October 02, 2018
The Philadelphia Eagles' Super Bowl run last season demonstrated that comedian Kevin Hart might be the city's most prominent superfan.
Apart from getting drunk and raiding the field in Minneapolis, Minn., Hart has made numerous media appearances as a delegate fan of the Eagles and Sixers. Just last week, he confronted Stephen A. Smith and essentially called him a crotchety hater.
You might say Hart's antics are just a privilege reserved for the rich and famous—and you'll likely get little argument there.
On the other hand, the North Philly native was such a diehard Philly sports fan that he blew some of his earliest big checks on fancy vintage sports apparel.
"Any and every jersey that was a representation of a great athlete," Hart told CNBC on Monday, including his Randall Cunningham, Julius Erving and Reggie White jerseys among the classics he bought.
For reference, here's Hart's stand-up at 19 and 24 years old, well before he became the global superstar he is today. He's now 39 years old and worth more than $120 million. His latest movie, "Night School," opened last weekend with a leading $28 million at the domestic box office. This year alone, he's earned a reported $57 million, according to Forbes.
The Kevin Hart in the videos linked above wasn't making that kind of money. His apparel spending was so out of hand that he wasn't willing to discuss the damage.
"If I had to put a number on it, I would say it was stupid plus stupid, which equals stupid, okay?" Hart said.
"I don't even feel comfortable talking about it."
Hart was raised by a single mother in a one-bedroom apartment in North Philadelphia. He said the jerseys taught him a lesson.
"It felt great until I looked at that bank account and realized that I didn't have money, and said to myself, 'Where did my money go?'" Hart said.
These days, it's a bit of a moot point for Hart, who literally imported snow to Malibu last Christmas to give his family a wintry holiday. It's hard to believe he hasn't loaded up on Super Bowl gear over the course of the last year.
