Eagles Kelly Green jerseys are now on sale. Yes, fans tailgated at the pro shop
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The long-awaited Eagles Kelly Green jerseys are officially back. The Birds' throwbacks hit the shelves Monday morning at the team's three pro shops at Lincoln Financial Field, Lancaster and Cherry Hill, New Jersey and online.
At Lincoln Financial Field, there's already a throwback sign tempting fans of what's to come -- and for those of us who bleed Eagles green -- we can't wait.
That familiar Eagles Kelly Green -- symbolic of the grit and greats of the 1980s and '90s -- is finally back after a promise last March from Eagles owner Jeffrey Lurie.
Eagles fans wasted no time setting up a tailgate Monday morning at the Linc.
Hundreds of fans funneled in and out of the Eagles' pro shop. Music was playing, the lawn chairs were out and the line stretched around the parking lot. The first fans arrived around 3 a.m., and it was a party ever since.
Birds fan Allison Crawley of Havertown helped organize a tailgate outside the Linc. She tweeted out some Kelly Green Jello shots for the tailgate, which the Eagles quote-tweeted, "Only our fans would tailgate our pro shop opening."
Crawley said she didn't expect her social media post to blow up like it did.
"I make Jello shots for every game so I was like let me batch, and I just tweeted that we're here already to tailgate and then it kind of exploded," she said. "The Eagles put it out there that 'our fans are the best,' and we are. Like, look at us, who else does this?"
Crawley said she took a half-day from work because "it's too exciting."
Does her boss know?
"He actually doesn't know I'm here, which is OK," Crawley said. "I took a half-day. I was going to say it was a doctor's appointment. But this is too exciting, so it's a half-day. He'll find out later why we're here."
Crawley said the tailgate started with one text to a friend asking if they were going.
"Then everybody shows up," she said. "Nobody wants to miss out. We're all happy to be here."
For Crawley, Monday morning was a chance to see her friends again.
"It's being with my friends again. I love Kelly Green. I love the Eagles," Crawley said. "But I haven't seen my friends in a few months. We're back. It's exciting to see everybody. I love to be here."
Director of Merchandise Emily McNichol says preparation started last November. The jerseys came in last week and setup in the store happened all in a day.
"Two Super Bowls, Taylor Swift, Kelly Green, I'll take it," McNichol said.
The replica jerseys go for $130 dollars, the limited edition is $175. McNichol says Hurts' Kelly Green jersey was the first big seller.
"We have Hurts, Smith, Goedert, Brown, Mailata, Johnson, Dawkins, which was a fun twist," McNichol said.
After a social media leak of the design Saturday, sports shops, like Shibe in Center City, say demand for other items has accelerated ahead of the official debut of the jerseys Monday.
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"Phone is ringing off the hook," Adam Yeager, of Shibe Vintage Sports, said. "We also just got this shirt in about a week ago. These kind of colors are really starting to fly off the shelves."
Across the way at Mitchell & Ness, manager Matthew Brenner believes these nostalgic jerseys are so popular because of what they represent.
"A lot of people look back to that as their own childhood," Brenner said. "They remember certain family moments or certain events in their lifetime where the Eagles resonated with them."
Inside Chickie's & Pete's in South Philly, Bam Dunbar is excited to create new memories with the old looks.
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"It's more of a traditional thing," Dunbar said. "You watch your family do it, everyone was excited about it so I want to pass it on and do it with my kids as well."
"A lot of people are waiting for it," Mohamed Dahmoun said, "and the wait is over it's here."
