East Sacramento bar has become the spot for Philadelphia Eagles fans. What makes it special
In a region dominated by the red and gold of 49ers’ country, there’s a sea of Kelly green every Sunday at the corner of J Street and Alhambra Boulevard. For Philadelphia Eagles football fans living in the Sacramento area, Limelight is their haven.
Fans gathered by the dozens, packing the East Sacramento restaurant, bar and cardroom at 1014 Alhambra Blvd. During football season, fans say that heading to Limelight for an Eagles game is a ritual.
They passionately cheered Sunday having watched their team advance to their second Super Bowl in the last three seasons, after beating the Washington Commanders, 55-23, in the NFC Championship game.
“It’s more than a game,” said Eagles fan, Yao Saechao. “It’s a community, it’s a family event.”
All throughout the bar and echoing into the streets, Eagles devotees can be heard screaming out their team’s fight song in unison with every score: “Fly Eagles fly, on the road to victory. Fight, Eagles, fight. Score a touchdown, one, two, three.”
Robert van Vaianen moved to Sacramento from Philadelphia in 2019. He said he’s been going to Limelight each game day since finding out about the spot through the Philadelphia Eagles of Sacramento Facebook page.
“It’s like a family. I feel like I’m back home,” van Vaianen said. “It brings me all that good-feel vibes.”
It’s the full experience across the continent from Lincoln Financial Field in South Philly.
Fans tailgate parking lot across the street at halftime with hype circles as team and fan anthem “Dreams and Nightmares” by Meek Mill, a Philadelphia native, plays in the background. Much like their Broad Street counterparts, they’ve sometimes stopped traffic along the way.
“Listen, if you want to know what’s up, if you want to have that adrenaline flowing through your veins, like all of us do ... you come out to the Limelight,” van Vaianen said. “This is where it’s happening, Jack.”
Eagles fans ‘just kept coming out of the woodwork’
Owner John Mikacich said the bar and cardroom opened in 1959, but his family didn’t get involved until the mid-1970s.
It wasn’t always a devoted Eagles bar.
Chris Linguini, a Philadelphia native and Eagles fan, was a bartender at Limelight in 2000.
He wanted to watch games while he worked Sundays, so he and other bartenders convinced Mikacich to get the NFL Sunday Ticket package to get access to out-of-region games. Then, they put up a banner out front.
“(With co-founder Chris Corona) we started this group with 15 people and it kept growing every year, every game,” Linguini said. “It’s just been growing ever since. The East Sac community, there’s a lot of transplant people, so we wanted to find a home for all people, like-minded, like myself, to enjoy the games, in a fun atmosphere.”
Linguini, who was Limelight’s general manager from 2012 to 2020, still comes in to watch the games when he’s in town, thankful the bosses bought in to the idea. He moved back to Philadelphia in May 2020 but still stays in touch with people from the group who continue to keep the group in motion.
“The owners, the Mikacich family, have been very good to the Eagles group over the years,” Linguini said. “Setting up the rooms, actually buying new TVs and sound systems so we could hear the games a lot better.”
For Mikacich, it’s about creating a sense of place that’s family-friendly.
“I saw how much more meaningful it was having a team from outside the area be able to gather here and talk about home and share stories,” Mikacich said. “I mean specifically the Eagles, because of all the fight songs they have and all the cheers they have, we couldn’t be happier having them here.”
Nima Nabavian was born and raised outside of Philadelphia, his family moved to Sacramento when he was 12. Living in California didn’t stop him from “bleeding green,” he said during Sunday’s game.
Nabavian found out about Limelight after being invited by fans who spotted his Eagles hoodie one day while walking his German Shepherd, whose name is Eagle.
“So ever since I’ve been here,” Nabavian said. “It just feels like I’m part of, like, an extended family I’ve been longing for back home in Philly.”
Ryan Greenly, another Philadelphia transplant, found out about Limelight in 2011 after watching a Philadelphia Phillies playoff game at Clubhouse 56 at 723 56th St.
“I figured, why not go there for an Eagles game?” Greenly said. “Walking in, these boys were there in their jerseys. We just kicked the door down and said, ‘We’re here.’ Brought the Eagles love, and that was it. People just kept coming out of the woodwork.”
Limelight now gearing up for Super Bowl
This will be the fourth time the Eagles have advanced to the Super Bowl this century.
Linguini remembers the parties they had: in 2004, the loss against the New England Patriots; and in 2017, winning the whole thing against Tom Brady and their Boston rivals in Super Bowl LII.
“It was crazy (in 2004). Then 2017, by far, was the best year there, obviously we had,” Linguini said.
Members of the Philadelphia Eagles of Sacramento fan group like Greenly are hopeful the Eagles will once again become champions, as they reminisce on the team’s win eight years ago.
“The pinnacle of it was when we won the Super Bowl in 2017 this place was nuts,” Greenly said. “People jumping off the bar. It was crazy. So, I mean, I think that was like the high water mark at that point. And we’re just trying to get back there.”
Mikacich, who admittedly roots for the 49ers, said that the Eagles and its legion of fans have made their way into his heart, and he’ll be rooting for them to beat the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9 in New Orleans.
“Now I have mixed allegiances, but I love to see the Eagles win and cheer them on,” he said.
And that’s what watching the game with other fans is all about, Linguini said, knowing that Limelight welcomes all fans who don’t want to just watch the game on the couch at home.
“It’s about the sports community,” Linguini said. “You know, this is our team, but loving every other team you know, enjoying the camaraderie, enjoying the competition.”
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 8:43 AM.
