For Eagles and Phillies fans, sports heaven

Mark Avart, Mark Fishman and Eddie Fishman were proud double-dippers - fans taking in both the Eagles' game against the Atlanta Falcons and the Phillies' World Series game yesterday, a rare moment.

"It's one of the greatest weekends in Philadelphia sports," said Mark's wife, Abbe Avart, 54, of Bryn Mawr. "It's heaven."

For a city of long-suffering fans, this weekend was a long time coming. Judging from the scenes in the parking lots and stadiums all around the South Philadelphia sports complex, the die-hards in Eagles jerseys and Phillies caps were going to savor every moment.

So what if there was a major traffic jam, with the convergence of the Eagles and Phillies games and a Who concert and just 25,000 parking spaces to fit all the fans? Cars with Eagles flags and Phillies bumper stickers blared The Who's music.

At the urging of city and team officials, thousands used SEPTA. Though the roads around the complex were choked with incoming and outgoing traffic, sports euphoria kept the mood generally great.

The Avarts watched the Eagles beat the Falcons, 27-14. Abbe Avart headed home after the game, but Mark Avart, Mark Fishman and Fishman's son Eddie made their way over to Citizens Bank Park for the Phillies' game.

It was parents weekend at Yale, where Eddie Fishman, 20, is a student, so father and son had hopped an early-morning train from Connecticut to be in Philadelphia in time for the games. Eddie plans to take a 6:30 a.m. train today to get back on campus in time for his 8:30 class.

"And I'll be back on a train on Wednesday, coming home for the parade," a confident Eddie said.

Like many, the group displayed dual loyalties with their clothing picks. Eddie wore a green fleece jacket over a red Phillies t-shirt. Mark Avart, 55, began the day decked out in Eagles green, then changed to a Phillies jersey and cap. The Eagles win boded well for the Phillies, they said - they figure a Series win is inevitable.

"It's karma," Mark Avart said before the game. "It's momentum. It's cheesesteaks and soft pretzels."

The Phillies chants at the end of the Eagles game couldn't hurt, either, said Michael Miller, who came down from Staten Island to take in the Eagles and the Phils with his father.

Miller, 23, was supposed to be at work. He's a graduate student and assistant sports information director at Wagner College. Skipping out in the middle of college football season isn't exactly easy.

"But once the Phillies made the playoffs, I told my boss if they made the World Series I was coming home whether I had tickets or not," Miller said. "I've been a lifelong fan."

Miller's father, Bob Miller, is a vice president at L.F. Driscoll Co., a construction management firm. When Citizens Bank Park was built, he was officer in charge of the project. He can tell you the date of every shutout thrown at Veterans Stadium, and he plays for an over-45 fast-pitch baseball team called the Phillies.

So yes, yesterday was a big deal.

"There's a lot of red in this sea of green," said Bob Miller, 54, of Berwyn.

A few hundred yards from the Millers, a double-decker bus painted black was the gathering point for the McCloskeys of Lindenwold. David McCloskey, who owns McCloskey Mechanical Contractors, bought the bus for clients and family to use on Eagles home game days. It's a behemoth festooned with sports paraphernalia and loaded with a bar, keg, steam tables, comfy seats, flat-screen TVs and video games.

Yesterday, it was as much Phillies central as Eagles country.

Lori McCloskey, David's wife, was exhausted but exhilarated. The couple had arrived in South Philadelphia by 2 p.m. on Saturday, and didn't get home until 3:30 a.m. yesterday. After snatching three hours sleep, Lori was up to scrub the bus down, then get back at the sports complex by 9 a.m. for the Eagles and Phillies games.

She and her husband flew to Los Angeles for the Phils' league championship series and to Tampa for the first two games of the World Series.

"We'll go back down if it goes back to Tampa," Lori McCloskey said. "But let's get it done here. Let's win in Philly."

You didn't need to have tickets to either game to root for the home teams.

Adam Kaspar, of Mays Landing, was headed to the Who concert, but said he'd rather have tickets for the baseball game.

"I'm not too worried," said Kaspar, 50. "The whole time I'm in the concert, I'm going to get text messages updating me on the score."