PHILADELPHIA — One Sunday back in late October, Steve Spagnuolo made a pilgrimage to one of his favorite bars, a corner spot at the corner of 11th Street and McKean in the heart of South Philadelphia. Big Charlie’s Saloon — a two-room dive with a brick facade — has been in the neighborhood since the ’70s, and it has all the makings of a South Philly joint: Weathered wood paneling, jukebox in the corner, cold beer on the menu and the owner Paulie posted up on a stool at the bar.
What makes Big Charlie’s different from every other corner bar, however, is its almost spiritual obsession with the Kansas City Chiefs, an out-of-town football team that plays its home games 1,100 miles away.
The strange football allegiance is what piqued the interest of Spagnuolo, a long-time Philly resident who became the Chiefs’ defensive coordinator in 2019. So he made a visit with his wife Maria, a Philly native, and then … they kept coming back. Spagnuolo popped in after the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020. Maria bonded with the staff and became an honorary bartender, pulling a 15-hour shift for charity. In October, with the Chiefs on a bye week, Spagnuolo returned again, fulfilling a promise to bring his Super Bowl ring.
“It’s a unique group,” Spagnuolo said. “Right…
