I’m the Eagles Fan of the Year. The roots of my family’s love for the team run deep.

What does it feel like to be the 2022 Eagles Fan of the Year — officially, the team’s biggest fan? It feels like I won the lottery.

I’ve been going to Eagles games since before I could walk. My dad, Allen Auerbach, was a season ticket holder dating back to the early ‘90s when the Eagles were in Veterans Stadium. Some of my favorite memories growing up are of sitting in those seats next to my dad, cheering on our favorite team.

My dad taught me to embrace these moments of joy with your family because he knew how hard life can be. His mother gave birth to him in an American Red Cross camp in Germany just after World War II ended; she lost her parents and five siblings during the Holocaust. She brought my father here at age 2 and pursued and achieved the American Dream. I am just the next generation of that dream, trying to make my dad and Bubby proud.

In 2013, my dad transferred two of his four season tickets to me. If the Eagles made it to the Super Bowl, he said, he wanted to have better odds that at least one of us would get a ticket to the big game through their lottery system for season ticket members. We made it to the Super Bowl in 2018, but neither of us won the season ticket lottery. Unfortunately, my dad died two months later, but at least he got to see the Eagles win the Super Bowl on TV.

My story is all about family and passing down the love of the Eagles from generation to generation. Now, I often watch the games with my son, daughter, and wife, sitting in the same seats I used to sit in with my old man.

As principal at Mount Pleasant Elementary in Wilmington, a Title I school (meaning many students come from low-income households), I start each day with mindfulness during my daily announcements over Zoom. But when an Eagles game is coming up, we always sing the Eagles chant.

I experienced one of the biggest surprises of my life when, one morning in November, as I was doing the morning announcements, defensive end Brandon Graham came onto the screen. “I want to congratulate your principal, Mr. Auerbach, for being our 2022 Eagles Fan of the Year,” Graham announced to the entire school. “Thank you for being such an awesome Eagles fan, and I hope you have a great day. Go Birds!”

Unbeknownst to me, my wife had submitted my application to become Eagles Fan of the Year. Speechless, I traveled to our auditorium where Eagles cheerleaders, staff, and my family greeted me and handed me a pair of tickets to Super Bowl LVII.

It’s been a great year to be the Eagles’ biggest fan. Since November, I’ve had field access to three home games and even got to be in the tunnel with my son, bumping fists with the likes of Jason Kelce and Brandon Graham. I got to meet the ESPN crew on Monday Night Football and got signatures of NFL greats like Steve Young, RG III, Alex Smith, and more.

“It’s been a great year to be the Eagles’ biggest fan.”

Possibly the greatest moment of the season was after the NFC championship game. Fighting back the tears of the emotional win, I waited by the field with my son to see if I could use my Fan of the Year status to get on the field to join the celebration. Security was tight, but then I saw one of my son’s heroes, Dallas Goedert, approaching us in the stands. He came over to us, and with his huge hand, took my son’s hand into his and then proceeded to sign his autograph on a poster my son made for this special game — “Fly Eagles Fly, On the Road to AZ!” My son will never forget that moment, and neither will I.

I knew that my dad was watching over the two of us, singing that Eagles chant and loving every minute.

The week ahead will be filled with once-in-a-lifetime experiences. I can’t think of a better way to show my appreciation and love for my wife, who helped me become Eagles Fan of the Year, than to bring her with me to the big game.

Family first. I can hear my dad saying that in my head, just as I can imagine Coach Nick Sirianni imploring the same message to his players. If we don’t, we leave our loved ones — family and friends — at the mercy of the world around them. They might even become a Cowboys fan, and we can’t have that.

Go Birds!

Matt Auerbach is the principal at Mount Pleasant Elementary in Delaware. You can vote for him for NFL Fan of the Year until 11:59 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 8.