He took the hit like a champ.
Over the weekend, a video went viral showing an energetic football fan running into a concrete pole on the subway as he tried to get a train full of Philadelphia Eagle fans pumped up for the playoffs.
The 26-second video taken before the game on Sunday has been viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube and turned 42-year-old Jigar Desai into an internet star.
Desai, who works at a pharmaceutical company, said he initially tried denying that he was the overzealous fan who tackled a pole – and lost – but after his family and friends kept texting him about it he decided to own up to it, Deadspin reports.
The short clip shows a packed train of NFL fans moving slowly along a station platform as the Eagles fan, wearing a number 20 jersey, sprints alongside it
‘I was pregaming at my brother’s place. He lives in South Philly.
‘We watched the Pats-Jaguars game, then headed down to the Linc. And a train was leaving the Linc and going into Center City; we were waiting for a train coming on the platform across from it. And I just saw Eagles fans, and it got me all excited,’ he explained.
‘At the end of it, when I was running toward the train I just wanted to give a final: ‘Go Birds!’ to the folks that were there. And that’s when the pole made a great tackle.’
Desai, a season ticket holder, said he’s a little sore but doesn’t think he needs to see a doctor.
‘It’s just in the shoulder, arm, chest area and I feel better this morning than I did yesterday,’ he said. ‘Hopefully that will continue.’
A second video of the incident shows that Desai hit the side of the train as it was leaving the station before he fell on the ground.
The married father told Deadspin that he’s glad all he suffered was a few bruises.
‘I feel very fortunate and very lucky that nothing worse had happened. It’s a little bit of a blur for me. Yeah, I hit the pole, I was on the ground and I got right up,’ he said. ‘But after seeing that second video where I actually hit the subway train it made me rethink a lot of things. I am very lucky.’
But he then slams into a concrete pole which he had apparently not seen and then falling to the ground. Desai said he injured his shoulder, arm and chest in the incident
The Philadelphia Eagles, led by quarterback Nick Foles (pictured) won the NFC Championship against the Minnesota Vikings and will head to the Super Bowl next month
Desai told NBC that his post-game celebration was a lot calmer, but his platform run video is a reflection of how passionate and excited Eagle fans are.
‘The passion is there,’ he said. ‘It reflects the passion of the entire city. We are good fans.’
The Eagles went on to win Saturday’s NFC Championship game 38-7 against the Minnesota Vikings for a spot in the Super Bowl next month.
They will play the New England Patriots, reigning Super Bowl champs, on February 4.