At South Philly bars, the Eagles Super Bowl parade starts early

Parade started early at South Philly bars

From left to right: Jan Baffa, Karen Thiel Mark Kolb and Chris Miller celebrate before the Eagles Super Bowl parade at Bonnie's Capistrano Bar in South Philly.
Daniel Craig/PhillyVoice

South Philly bars were jumping early in the morning Thursday for the Eagles Super Bowl parade.

Chris Miller, Mark Kolb, Karen Thiel and Jan Baffa arrived at Bonnie's Capistrano at 7:30 a.m. Over beers, they laughed about a New England fan who apparently got a "Super Bowl champs 2018" tattoo before the Eagles defeated the Patriots.

Luckily, Thiel and Baffa, of Havertown, had a friend holding their spot on Broad Street to view the parade. They planned on showing up "eventually."

Miller and Kolb, of Whitehall, expressed disgust over the "dumb s***" from their hometown who punched a horse, giving their place of residence a bad name. They were happy, however, to find a bar open this early, a process that allegedly took a long time before they asked a mailman where they could drink so early.

Over at Michael's Place on 12th and Mifflin, Adam Kardisco, 32, bought everyone in the bar a round to celebrate the Birds' big win. The favor was returned by another Adam, wearing a Randall Cunningham jersey at the end of the bar, who said he had to because it was a fellow Adam.

Daniel Craig/PhillyVoicePat Kogel and Adam Kardisco celebrate before the Eagles Super Bowl parade at Michael's Place in South Philly.
Kardisco, originally of Central Pennsylvania but now a West Virginia resident, got emotional talking about the season. He talked about buying his Carson Wentz jersey during a business trip in Boise, Idaho, last season because he couldn't enjoy the games with fellow Eagles fans.

"It's everything to me," he said, remembering how he told his four-year-old niece about the Super Bowl win the day after it happened.

Kardisco's friend, Pat Koogle, a 24-year-old resident of Maryland, regaled bar patrons with memories of the unforgettable Eagles season, like when Wentz escaped being sacked and ran for a first down during the Monday night game against the Washington Redskins.

"I was like, 'Holy s***, how did that happen?'" Koogle said.

That sentiment was shared by many in South Philly preparing for the parade. There was still a sense of uncertainty, with everyone coming to grips with the fact that the Eagles won the Super Bowl. Holy s***, did it really happen?