This week, the Eagles’ playoff-clinching win over the Carolina Panthers Sunday has been overshadowed by questions of whether quarterback Jalen Hurts and star wide receiver A.J. Brown still get along.
But the biggest missed connection of the day came off the field, in Citizens Bank Park’s Lot S after the game.
Brenna Collier, a self-described lifelong, die-hard Eagles fan from Cherry Hill, was hustling out to her car with her friends Alyssa and Rich. As they passed a group of guys getting into a truck, one of the men opened a door and shouted something in Collier’s direction.
“He yells something like, ‘You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve seen all day,’ or something along the lines of that, like a very nice compliment,” Collier said. “A genuine compliment.”
Taken aback, Collier turned around, waved, and thanked the man before continuing to power-walk to her car.
Her friend was not impressed by this timid response.
“[Alyssa] punches me, she goes, ‘What are you doing?’ ” Collier said. Her friend urged her to go back and say more.
By the time Collier overcame her shyness and turned around, the truck had pulled out. It didn’t zoom off into the sunset — this is the lots after a Birds game, not some Hollywood romcom, after all — but Collier decided it would look desperate to go running after it.
As regret started to sink in that she might have let “The One” slip away, Alissa dared Collier to post a message on the Philadelphia Eagles Fan Group on Facebook seeking out the man in the truck.
Collier has been a member of the group since August 2023. Besides the occasional comment to a post, this was her first post in the group. She first posted in the private PHILAQUEENS group, but was encouraged by someone there to put it in the public Eagles group as well. So she did.
“I thought I was just going to put it up for a few hours, or maybe it might not even be accepted,” Collier said.
She forgot about the message and went to bed. She woke up Monday morning to find her phone inundated with notifications and text messages.
By Tuesday morning, the post had around 1,600 comments and 654 shares. Most of the responses have been positive.
“A lot of people are super-supportive, a lot of people are planning a wedding to a man that I’ve never met before and there’s a good chance that I might not meet ever. It’s really funny,” she said. “I have a lot of bridesmaids already and some flower girls. Apparently, they want Jason Kelce to officiate.
“But I got to find a man first, so the wedding’s on hold right now.”
The search continues
There have been no great leads on who the man is. Some Facebook users claimed to be him, but didn’t pan out. Most of the messages have been supportive.
“This is an inspiration for a Hallmark movie,” one commenter posted.
“Aww hope this works out. Also hope he’s not married 
Collier and her friends’ glimpse of the man was fleeting. When asked if she could remember details, she said he was tall (probably over 5-foot-10, which is Collier’s height), white, with brown hair and “kind of a goatee” for facial hair. He had a hat on, and maybe a white shirt. He was sitting in the second row on the driver’s side of “a darker grey or a goldish-dark grey” four-door pickup truck with three to five other guys in it. Collier didn’t see the state on the license plate.
As for next steps in the search, Collier hasn’t thought that far ahead. She joked that she might start a tailgate for single Eagles fans, maybe with speed dating.
Part of her inspiration to post on Facebook also came from fatigue with dating apps.
“You don’t know who’s real, you don’t know who’s fake, you don’t know if they’re telling the truth or not. And you know, sometimes it’s not the safest for the females either,” she said. “So, if you can meet people out in public, and a mutual setting with other friends, I prefer to do that.”
Other Philly singles have chosen to break away from the dating apps and try to connect IRL. Some by pitching their friend’s in a bar, and one by renting a billboard in Grays Ferry.
Collier described herself as outgoing, laid back, hardworking, and ambitious. She’s into sports and being active. She’s 41 and sells medical devices in Philly.
She said she’s not planning to jump straight to this wedding that social media is already planning for her. A date watching some Philly sports, live or on TV, is a good first date for her. While the deluge of messages has been overwhelming, she said she doesn’t regret her decision to post.
“Just have a good time and see where it goes, that’s all you can do,” she said.
And yes, Collier plans to be at this Sunday’s game against the Steelers.
The ball’s in your court, mystery man.
