The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board says it is examining a video of Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper that FanDuel sent in 2024 to a VIP bettor who was struggling with a gambling addiction.
“We are aware of the situation and are reviewing it,” Doug Harbach, a spokesperson for the board, said Friday. “I can’t comment beyond that at this juncture.”
It’s unclear if the gaming control board, which regulates casinos, online gambling and sports wagering, has contacted FanDuel or Harper. David Purdum of ESPN first reported the gaming board’s interest in the situation.
The Inquirer obtained the 21-second video, which shows Harper greeting the bettor, Terry Thompson, and Thompson’s son, and ends with Harper thanking Thompson for his support.
Harper is not wearing FanDuel merchandise in the video, but it is marked with the company’s logo. Harper mentions that he was reaching out at the request of Thompson’s VIP manager — “your host Bryttanni at FanDuel” — who wanted to ensure that Thompson had an “extra special Thanksgiving.”
The Inquirer could find no evidence that Harper has a business relationship with FanDuel, nor that he was aware Thompson had a gambling addiction. Harper declined through the Phillies on Thursday to comment.
FanDuel obtained the video from Cameo, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.
The company allows users to pay athletes, celebrities and musicians to record personal messages for them.
On its website Cameo notes that celebrities don’t necessarily have to follow a purchaser’s instructions.
“You acknowledge and agree that the Talent User has sole discretion to determine how to fulfill your request and the content of the CAMEO Video created, and may not follow your request exactly,” reads part of its terms of services.
Cameo did not respond Friday to multiple requests from The Inquirer for comment.
A video of Harper addressing an individual can be purchased from Cameo for $899. He also offers recordings for businesses for $9,999.
The Inquirer earlier in the week shared the FanDuel video with Harper’s longtime agent, Scott Boras, the Phillies, and Major League Baseball. Each declined to comment.
Beginning in 2020, Thompson wagered $18.5 million with FanDuel and lost $1.5 million, according to a lawsuit that the Public Health Advocacy Institute filed in March in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia on behalf of Thompson and against FanDuel and DraftKings, to which Thompson also lost money.
Harper is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit.
Thompson’s attorneys allege that he became addicted to placing microbets — in-game wagers on something as minor as the speed of a pitch during a baseball game — until he gambled away his final $10,000 on a DraftKings parlay bet in February.
Broke and afraid of disclosing the scope of his losses to his family, Thompson contacted his therapist and indicated that he planned to take his life.
He typically announces new endorsement deals, which in the past have included companies such as Under Armour, Gatorade, and Dairy Queen.
The Inquirer will continue to report on issues related to the growth of gambling addiction — among teens and adults — across Pennsylvania. If you, or someone you know, would like to speak with a reporter, please contact David Gambacorta or William Bender at dgambacorta@inquirer.com or wbender@inquirer.com
In 16 starts between two levels of the minors, Wood has a 3.44 ERA and 79 strikeouts in 55 innings, including a 3.45 mark in eight double-A starts. The Phillies skipped Wood two levels in May when they promoted him from low-A Clearwater.
The Phillies drafted Wood in the first round (26th overall) last July and invited him to a game after he signed for $3 million.
“I got to go around the clubhouse, all the facilities, meet everyone,” Wood said in April as a guest on The Inquirer’s Phillies Extra podcast. “Got to talk to Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, the whole pitching staff, pretty much. Got to talk to Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, all those guys. You get there and you’re like, ‘Wow, this is pretty cool.’
“And I’ll always remember that for the rest of my life. I went home and I told pretty much everyone that I’m friends with, [or] I’m even close to, people that just asked me, ‘Did you get to talk to Bryce Harper?’ And I’m like, ‘Actually, yeah, I did. It was freaking sweet.’ But no, they were great.”
Wood, the No. 69 prospect in the sport according to Baseball America’s midseason top-100 rankings, will represent the Phillies with fellow right-hander Wen-Hui Pan.
Victorino will manage the National League team in the Futures Game; Larry Bowa will manage the American Leaguers. The seven-inning game will begin at noon Sunday.
King of Prussia-based baseball bat manufacturer Victus Sports was looking for a reason to do an advertisement with its client, Brandon Marsh. The Phillies outfielder’s stellar season — and first All-Star Game nod — gave Victus the perfect excuse.
“He was just a perfect fit,” Victus marketing director Doug Trimble said. “Just personality-wise, and obviously being a Philly guy made the most sense. The stars just aligned that he ended up being one of the best hitters in baseball this year.”
