Stephen Leon fell in love with Boston when he moved here as a teenager with his family more than 40 years ago, but the North Philadelphia native never gave up his deep loyalty to his hometown NFL team.
Proudly wearing the jersey of Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts and a flat-brimmed Eagles cap turned backward, Leon was stationed at a high-top table Sunday afternoon with a clear view of the multiple TVs in the White Bull Tavern near Faneuil Hall hours before Super LVII kicked off between Philadelphia and the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I love my Eagles, and there’s a lot of us Eagles fans around,” Leon said, projecting his voice as music played from speakers overhead and dozens of people wearing Eagles green filed into the bar from a line curling out the front door and onto the sidewalk.
Hours later, after the Chiefs marched down the field late in the fourth quarter to score a field goal that gave them a 38-35 victory, Kyle Tretina, 33, of Somerville, went around the White Bull consoling fellow Eagles fans as they paid their tabs and donned their coats.
A lifelong Philadelphia sports fan, Tretina said he believes the team has a bright future despite the crushing defeat.
“We don’t give up,” he said. “We’re going to see them here again; I feel good about that.”
The White Bull Tavern has been like a second home on Sundays for many Philly fans this NFL season after it became the new gathering spot for the Philadelphia Eagles Fans of Boston club, which traces its origins back to 2007.
Nearly 250 people were in the bar by kickoff. Loud cheers broke out with every completed pass and successful first down by the Eagles, and waitresses circled the bar with shots after Hurts ran in for the Eagles’ first touchdown.
The cheering could be heard from outside the bar and across the street.
The club has bounced among a few bars and restaurants over the years but has developed a good relationship with Jeff Baird, owner of the White Bull Tavern, after he hosted the fan club at the former Blackstone Grill in the area, which he also owned.
Baird is a Patriots fan and former season-ticket holder, but that hasn’t kept him from opening his doors to Eagles diehards and decking out the bar with green streamers and lights and Eagles banners hanging from the walls.
He said the club’s patronage has been good business and he’s glad to welcome them.
“They’re a great group, respectful, and a lot of fun,” Baird said.
Josh Uzarski, president of the Philadelphia Eagles Fans of Boston, said Baird and the White Bull staff have been great hosts.
“We were really looking for a partnership, not just a place we go to watch games, but an equal partnership where they benefit from us and vice versa, and the staff gets to know us,” he said.
The bar and the Eagles club also team up on charity work. It charged a $30 cover for fans to get in for the Super Bowl, and part of the proceeds go to the Young Adult Program at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for patients between 18 and their early 40s.
Uzarski, who said his fiancee is a cancer survivor, said it was important to contribute to a local charity like that one in Boston.
“Even though we’re Philly fans, we live in Boston, so let’s support where we live, too,” he said.
For the Super Bowl, the bar rolled out a menu designed for Philadelphia fans, including Philly favorites Yuengling beer and cheese steaks “done right, with the Amoroso rolls and Cheez Whiz,” Uzarski said.
Sunday marked the fourth Super Bowl appearance for the Eagles. The franchise previously played in Super Bowl XV (a 27-10 loss to the Oakland Raiders), Super Bowl XXXIX (a 24-21 loss to the Patriots), and Super Bowl LII (a 41-33 win over the Patriots).
Outside the bar Sunday afternoon, Conor Spencer, 27, led a group of people waiting in line through an Eagles chant.
Spencer lives in Burlington and found out about the Eagles fan club in the fall. He said his mother is from Pennsylvania and he has been an Eagles fan his whole life, but fans don’t need a direct connection to Philadelphia to be part of the group.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from ... as long as you have this on, you’ll fit right in,” he said, pointing to his Eagles hat.
Indeed, only people with Eagles gear or some other form of proof showing their Philly allegiance were allowed into the bar Sunday, but at least one non-Philly fan managed to get through.
Tom and Sharon Shoemaker of Southborough were having drinks and sharing an appetizer at a table near the front windows facing out onto Union Street. Tom, 53, grew up on Long Island but his mother is from Philadelphia and his love for the Eagles has never wavered.
Meanwhile, his wife, Sharon, 56, prefers their rival Dallas Cowboys. It was Tom’s idea to head to the White Bull to watch the game, so she borrowed an Eagles shirt from him to get through the door.
“I’m forced to wear this today just to get in here,” she said with a laugh, tugging on the green Eagles shirt she wore beneath a sweatshirt.
Hidden in her pocket, Sharon held some navy-blue beads, one of the Cowboys’ colors, in honor of her favorite team.
“I came along and I’ll cheer for the Eagles over Kansas City just to keep the peace,” she joked. “If it was the Cowboys, that’d be a different story.”
Nick Stoico can be reached at nick.stoico@globe.com.