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Broad Street Bully: Two freakin' fabulous fans and their Flyered-up families

I'M BROAD STREET BULLY, balancing on the brink of blissful bedlam, inviting you to e-mail your Flyered-up family stories and photos to me at:

Amy Pohl, back in the house after her nervous/superstitious exile, snapped her clan (above, left) at an obviously terrific moment. Super-fan Ralph Manoppello was 15 when he met Kate Smith (above); now his daughters (left) Krista (wearing Gagne 12) and Kellie (in Carter 17) are as Flyered-up as he is.
Amy Pohl, back in the house after her nervous/superstitious exile, snapped her clan (above, left) at an obviously terrific moment. Super-fan Ralph Manoppello was 15 when he met Kate Smith (above); now his daughters (left) Krista (wearing Gagne 12) and Kellie (in Carter 17) are as Flyered-up as he is.Read more

I'M BROAD STREET BULLY, balancing on the brink of blissful bedlam, inviting you to e-mail your Flyered-up family stories and photos to me at:

bully@phillynews.com

FLYER-FEVERED DAD

Ralph J. Manoppello, 51, a King of Prussia die-hard, grew up in Conshohocken, where his mom, 90, still lives "and can still tell you every day there is a Flyers game and who scored the night before," he told Bully.

Back in the day, Manoppello went to every home game at the Spectrum with his childhood pal, Nick Stagliano, whose family had season tickets that eventually were grandfathered to Manoppello.

He has taken his daughters, Krista, 20, and Kellie, 18, since they were 4 years old.

"I remember, years ago, when Krista asked me if she could boo the Maple Leafs fans," Manoppello said proudly. "She became a card-carrying Flyers lifer on that day.

"I remember how happy Kellie was when she got an autograph from Roddy [Brind'Amour] and he thanked her for being his biggest fan. Another lifer!"

Krista and Kellie are ice-chips off the old block. "I was there in 1974 - Section 25, Row 7," Manoppello said. "The building was shaking. I had no voice for a week after seeing the Cup come onto the Spectrum ice.

"I'm still there," he said. "I have a brick outside the 11th Street entrance that we step on before entering the building, every game.

"We're in Section 122 during warmups, drinking only Mountain Dew in the large orange cups. I've had [Bobby Clarke's] '16' on my license plate for 35 years."

FLYER-CRAZED MOM

Amy Pohl, of Northeast Philadelphia, sent in a great photo of her living room full of 10 joyous kids and their parents in the final seconds of the Flyers' incredible comeback against Boston to advance to the conference finals.

Fortunately, Pohl was allowed back into the house for that game after spending the first period outside.

"During our first playoff series with the Devils," Pohl explained, "I was too nervous to watch the start of the game, so I stayed outside and walked around and just listened for the reaction from inside my house.

"Being the superstitious family that we are," she said, "after the Flyers won that game, I had to leave for the first period of every playoff game.

"So, if it's not raining, I throw on my iPod and listen to the Flyers' Jay-Z warm-up song on repeat and only check my ESPN texts to see who is scoring. If it is raining, I sit in the car and listen to the warm-up song.

"I know," she said. "Crazy Hockey Mom/Fan, that's me!"