Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
MATT-ER OF LOYALTY
FAMILY OF FALCONS QB, EXTON NATIVE MATT RYAN FEEL THE PRESSURE AS PLAYOFF TILT WITH EAGLES LOOMS
EXTON » As a professional football player, Exton’s Matt Ryan has returned to Philadelphia to play against his childhood favorites on four previous occasions. This weekend will be number five, but his family can tell you that this one is unlike any of the others.
“This one is actually very different for everybody,” said Ryan’s father, Mike.
The others came during the regular season. But Saturday afternoon’s clash between the Atlanta Falcons and the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field is an NFC Divisional Playoff Game. And the win-or-go-home stakes change everything.
“There is more pressure on both sides, so I think the fan base on the Philadelphia side will be more intense, so our plan as a family is to kind of lay low, stay under the radar and try to win quietly,” laughed Kate Magee, Ryan’s older sister.
It’s quite a role reversal from nearly a year ago, when Ryan led the Falcons to Super Bowl LI, and he was heralded as the local favorite throughout the Philadelphia region. They held a pregame pep rally for Ryan at Saints Philip & James Elementary School, which he attended for nine years in the 1990s, before starring on the gridiron at Penn Charter High School and Boston College.
“Let’s just say there was no pep rally at Philip &
"There is more pressure on both sides, so I think the fan base on the Philadelphia side will be more intense." — Kate Magee, Matt Ryan’s older sister
James this year,” Mike Ryan deadpanned.
“As fast as they adopted Matt, they dropped him. But I totally understand. The Eagles have a fan base that is envied by a lot of teams. They are incredibly loyal and active.”
Linda Spaziani, who was Ryan’s sixth grade teacher in 1996-97, spelled it out quite bluntly: “I follow what Matt is doing every season,” she said. “I root for Atlanta, but the Eagles are still number one with me.”
The president at Extonbased Linecom Inc., a cable television services business, Mike Ryan’s been to every Falcons game in South Philly since his son’s rookie season in 2008. The last came in November of 2016, and the Ryans’ pregame tailgate drew hundreds. The atmosphere was quite festive.
“The last tailgate, we had 300 people down there,” he said. “And the Eagles front office was really very accommodating. They even had security for us.
“We are not talking this game,” he quipped. “We are not doing (a big tailgate this game) – it’s not happening. And we didn’t pursue it either.”
The plan for Saturday is a much more subdued gettogether. Mike Ryan has worked hard to secure 56 tickets to the game for family and close friends.
“We will have a quiet little get together before the game,” Mike said. “And the results of the game will dictate the way the postgame will go. A win is always a better postgame.”
In 2016, the Eagles prevailed over the Falcons, 2415. What happened next in her family, according to Kate Magee, is a cautionary tale.
“We came home from the game and my fourth grade daughter said, ‘I can’t go to school tomorrow,’” said Magee, who is the director of Coatesville-based Believe and Achieve Foundation. “She made a bet with one of the boys at school and she had to sing the Eagles fights song to her class.
“So the moral of the story is: no betting, lay low, and no trash talking this week.”
That approach, however, isn’t fool proof. Matt Ryan’s young nieces, nephews and cousins – who idolize him – have been feeling the heat from classmates ever since the Falcons-Eagles matchup was secured last weekend.
“It’s kinda funny to see a 7-year-old and a 10-year-old getting the business from their classmates,” Mike Ryan said.
One of Ryan’s young cousins, Tom McGlinchey, certainly stood out when a local television station aired an Eagles pep rally earlier this week from St. Joseph/St. Robert School in Warrington.
“He was the lone red soldier in a sea of green,” Kate joked.
“Before the pep rally, Tom had to let his teacher know there is really no way he could show up in Eagles gear,” Mike added. “And after listening to his explanation, his teacher said. ‘You can show up in your Falcons gear and you will probably be interviewed.’”
It’s pretty easy to see where the family’s rooting interest lies this weekend, even though nearly all were born and raised in the area.
“For the immediate situation, we are completely rooting for Atlanta,” Mike acknowledged.
“I’ve been very fired up all season long for the success that Philadelphia was experiencing. It was awesome and cool to watch. And until it appeared our paths were going to cross, my support was strong. But now I have to shift gears because blood is thicker than all of that other stuff.”
Regardless the outcome, the family will carry out their postgame ritual of meeting with Matt before the Falcons are whisked to the airport on the team bus.
“Win or lose, Matt will see a lot of family regardless,” Mike confirmed. “We usually find a spot in the stadium that affords the ability to visit for a bit. Matt always finds time to visit with us – which is a treat.”
Kate added: “Matt’s kept a lot of family members connected. These games tend to bring us together on a regular basis.”
The bottom line is that the Ryans understand that Eagles’ diehards are incredibly emotional about their team, and that Saturday’s contest will be much more intense than any previous matchup. The hope is that Matt Ryan’s “local boy does good” storyline isn’t completely pushed aside.
“I don’t think there is animosity, but Eagles fans are true green all the way,” Kate said.
“My hope is that locally, everybody would like Matt to have a great game, but the Eagles win.”
That could be, of course, wishful thinking.