These Jim Gardner fans toasted him with Fireball and a tailgate

How does Philadelphia commemorate a beloved broadcaster’s 46-year career? With shots of Fireball and a tailgate in a Target parking lot across from his studio.

“This is Philadelphia, we tailgate everything, so why not?” said Delaware resident Chris Miko, 36, who announced the tailgate to honor 6ABC newscaster Jim Gardner on Twitter in November 2021. “What is more in the spirit of celebration than a tailgate?”

The initial post garnered more than 1,600 likes but only the hard core braved temperatures in the low 30s Wednesday evening to gather in the parking lot off City Avenue. It was a smaller crowd than Miko imagined — roughly 15 people. He took solace in the fact that he drew some of the most hard-core fans of all ages.

Chris Foley, 25, made his T-shirt at 1 a.m. — a black-and-white photo of Gardner with “the voice of Philadelphia” printed on the back — and made the three-hour trip from State College to reminisce with like-minded fans.

The trip would have been worth it just for the story of saying he tailgated Gardner’s final broadcast, he said. Then Gardner came out.

As the newscaster turned the corner of the parking lot, his fans screamed “Jim’s coming!” with such intensity, one would have thought he was a Philadelphia Eagle.

In a long, elegant winter coat and without a hair out of place, the 74-year-old warmly greeted the group as the Action News theme song played in the background.

“You guys are crazy,” joked Gardner.

“I know we are!” Miko replied.

The interaction between the fans and their hero felt like a family reunion or birthday party.

East Falls resident Gwenn Vilade, 32, got to show off a T-shirt of vintage Gardner in front of the anchor desk. Cynthaya Johnson, founder of the nonprofit “Give Me My Roses,” which gives people their literal flowers while they’re alive, presented Gardner with a jumbo card signed by people at the tailgate. All got to take a group photo with Gardner, and 6ABC brought them wristbands, a Gardner cutout, and pizza while they watched the newscaster’s final broadcast together in the lot.

“He is literally everything you would expect,” said Foley. “He’s like the nicest, most genuine type of person asking everybody all the questions and it’s gonna be weird not seeing him on TV.”

Throughout the evening people shared their favorite memories of Gardner, though many had a hard time picking one newscast. They just remembered Gardner being with them during the bad and the good. Miko said it felt as if Gardner was celebrating with him during the newscast that followed the Eagles’ Super Bowl win.

Center City resident Amanda Nolan, who comes from what she calls a “6ABC family,” said his hearty laughs peppered in the newscasts are what made him memorable, something the 32-year-old only picked up while watching Gardner compilations on YouTube.

“I just always appreciated his human side of the broadcast, having fun, and it always felt like a family at 6ABC,” said Nolan.

Before leaving the tailgate to anchor the news, Gardner told reporters the end of this chapter was complicated for him, though he said he was touched by people’s kindnesses.

When asked if he’d been tailgated in his year of constant farewells, which include being honored on Capitol Hill and during 6ABC’s Thanksgiving Day parade broadcast, Gardner joked it had all become routine.

“Are you kidding? This is ridiculous, this is unbelievable,” he said, gesturing at the crowd.

“So thank you. Thank you for that.”

To end the very on-brand Philly tailgate, Gardner’s fans watched his final 6 p.m. broadcast from a TV set up in the parking lot. They clapped after Gardner bid everyone farewell and ended the evening with shots.