Ed Callahan made his way through the NovaCare Complex and towards Big Dom's office not expecting a thing.
The 79-year-old Eagles fan thought he was coming to the facility for promotional work to help build his case to be named the NFL's Ultimate Fan of the Year, but little did he know that he was already the winner.
Callahan, the 2025 Eagles Fan of the Year, presented by Ticketmaster, beat out the nominees of the 31 other teams. He was dubbed by the league as THE ultimate fan of 2025, as announced publicly at NFL Honors.
When Callahan got to Big Dom's office in the middle of January, he was surprised by a herd of Eagles employees and Brandon Graham, who presented him with a custom Ultimate Fan of the Year football and a sign commemorating the honor.
He was then covered in confetti as the small crowd celebrated Callahan being the first Eagles fan ever to earn the prestigious award.
"This is awesome," Callahan said. "Let me explain to you why I'm smiling so much. I kind of suspected when I was selected as the Eagles' Fan of the Year, but this was a complete surprise. You guys got me on this one and it's a great feeling, thank you very much.
"It's good to be the first. It's kind of like Super Bowl LII, you know, except this is my personal Super Bowl LII."
Callahan attended his first Eagles game in 1954 at Shibe Park, and he has been a Season Ticket Member since the 1997 season. He began attending every Eagles home game after he retired from the Navy and has been a regular tailgater since the Eagles moved to Lincoln Financial Field in 2003.
As the Eagles' Fan of the Year, Callahan received tickets to Super Bowl LX in California, which he said is the real prize. But now he will be highlighted on a national stage as the league's Ultimate Fan of the Year.
"It's the best fan base in all of sports. It's going to be fun to be out in Santa Clara and do that. ... It's a humbling honor."
After spending years with a tampered-down tailgate, Callahan upgraded his setup during the 2004 season by purchasing an RV, called the Eagle Mobile. When that broke down in 2012, the group decided to splurge on the Eagle Mobile II, which is in the Tailgating Hall of Fame.
A major part of Callahan's tailgates is supporting the Eagles Autism Foundation, holding auctions at his RV with the proceeds going to EAF.
He has donated $504,000 to date, including more than $82,000 this year alone. His involvement with EAF has even grown recently as he now has a nephew who is on the Autism spectrum.
"As I've come to meet people on the spectrum and also have family members who are on the spectrum, there's more meaning to the fundraising to me now than it was in 2019," Callahan said. "And I think if you look at how we did our fundraising over the course of those years, you'll see the incremental increases and how well we've done.
"That's a testament, not to me, but to the fundraising activities we can do at our tailgate and other events where we can actually bring in those that are around us to contribute and ultimately to reach the totals that we set for ourselves."
Callahan's involvement with the Eagles spans numerous decades and is felt throughout each department in the organization.
Now, he gets to represent the team on the NFL's biggest stage. — Written by Matt Ryan