On Wednesday, Victus posted a teaser for the company’s new Philly Cheesesteak-inspired bat on X. The video shows Marsh, decked out in his full Phillies uniform, order a “Victus with onions” at Angelo’s Pizzeria. Marsh then walks out of the South Philly staple to unwrap an abnormally long sandwich. Grinning, the “wet bandit” reveals a Victus bat hidden under the parchment paper.
In the background, customers look on in awe at Marsh, who looks like he walked straight out of the outfield.
Those reactions were real. Between Marsh’s stringent schedule with the Phillies and Angelo’s limited hours, Victus decided it would be easiest to shoot the commercial quickly while the restaurant was open. The ad, along with a few shorter spots posted to social media, were completed in one-take.
“It was a cool moment,” Trimble said. “[Marsh] thought it was cool. He had a blast the whole day. I was kind of just running through concepts with him, and he was down for all of it.”
Phillies outfielder Brandon Marsh (right) carries Victus’ new cheesesteak-themed bat over his shoulder while a cook whips up the real thing on the griddle at Angelo’s.Courtesy of Victus Sports
Why Angelo’s? Trimble will take the credit for picking the restaurant over the likes of a more nationally recognizable cheesesteak shop — like Pat’s or Geno’s.
For one, Angelo’s steak on a seeded roll is his personal favorite. More important though, Trimble felt partnering with the pizzeria would show Victus is a brand that is true to the area. Philadelphians, as he pointed out, are usually more drawn to a place like Angelo’s than more traditional spots.
“It’s just letting people know that we’re local to Philly,” Trimble said. “This is our hometown All-Star Game. Doing the whole collection with cheesesteaks and Marsh and the Phillies is just a part of that storytelling we’re trying to do.”
Victus’ new cheesesteak-themed bat sits next to the real thing at Angelo’s in South Philly.Courtesy of Victus Sports
When designing the bats themselves, there were also conversations around what type of steak they should resemble.
Some wanted “whiz” on the bat while others wanted the cheese to resemble cooper sharp. Ultimately, the team decided to feature a more generic cheesesteak on the bat with “Philly” written on it with cheese.
The bats, which were officially released on Friday, are currently for sale on Victus Sports’ website.
Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani will miss Tuesday’s All-Star Game in Philadelphia because of continued irritation in his left knee.
The Dodgers added that Ohtani would not make his scheduled start on the mound against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night, but would continue his role as the team’s designated hitter throughout the weekend.
The team says that after the series against the D-backs ends on Sunday, Ohtani will have some “interventions” done on his knee to get him ready for the second half of the season, which will cause him to miss the All-Star Game.
The four-time Most Valuable Player has once again been one of the best players in the big leagues this season and stands alone as the game’s premier two-way player.
Ohtani is batting .290 with 20 homers and 56 RBIs and is 8-2 on the mound with a 1.79 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 85⅔ innings.
Ohtani’s absence will be a blow for baseball’s midsummer showcase at Citizens Bank Park. The Japanese star — who turned 32 years old earlier this week — is among the game’s most popular players and led MLB in jersey sales last year.
He hit his 300th career homer on Tuesday night, a leadoff shot against Colorado Rockies pitcher Michael Lorenzen that made him the first Japanese-born player in the majors to reach the milestone.
It’s been a busy summer for new Sixer Jaylen Brown — and not just because he was part of one of the NBA offseason’s biggest moves.
Brown also boxed on the streets of Morocco and attended the World Cup in Foxborough, Mass., near Boston, where he enlisted the help of YouTube star IShowSpeed to recruit free agent superstar LeBron James to Philly.
Earlier this summer, Brown traveled to Morocco with former Celtics teammate Tacko Fall and on Thursday posted a video on YouTube documenting their time experiencing the nation’s food, animals, and culture. Brown held a snake around his neck and a monkey on his shoulder, played drums with a group of men, and handed out free smoothies.
However, the most viral moment came when Brown took part in a friendly boxing session. A crowd quickly formed as Brown squared off in the street with a local, and cheers erupted as the NBA star showed off his skills.
It’s unclear whether the impromptu boxing match came before or after Brown was traded to the Sixers on July 1, but it appears Brown was in Morocco for the recent PLYRS UNTD Africa Experience.
