At Markey’s Bar, Philly fans have found a home away from home: ‘We love New Orleans, but we love the Eagles’
Markey's has been open in New Orleans since 1905, but Eagles fans have taken over the bar within the last decade. Owner Roy Markey is expecting a "couple hundred people" for the Super Bowl.
NEW ORLEANS — Roy Markey Jr., owner of Markey’s Bar, remembers exactly where he was when he received his introduction to the Eagles’ fan base. It was Jan. 3, 1993, and Philadelphia was playing New Orleans in an NFC wild-card game.
The Saints had amassed a 13-point lead early in the third quarter, only to watch the Eagles score 29 unanswered points in the second half. New Orleans lost, 36-20. Its season was over.
But that’s not what Markey was focused on. As he walked to his car, dejected and defeated, he could hear Eagles fans “yelling at everybody.”
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“I couldn’t understand why they were so wound up,” Markey said. “They won. I’m going, ‘Dude, you acting like you lost, and you won.’”
This was a precursor of things to come. Over the past decade, Markey’s Bar, which is in the Ninth Ward neighborhood in New Orleans, has been overtaken by Philadelphians.
None of the bartenders are from Philadelphia. There are no kelly green jerseys on the walls. But Eagles fans in New Orleans know that their game will always be on at Markey’s — and that at least a few dozen of their compatriots will be watching.
The bar opened in 1905. Markey’s great-uncle, Joe Markey, took over the bar in 1947. He passed it on to Markey’s father — also named Roy — who passed it on to his son in 1992. Roy Jr. began working there as a teenager in 1974, mopping floors and busing plates.
A lot has changed since then. The Ninth Ward neighborhood used to be full of blue-collar workers who spent their days at the local meatpacking plant or the wharves. The bar would open at 6 a.m. and close at 10 p.m. to accommodate their schedules.
Now, with the advent of Airbnb, the Ninth Ward has transformed. It’s more upscale and developed, but Markey’s, which stands at the corner of Royal and Louisa Streets, has never seemed to change.
This is by design. When Markey took ownership in 1992, he wanted to maintain as much of the old neighborhood as he could. The structure of the building is the same as it was in 1905. He doesn’t play loud music because he likes his customers to converse.
Small things have been renovated — Markey’s now has 15 televisions, a big selling point for Eagles fans — but other than that, it remains as it was back then.
For Eagles fans in New Orleans, the bar’s unassuming air is part of its appeal. That, and the fact that Markey’s has every game imaginable because its owner has bought every broadcast package, from NFL Sunday Ticket to MLB.TV.
“Back in those days, you were sort of reinventing yourself to a degree, with the changes to the neighborhood,” Markey said. “And a couple of bars went to loud music. I didn’t want to go there. It’s just too demanding. And it’s late night.
“So, I just said, ‘Well, I’m going to gravitate to this to sports because, let’s face it, who doesn’t like to watch sports? Especially people who drink.”
It started small. In 2014, Mike Moyer, a consultant from New Hope, moved to New Orleans. He lived two blocks away from Markey’s and began to meet up with another Eagles fan, Phil Bucolo, to watch games together.
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They realized that Andy Bower, a musician from Scranton who now lives in New Orleans, was doing the same thing they were. They became friends, and, over the next few years, a bigger group began to form.
By 2017-18, around 20 Eagles fans gathered every Sunday. This year, that number doubled. As the Saints’ playoff hopes slipped away, more and more Eagles fans took over Markey’s.
By the time the playoffs rolled around, it was a full-fledged Eagles bar. Markey’s had 75 fans show up for the NFC championship game.
“They were singing, ‘Fly, Eagles Fly, on the road to victory,’” Markey said. “I think I got myself into some trouble. I had a few drinks, and after the game was over, somehow or another, they cornered me. They said if the Eagles win the Super Bowl, I’m going to get on the bar, and lead them in the song.
“Oh, sure, I’ll do it [if they win]. Why not? I’d need a ladder though.”
The Eagles fans at Markey’s have their own little quirks. For Moyer, it is leaving the bar and walking down the street when he senses something is about to go wrong in the game. For John Egan, a native of Upper Darby, it is watching the first quarter at home, “calmly,” and the rest with his fellow fans.
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But no one is as quirky as Scotty Yelity. He was born in New Brunswick, N.J., but spent 25 years living at 11th and Christian, not far from Isgro Pastries in Philadelphia. He moved to New Orleans 12 years ago for a relationship — “we’re good now,” he said — and has stayed ever since.
He works in the kitchen at Hot Stuff restaurant in the East Carrollton neighborhood but lives down the street from Markey’s. He wears headphones to every game — “music calms me,” he said — with a kelly green helmet by his side.
“It sits on the table,” Yelity said. “When we’re winning, people put on the helmet. Run around. It gets passed around. If we lose, it gets kicked down the street.”
Markey’s doesn’t serve food, so Moyer will make Italian hoagies and bring them in. A store around the corner, Bratz Y’all Bistro, sells soft pretzels, which patrons will buy at halftime.
This is New Orleans, so on Sunday, Markey will be bringing a “considerably large pot of jambalaya” for their Super Bowl party. But that will be the only local delicacy.
“It could potentially be a couple hundred people,” Markey said. “Got a couple of portalets to ease the bathroom situation. Put some TVs outside, too.”
Markey is not as daunted by the fan base as he once was. He likes to say that his patrons are the “most well-behaved Philadelphia fans in the history of Philadelphia.”
Because he shows so many games, he has seen a lot of fans come through his doors, but the Eagles fans have managed to distinguish themselves.
“They’re extremely loyal,” Markey said. “I mean, they don’t miss. I don’t think it’s a negotiable thing for them. Even last year, when they lost [five of their last six regular-season games], they still showed up. They’re not jumping on the bandwagon, that’s for sure.”
Added Yelity: “I feel like I earned my way into the group, and, over time, we really became a family. We’re lawyers, teachers, musicians, construction workers, restaurant guys, but on Sundays, we meet here. We love New Orleans, but we [expletive] love the Eagles more than anything.”
For a while, Markey would try to put his customers at ease during a stressful game. He’d tell them, “Listen buddy, you’re not playing. You’re just watching.”
But that speech has since been retired, for obvious reasons.
“Why I would consider even doing that [to Eagles fans]?” Markey said. “Come on. That would be a waste of time and effort.”