants to go with the flow. We’re similar that way.”
If wedding bells do end up chiming in the future, the duo’s ultimate fantasy is to hold the ceremony at the Linc with Jason Kelce or Jalen Hurts officiating and with Eagles season tickets on the registry.
There is one caveat though.
“The ceremony is going to have to BYOB if we plan to invite the whole city,” Phillips joked.