During a livestream from inside the Boston Stadium (aka Gillette Stadium) during Morocco’s FIFA World Cup quarterfinal vs. France, Brown enlisted the help of internet personality IShowSpeed, an Ohio native whose real name is Darren Jason Watkins Jr., to send a message to James.
“You gotta tell LeBron he’s gotta pull up, man. Pull up to Philly,” Brown said in the livestream.
Watkins happily looked into the camera and told James, who reportedly has the Sixers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Miami Heat among his top three teams, to join Brown and “PG13” in Philly. The only problem: Paul George isn’t on the team anymore.
Brown corrected him that George had been traded to the Celtics in the deal that sent Brown to the Sixers. The exchange quickly spread on social media with fans poking fun at the streamer for not realizing George had been traded.
Brown also seemed frustrated about the trade during the livestream.
“It’s a crazy business, bro,” he said. “Don’t become a basketball player. There’s no loyalty, there’s no love. … They packed me up, sayonara chat, I’m out of here.”
Jaylen Brown talks to IShowSpeed about Boston trading him:
“It’s a crazy business, bro. Don’t become a basketball player. There's no loyalty, there’s no love…They packed me up, sayonara chat, I'm out of here.”
Philadelphia’s packed summer slate continues with MLB All-Star Week, a five-day run of baseball events in South Philly and Center City that caps off with All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park next week.
And in addition to crowds of baseball fans, the occasion is also slated to bring a number of road closures and parking restrictions over the next few days.
Officially, it all kicks off Friday at Citizens Bank Park with the HBCU Swingman Classic, a game that features 50 players from Division 1 historically Black colleges and universities. Events will run throughout the weekend and Monday ahead of the main event Tuesday.
Here is what you need to know:
Planned road closures
Road closures kick off Friday afternoon in the area of Sixth and Market Streets for the Budweiser Clydesdales Hitch Parade. That event will close Sixth Street between Market and Chestnut Streets from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., and additional rolling closures are expected to be implemented along the parade route between Sixth and Seventh Streets, and Walnut and Market Streets.
Sunday brings a nighttime drone show that will see road closures on and around Eakins Oval from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. Those closures will affect:
All lanes of Eakins Oval
Kelly Drive from Eakins Oval to Fairmount Avenue
Anne d’Harnoncourt Drive
The I-76 eastbound off-ramp at Spring Garden Street
On Monday, Independence Mall will see road closures starting at 5 a.m. to accommodate building out the MLB Red Carpet Show. Set to be in place through midnight, those closures will impact:
Fifth Street between Market and Chestnut Streets
Ludlow Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets
Randstead Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets
Independence Mall will remain tied up Tuesday for the MLB Red Carpet show itself, with closures again in place from 5 a.m. to midnight. Those closures will affect:
Fifth and Sixth Streets from Arch to Walnut Streets
Market and Chestnut Streets from Fourth to Seventh Streets
Ranstead and Sansom Streets from Sixth Street to Seventh Streets
Philadelphia police, the city said, may institute additional closures in the interest of public safety.
Parking restrictions
All roads affected by closures will also be temporary no-parking zones, the city said. If vehicles are parked in those locations during the times they are closed, the vehicles will be moved.
Drivers who may have had their cars moved should contact the police district of the area where their vehicle was parked, the city said.
Other closures
The Autopark parking garage at Independence Mall, located near Sixth and Arch Streets, will be closed starting at 11:59 p.m. Monday, the city said. Its Fifth Street exit will stay open for vehicles to leave and move, and all vehicles must be moved by 5 a.m. Tuesday.
Additionally, the Philadelphia Independence Visitor Center will be closed to the public starting at noon on Tuesday, the city said.
Public transportation
To accommodate fans heading to Citizens Bank Park, SEPTA will run six additional express trains on the Broad Street Line, also known as the B Line, to NRG Station before and after the Home Run Derby and All-Star Game Monday and Tuesday.
Free rides on the line from NRG Station will also be available at select times during those events. Free rides begin after the second round of the Home Run Derby on Monday, and after the sixth inning of the All-Star Game Tuesday, the city said.
A sign hangs in Ryan Daly’s office at the John A. Lally Athletics Complex in Syracuse, N.Y., with the total number of fans that can pack the JMA Wireless Dome — 35,446.
In November, Syracuse fans will fill the historic college sports venue, hoping one of college basketball’s most prominent programs returns to success.
For Daly, who was hired in April as an assistant under new head coach Gerry McNamara, the number is a reminder of the work that lies ahead.
