PHILADELPHIA, PA (WTKR)- It will be mostly green in Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon, but you'll be able to see and hear plenty of Commanders fans as well.
Burgundy and Gold Nation gathered at Hard Rock Cafe in Philadelphia on Saturday night to get ready for the NFC Championship game and enjoy each other's company. Among them, Ryan Paxton of Portsmouth and Chesapeake's Brandon Wharam, two die-hard Washington fans.
"We just had to make it, had to show up for this game," Paxton said. "We're just on a run for three decades so we had to go ahead and do it."
"This is the first time I've ever gotten to go to a Washington playoff game," added Wharam. "I just couldn't miss the opportunity. I had to see it."
While they both may be residents of Hampton Roads, they're also part of something bigger. Saturday saw them included in a sea of burgundy and gold in the City of Brotherly Love.
"We actually just got to meet London Fletcher and take some pictures with him," smiled Wharam. "We got to talk to him. What a legend. I just couldn't believe it."
"It's just breathtaking," Paxton added. "Everybody's tried and true, having a great time, just ready to see if we can pull it together."
So far, the Commanders have done just that. These fans have watched their team upset Tampa Bay and Detroit in its way to the NFC Championship game and are hoping Sunday brings similar results.
"I think we've got a real chance of winning," said Paxton. "Just ecstatic to be here and see. Maybe we can get us one."
"They live on being the underdogs," Wharam noted. "They thrive off of it and I can't wait to see it, next year as well. It's going to be fantastic."
And who knows? Maybe Ryan and Brandon will be making the trip back to the 757 looking forward to rooting on their beloved Commanders in Super Bowl LIX.
"It would mean everything," Wharam exclaimed. "I'd cash out everything to go to the Super Bowl to see Washington in the Super Bowl."
"It would mean everything, just everything," echoed Paxton. "I can't put it into words."
Ryan and Brandon will see if the Commanders can get it done when they face the Eagles in the NFC Championship game Sunday at 3:00 PM.
