The Eagles’ newest long-distance fan arrived in Philadelphia for the first time Wednesday evening. By Thursday, Thijmen Hendriks, 8, from the Netherlands, had already scored a team jersey. And that was just the beginning of his souvenir list.
“I think it’s going to be an expensive weekend,” said his father, Bram.
Thijmen (pronounced like “diamond” without the final D) and his dad came all the way from the Dutch city of Haarlem to join the NFL champions in the organization’s first Eagles Autism Challenge. The goal of the fundraiser, which began last September, is to support research for autism spectrum disorder, a disability that encompasses a wide range of social, communication, and behavioral challenges.