The Havertown native has climbed the coaching ranks at 28 years old, arriving at Syracuse after serving as an assistant at Albany, Bryant, and Virginia Commonwealth. Daly said none of that would be possible without his Philadelphia basketball roots and the people he met along the way.
“A lot of these opportunities that have come my way have been a result of a lot of people pouring into me,” he said.
A family affair
Growing up in a family of “basketball junkies” sparked a fire in Daly.
His grandfather, Jim Boyle, was the longtime coach of St. Joseph’s before coaching in the NBA and overseas. His father, Brian, played at Hawk Hill under Boyle, then coached at Penn State.
“We are a Philadelphia basketball family,” said his mother, Tracie Daly. “We weren’t on the outside looking in, we were on the inside.”
Ryan’s earliest basketball memory was at 5 years old, shooting on a Fisher-Price hoop at his grandparents’ house in Overbrook.
“I don’t remember a time when basketball wasn’t the only thing I thought about or talked about every day,” he said.
Ryan went to St. Denis School until the seventh grade. Prior to that school year, his family moved to Boston, then State College, Pa., after his dad took a coaching job at Boston University and Penn State, respectively.
Three years later, Ryan and his younger brother Colin approached their parents with a request.
Ryan Daly joined Archbishop Carroll as sophomore and won Catholic League MVP in 2016.STEVEN M. FALK / Staff Photographer
“They came up to us and said, ‘We want to play basketball in the Catholic League,’” Tracie said.
The Philadelphia Catholic League is one of the top high school basketball conferences in the country, and there is a certain type of DNA that those players possess, Ryan said.
Tracie, Ryan, Colin, and their sister, Keri, moved back to the area before Ryan’s sophomore year, while Brian stayed at Penn State to continue coaching. Ryan and Colin both played for Archbishop Carroll.
“Neither of my boys would’ve been able to develop to the basketball players they were if we hadn’t moved back,” Brian said.
‘Tight-knit community’
Philadelphia basketball became Ryan Daly’s classroom.
Daly grew up hearing stories about Sonny Hill, Speedy Morris, John Chaney, Phil Martelli Sr., and Jay Wright — legends of Philadelphia basketball. Jim Lynam — also known as pop — was another mentor. Those relationships gave him an appreciation for the city’s basketball culture.
“Philadelphia is a special basketball community,” he said. “ … To see so many people coaching and involved with it, it’s one big circle, and it feels like it’s a very small tight-knit community.”
However, his own college recruiting process wasn’t easy.
Daly was a star on his nationallyranked AAU team, the Jersey Shore Warriors, and at Carroll — he won PCL MVP in 2016 — but didn’t receive many scholarship offers. It was a stressful time, he said, but his own experience became one of the biggest lessons in his coaching career.
“It taught me patience with evaluating players,” he said. “You might see them on a really good day, and that’s not really who they are or you might see them on a bad day and they are a lot better than that.”
He committed to the University of Delaware two days before graduating from high school without visiting the campus.
Ryan Daly spent two seasons at Delaware, where he surpassed 1,000 career points.
Daly had two standout seasons at Delaware, surpassing 1,000 career points. He then transferred to St. Joe’s and led the Atlantic-10 and Big 5 in scoring from 2019 to 2021.
Daly briefly pursued a career in the NBA G League, but living out of hotels and being away from his family was not for him. He quickly realized coaching was where he belonged and accepted his first coaching position at Albany when he was 24.
Soaking it in
At Albany, Bryant, and VCU, Daly immersed himself in the coaching profession, working early mornings and late nights and soaking up every piece of information from those he worked with.
He credits Albany head coach Dwayne Killings for teaching him creativity and VCU head coach Phil Martelli Jr., whom Daly followed from Bryant to the Rams, on how to recruit.
Each of those schools helped him develop his coaching philosophy.
One mantra in particular has stayed with him. Martelli Jr. often reminded Daly to “believe further than you can see.”
“When he said that line to me a year and a half ago, it really stuck out to me,” Daly said. “You never know when opportunities are going to come, you just have to be ready for it.”
That philosophy carried Daly to two conference championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances in consecutive seasons at Bryant and VCU.
Relationship-driven sport
Daly’s relationship with McNamara began long before he got the call to join the Syracuse coaching staff.
When Daly was a sophomore at Carroll, McNamara was recruiting his teammate, Derrick Jones Jr. McNamara attended open practices twice a week and often spoke to Daly after practice.
