![Jamie Pagliei, aka the Philly Sports Guy](https://images.axios.com/CqNi1MrDMneWB0GOxiJIj2lbjPg=/0x0:1920x1080/320x180/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=320 320w, https://images.axios.com/CqNi1MrDMneWB0GOxiJIj2lbjPg=/0x0:1920x1080/320x180/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=320 320w, https://images.axios.com/YhyY5BnLQvlMkskdkROcECGB1Vs=/0x0:1920x1080/640x360/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=640 640w, https://images.axios.com/YhyY5BnLQvlMkskdkROcECGB1Vs=/0x0:1920x1080/640x360/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=640 640w, https://images.axios.com/UA0PeVkF2DlsvpvZGQg6ThuzCF8=/0x0:1920x1080/768x432/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=768 768w, https://images.axios.com/UA0PeVkF2DlsvpvZGQg6ThuzCF8=/0x0:1920x1080/768x432/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=768 768w, https://images.axios.com/Evs6gy5K37u3sTHwelYuGBaXlKA=/0x0:1920x1080/1024x576/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1024 1024w, https://images.axios.com/Evs6gy5K37u3sTHwelYuGBaXlKA=/0x0:1920x1080/1024x576/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1024 1024w, https://images.axios.com/vxIoypsvk_LipO7k3Wg2y0LXRvU=/0x0:1920x1080/1366x768/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1366 1366w, https://images.axios.com/vxIoypsvk_LipO7k3Wg2y0LXRvU=/0x0:1920x1080/1366x768/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1366 1366w, https://images.axios.com/cgDWPg07NJp093Tv_jz5pH_9ajc=/0x0:1920x1080/1600x900/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1600 1600w, https://images.axios.com/cgDWPg07NJp093Tv_jz5pH_9ajc=/0x0:1920x1080/1600x900/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1600 1600w, https://images.axios.com/GExHl13M2yfPaQnt0FzOYPvPnTs=/0x0:1920x1080/1920x1080/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1920 1920w, https://images.axios.com/GExHl13M2yfPaQnt0FzOYPvPnTs=/0x0:1920x1080/1920x1080/2023/04/20/1682014628268.png?w=1920 1920w)
The Philly Sports Guy. Photo: Courtesy of Jamie Pagliei
In our local pantheon of superfandom, the Philly Sports Guy makes others look like milquetoast.
- But did you know that this is his full-time job?
- Yes, Jamie Pagliei closed down a masonry and chimney sweeping business to pursue the most relevant professional superfan influencer market.
How it happened: She broke up with her ex. “I had to figure out what made me happy and I did something I couldn’t do – I made a list. Once you get through all the kids stuff, it’s all sports activities.”
- He was discovered by a production company and he made a commercial. “While I was there, they said, ‘Your strength is amazing. You, like the Philly Sports Guy.'”
Games he attends every year: 200. That’s the Union, Phillies, Flyers, Eagles, all of them.
How he’s fighting Philly’s bad rap: “I don’t curse.”
Always tired? “When people say, ‘Hey, I want your work,’ I say, ‘The crown is heavy.'”
Her dating prospects: “I make the joke all the time that the Philly Sports Guy can never be placed. …
- 😉 “As much as people like to take pictures with me, they don’t date makeup.”
His mom worked at Spectrum so he grew up knowing late Flyers founder Ed Snider: “As a little kid I was running … and he’d say, ‘Jamie, stop running.’ ‘Yes, Mr. Snider.’
- “You have no choice but to be a sports fan.”
On being buried as a Philly Sports Guy: “No (laughing).”
- “I saw a lot of things put in the coffin. You didn’t paint my face to bury me.”