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Phillies fans start tailgating early on opening day. Very early.

Matt Bendzyn was first in line outside Lot K across from Citizens Bank Park at 7:45 a.m. Thursday. The lot didn’t open for another two hours.

Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park.
Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park.Read moreJOSE F. MORENO / Staff Photographer

Matt Bendzyn was first in line outside Lot K across from Citizens Bank Park at 7:45 a.m. Thursday.

The lot didn’t open for another two hours.

But this is opening day, and Bendzyn wasn’t going to let anyone beat him to the punch.

Phillies opening day is especially exciting this year thanks to the man whose face graces the massive signs hanging outside the South Philly stadium — Bryce Harper.

Bendzyn has had season tickets since 2004, when the ballpark first opened. This is his 17th opening day, and he says he’d never miss a tailgate.

Bendzyn and his pals were just eight deep at 10:30 a.m. They expected a crowd of about 40 to join them for food, beers and fun prior to first pitch at 3:05 p.m.

How does he feed all those people? Well, he used to do it himself, but it was too much to drag the grills and coolers all the way from his South Jersey home to CBP. So about seven years ago, he hired a caterer.

Shawn Brown claims he was actually the first one in line Thursday morning — but he let Bendzyn take credit.

Brown is an electrician by day and a champion BBQer by night. He owns Stumpy Coals, and he travels all over the country to compete in BBQ competitions with his wife. So when Bendzyn called him seven years ago, asking about opening-day catering, of course he said yes.

On the menu Thursday: prime filets, burgers, littleneck clams, shrimp, macaroni and cheese, wings, and more. Brown’s rig was set up adjacent to Bendzyn’s spot.

Brown is a Philly native, and lifelong Phillies fan. And he couldn’t miss Harper’s debut.

“I love Philadelphia, because we all started hating Bryce Harper,” he said with a laugh. He was concerned when teams like the Giants and Dodgers started to express interest in the star in late February. Now, he said, the city loves Harper. And he’s optimistic about the Phillies chances against the Braves.

“As far as a win today? Oh, no doubt,” he said. “We’re gonna start it off right and it’s gonna be an historical day here in Philadelphia.”

Bendzyn is also optimistic, but he’s only sure of one thing: “100 percent chance of beer.”

Half a parking lot away from Bendzyn and Brown, Jared Smith was surrounded by a dozen coworkers under tents adorned with the name “Victus Sports.”

Smith is the co-founder of the company, and he was particularly excited about opening day — he’s the guy who makes Harper’s bats.

Victus Sports, based in King of Prussia, makes a custom bat for the right fielder. It’s inspired by a Phillie legend — Chase Utley. Harper told Smith and his co-founder, Ryan Engroff, to make it better. So they did.

Every year, Smith, Engroff, and the whole crew take off opening day. Sometimes they go paintballing; one time they had a ping-pong tournament. But today, they were in Lot K to celebrate their star client and have some fun. They brought a 55-inch television and were going to play some MLB The Show 19 before heading to the field.

For Smith, there’s no question that they’d be celebrating today.

“It’s always a holiday," he said.

Meanwhile, some fans were celebrating for other reasons: There was at least one proposal outside the ballpark in the hours before the game started.

More opening day coverage