“He took me aside a lot and was like, ‘I don’t understand why coaches aren’t recruiting you; you should have a lot of interest and offers right now,’” Daly said.
Years later, when Ryan was a coach at Albany, they reconnected at a Coaches vs. Cancer event.
“I walked up to him and said, ‘I don’t know if you remember me,’” he said.
McNamara’s response was immediate: “‘Of course I remember you,’” Daly recalled.
While playing for St. Joe’s, Ryan Daly led the Atlantic 10 and Big 5 in scoring from 2019 to 2021.CHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer
Since then, Ryan and McNamara have kept in touch, texting each other about wins or recruits, while also seeing each other frequently on the road. When McNamara was announced as Syracuse’s new head coach, Daly texted him, saying congratulations. Two days later, Daly received the call from McNamara asking to join his staff.
But leaving VCU was not an easy decision.
“In some sense it was the hardest thing I ever did,” he said. “In some sense, it was a no-brainer.
“The part that was exciting for me was that growing up I remember seeing Syracuse in the Final Four and Sweet Sixteen. The Orange is synonymous with March, and the challenge of bringing them back to that was exciting.”
Brian Daly emphasized to Ryan while growing up that building connections was an important part of life, but also in the sports community. And those relationships are exactly how he has advanced in the profession and ended up at Syracuse.
The last time Syracuse made an NCAA Tournament appearance was in 2021, and it advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. The program won its first and only national championship in 2003, when McNamara was a player on the team.
Soon, 35,446 fans will be able to fill the Dome to see what McNamara and Daly are building in Syracuse.
“I know the fans are diehard supporters, and experiencing people who live, eat, sleep, and breathe Syracuse men’s basketball in the Dome every night, you really can’t ask for anything more as a coach and a player,” Ryan said. “It’s a real home court advantage, and we want to bring that back.”
DETROIT — The Phillies haven’t had a Home Run Derby champion since 2006, when Ryan Howard blasted 23 total to take the crown.
This year, at Monday’s competition at Citizens Bank Park, they will have double the chance. Because for the first time in the 41-year history of the Derby, the Phillies have a pair of teammates competing against each other. Kyle Schwarber announced Friday that he would officially be joining Bryce Harper in the event.
“I just wanted to make sure pretty much getting through that series in Cincinnati, make sure everything was good healthwise, and everything’s been trending the right way. So that’s when we pretty much made a decision to do it,” Schwarber said.
Schwarber and Harper have competed in the same Derby before in 2018, although they were representing different teams. With Harper in his final year with the Nationals and Schwarber playing with the Cubs, the future teammates found themselves in the final round together in Washington D.C. Harper bashed 19 homers to narrowly best Schwarber’s 18.
Schwarber hopes that this year ends with another rematch.
“I think it would be awesome, especially in Philadelphia, where our fans obviously are going to get the opportunity to really show out what they’re capable of and what we’ve seen for years and years of just pure electricity,” he said. “So I think it would be a pretty cool ending there if that could happen. But we’ll see what happens.”
Schwarber hit his league-leading 32nd home run on Wednesday against the Reds, which broke Mike Schmidt’s franchise record for most before the All-Star break.
Bryce Harper said he didn’t really want to do the Derby again, but decided to participate for the fans.Yong Kim / Staff Photographer
The fact that Harper has already won the Derby made him reluctant to compete again, but he said that he wanted to do it for Phillies fans. He officially announced his participation on Thursday night.
“I wasn’t really looking forward to it, to tell you the truth,” Harper said. “I didn’t really want to do it, but being able to do it for the fans, and doing it at home kind of took me to the point where I wanted to do it.”
Another thing initially holding Harper back was not having someone to throw to him. In 2018, Harper’s father pitched to him, but he needed to find someone else this year since his father hasn’t thrown in a while. He settled on Dodgers third base coach Dino Ebel, who crossed paths with Harper as a coach on the U.S. World Baseball Classic team this year.
Ebel happened to play a role in Schwarber’s All-Star Game MVP-winning performance last year. While he didn’t participate in the 2025 Derby, Schwarber still launched the most memorable home runs of the week. In the first-ever “swing off” to break the ninth-inning tie between the National League and American League in the All-Star Game, Schwarber hit three homers on three swings with Ebel pitching to him.
Phillies assistant hitting coach Rafael Pena will pitch to Schwarber on Monday.
