This die-hard fan drives an Eagles-themed Uber around Philadelphia. On Monday, he met his favorite team.

Alex Coffey, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Aug 5, 2025

Published in Football

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PHILADELPHIA — At about 9:20 a.m. Monday, Mucha Nama drove his Eagles-themed minivan into the parking lot adjacent to the NovaCare Complex. His little brother, Siino, was in the front seat.

They got some curious looks, which Siino and Mucha are used to at this point. Mucha has been driving for Uber and Lyft since 2016, but his car doesn’t look or sound like any other.

On top of his white minivan are two replica Eagles, a 2024 Super Bowl champions flag, and two placards showing Jalen Hurts and Saquon Barkley jerseys.

There is also a speaker that plays one of two songs: “Fly, Eagles Fly,” or a YouTube compilation of “Eagle Sound Effects.”

The Ethiopia native arrived in the United States as a student through the Diversity Visa (DV) lottery in 2011, and found his Eagles fandom through a coworker.

He was immediately hooked. Nama, who grew up in the Oromia region of Ethiopia, was an avid soccer fan growing up, and felt that Lincoln Financial Field was a comparable atmosphere.

At first, the transition from Oromia to Philadelphia was difficult. But becoming a die-hard Eagles fan helped him feel more connected to the city.

And on Monday morning, he connected with the team on a different level. The Eagles invited Nama and his brother as guests for training camp.

The team showed them the Lombardi Trophy and let them wear one of the Eagles’ recent Super Bowl rings. “I’m very happy now,” Nama said, with the ring around his finger, “but it’s a little bit heavy.”

Afterward, team president Don Smolenski introduced himself and handed Nama a bag of gear — which included a magnet and a license plate holder.

The brothers spent the rest of the morning watching practice, as coach Nick Sirianni paced the field with a megaphone a few feet in front of them. Even away from his car, Nama still turned a few heads. He was wearing an Eagles tracksuit, with an Eagles-themed baseball cap that flapped its wings and mimicked the bird’s call with the press of a button.

Siino said his brother is quiet by nature, but described his fandom as “flashy.”

“He’s very outgoing [with his clothing and his car],” he said.

At about 11:50 a.m. the players jogged off the field. A few signed autographs and took photos with the Ethiopian rideshare driver: wide receiver Jahan Dotson, defensive tackle Ty Robinson, and linebackers Jeremiah Trotter Jr., Nakobe Dean and Zack Baun.

Offensive tackle Jordan Mailata also paid them a visit. When senior director of corporate communications Anthony Bonagura mentioned that Nama was the owner of the Eagles rideshare, Mailata smiled.

“I’ve seen it,” he said, as he shook Nama’s hand. “I’ve seen it. That’s you? Holy heck. Holy heck.

“I’ve driven behind [that car] and I was like, ‘That’s got to be an Uber.’ It’s blasting Eagles sounds from it, too.”

Nama was taken aback.

“That surprised me,” he said of Mailata’s reaction. “Because you never know when people are downtown. A lot of players come down there, but you never know. I’m very happy.”

He added: “I’m living my dream right now.”

The brothers wrapped up the visit by returning to Nama’s minivan. Nama opened the trunk and pulled out a dark green suitcase. Inside was a pile of neatly folded linen clothing from his country, as well as black scarfs with the Oromian flag printed on them.

Nama handed the clothing to Bonagura as a “surprise gift” to him and to the rest of the team. He also gave him two black ceremonial walking sticks.

“In my culture, the leader person uses this one,” he told Bonagura. “[These sticks are] for Jalen [Hurts] and for Coach Sirianni. The coach leader uses this one, and the team leader uses that one.”

Nama gave Bonagura one more present — a small Eagles statue, wrapped in the Oromian flag, for Hurts — and went on his way.

As he began to drive out of the parking lot, an Eagles fan in a Ford Expedition rolled down his window. He looked at the decorations on Nama’s car.

“Hell yeah, brother,” the fan said to the rideshare driver. “Way to commit, baby!”