The format of the Derby will look different compared to the last time Harper and Schwarber participated in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Rather than rounds based on timers, each participant will have a set number of swings. In Round 1, the maximum is 20 swings, while Round 2 and the final round will have 15 swings each.
“The clock, I really liked. I know a lot of guys didn’t like it because they got tired or got worn down from it. I didn’t see it that way,” he said. “I think the clock on it kind of brings that theater part to it.”
He also presented an idea to MLB where in the bonus round, the players would be able to use aluminum bats to see how far they could hit. (The children who traditionally shag balls in the outfield during the Derby would have to be removed for that part, of course.) The league declined.
“Seeing a ball go way up into the third deck or over Ashburn Alley completely or off a scoreboard, I think would have got a lot of eyes on it in a way that they’ve never had, besides the steroid era,” Harper said. “People want to see that kind of homer, right? You want to see Sammy Sosa putting it through the windows in Milwaukee, and people putting it over the wall in Fenway, hitting the Citgo sign or whatever it was. I think fans want to see that, so I think it’d have been pretty cool to have that opportunity.”
But even if aluminum bats won’t be involved, the Derby this season will involve Harper and Schwarber competing against Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker, Rays third baseman Junior Caminero, Yankees first baseman Ben Rice, Royals outfielder Jac Caglianone, and Red Sox first baseman Willson Contreras.
As for who the hometown crowd will back?
“They’d root for both of us,” Schwarber said. “I think they’d definitely root for both of us. I think it’d be just a straight cheer factory, so it wouldn’t be anyone against anyone, so I think it’d be pretty cool.”
Driving to West Philadelphia’s Shibam Coffee Co., Ayham Muhanna got a flat tire.
Muhanna, a rabid Morocco fan, wasn’t going to let that stop him from making it to the cafe, which was hosting a watch party for Morocco’s World Cup quarterfinal matchup against France.
“I love the community. I love the vibes out here,” Muhanna said. “We could have gone anywhere else, but we decided to come to Shibam. After coming here for the first time for the Egypt and Iran game, we saw that the energy was through the roof. We saw that the community was all here showing out and showing love.”
France’s Kylian Mbappe (center) reacts to being tripped by Morocco’s Issa Diop (left), during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match on Thursday.Stephanie Scarbrough
Although Morocco lost, 2-0, to France in Thursday’s match, the energy was palpable inside Shibam, a Yemeni coffee shop, as a mostly Morocco-supporting crowd packed the cafe. Yemen and Morocco, despite being thousands of miles apart, share many similarities in terms of language, culture, religion. During the World Cup, fans of each country tend to support one another. This was evident at Shibam, as most of the fans were members of the region’s vast diaspora.
The original Shibam Coffee Co. is based out of Dearborn, Mich., the only Arab-majority city in the United States. Fahad Azam is a part-owner of the West Philadelphia franchise, one of 19 Shibam locations in the country. While not a soccer fan himself, Azam saw an opportunity to further connect with the surrounding community by holding watch parties for the World Cup. The turnout for the first game blew away his expectations.
A packed house at Shibam Coffee in West Philadelphia is on hand to watch Morocco take on France in Thursday’s World Cup quarterfinal. Courtesy / Sam Foster
“It was a madhouse,” Azam said. “We didn’t know what we signed up for, but obviously we love the environment, we love the passion that everyone brings. We want to do more. The World Cup is not going to happen again next year. We wanted to show the community that we’re not just a coffee shop.”
That they did. Although Morocco’s offense was stagnant — France held a 22-5 shot advantage — the fans who packed into Shibam held out hope until the game’s final moments. The biggest crowd reaction came in the 28th minute after Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou denied France star Kylian Mbappé’s penalty attempt. Then, to start the second half, fans brought out tambourines and drums to lead the usually quiet coffee shop in song.
The line to get a coffee spanned the cafe. It was impossible to maneuver without bumping into multiple people. Nonetheless, when everyone rose to their feet in anticipation of a shot or as fans broke out into a rendition of Shakira’s “Waka Waka” after the pop star was shown on screen, any would-be negatives disappeared.
“I’m half Moroccan, so it’s always been in my family, supporting Morocco and coming out for them,” said Mahdi El-Hadi, a Newtown Square resident. “I’ve been a huge Morocco supporter since I was a kid. … We have the vibes; we have the music. We’re always super excited for every game.”
One watch party attendee, Yusra Aziz, owns a psychotherapy practice. At work, Aziz readily shares the importance of finding and embracing community to her clients. She listened to her own advice on Thursday. Aziz is the daughter of immigrants — her mother was born in Morocco while her father came over from Iraq. The joyful scene inside Shibam was a point of pride for her.
Fans in attendance at Shibam Coffee in University City for Thursday’s World Cup quarterfinal say that the sense of community was equally as important as the match between Morocco and France. Courtesy / Sam Foster
“When I was growing up, there was a lot of this type of vibe in our house,” Aziz said, gesturing to the crowd around her. “My family would host it. There would be a lot of our community members. When I was growing up, I could have only dreamed of having something like this. I did not see things like this growing up — cafes that were hubs for our community.
“It feels symbolic of what my parents did by coming here. They met here in Philadelphia, and I wouldn’t exist if they didn’t meet here. Looking at all these people here, I know that a lot of them are in similar circumstances. Their parents came here, and they were born here.”
Paul Carpenter grew up in Northwest Philly watching the 1993 Phillies take over the city as they claimed the National League East title.
Witnessing their success gave him inspiration for his first big project. At just 8 years old, the young artist stared at his bedroom wall, visualizing a blank canvas for his very first mural: a painting of the NL East champions.
Now, over three decades later, Carpenter has landed his “dream job,” designing Deer Park’s limited-edition All-Star Game aluminum bottles as the midsummer classic makes its way to Philadelphia.
“This just aligned perfectly for me,” Carpenter said. “Obviously, I’m a die-hard Philly sports fan. This being the All-Star Game, such a high-profile game, it’s just mind-blowing. A really great opportunity for me.”
Paul Carpenter created the design on the Deer Park limited-edition 2026 MLB All-Star aluminum bottles.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
Carpenter has created art his whole life and studied illustration in college at Delaware. After years doing design work for La Vida Hospitality and Liquid, Surf, Skate, Snow in Delaware, he made his way back to Philly in 2009.
Despite his experience designing beer cans for Crooked Hammock Brewery, there still were challenges printing the design.
“The scale was pretty hard to envision, and making sure that everything still’s readable, that the hierarchy of the design holds up and that the different layers of color came out correctly to make the design look exciting and make Philadelphia look great nationally,” Carpenter said. “But, basically, it’s a love letter to Philadelphia. I wanted to capture all the things that really resonate with our cultural fabric as a city.”
The design features iconic monuments like the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin holding a baseball bat. The city’s food culture is represented with images of cheesesteaks, crab fries, and soft pretzels. And there are plenty of Easter eggs for Philly natives — including a reference to the “Woohoo guy” and the William Penn curse.
“This was easy,” Carpenter said. “This was all low-hanging fruit. It’s all stuff that’s in my lexicon and visual language at this point.”
Now, Carpenter has a new challenge presented to him: recreating the design in mural form.
Carpenter has created over 30 murals — not including the one from his childhood bedroom — many of which are in the Philadelphia area, including 11 pillars at Xfinity Mobile Arena and one at Citizens Bank Park.
The toughest part about this the mural? “The scale.”
“They’re almost polar opposites,” Carpenter said. “The bottle is very small, 12 inches high, and vertically orientated. And the wall, we got is 2,700 square feet. So, basically, it was like cutting, chopping up the design, and redesigning it to a much different scale.
“When it’s on a scale of this magnitude and you’re walking down the street, it definitely impacts you differently. All of a sudden, instead of the water ice being tiny, it’s six feet tall.”
The design features iconic monuments like the Liberty Bell and Ben Franklin holding a baseball bat, the city’s food culture, and plenty of Easter eggs for Philly natives — including a reference to the “Woohoo guy” and the William Penn curse.Monica Herndon / Staff Photographer
It will take nearly two weeks for Carpenter to finish the mural, known as Hometown Grit, located on Oregon Avenue and South 20th Street. Throughout the process, he painted through all the elements, from thunderstorms to 100 degree heat. The finished product will be unveiled around 2 p.m. Saturday.
“I’m really looking forward to the interaction of seeing the neighborhood come together,” Carpenter said. “We’ve been interacting with people all week, and it’s really cool because a lot of the work is bringing the local culture and community together. That’s really the big part of my work, celebrating the city, and the people, and the cultural fabric of the city. There’s so much pride in Philadelphia. It’ll be cool to see that in real time.”
