DO IT. WE STILL HAVE SOME LEFT OVER. IF ANYONE WOULD LIKE ONE. YEAH, I LIKE THAT A LOT. YEAH. ALL RIGHT. WELL, KEEPING THINGS A BIT HOLY THIS EVENING, A FAMILY OF PHILADELPHIA FLIERS FANS SAYS THEIR TEAM’S RECENT HOT STREAK MAY BE BECAUSE THEY GAVE POPE LEO A BLACK AND ORANGE C1 C1 WHEN THEY WEREABLE TO CATCH THE POPE’S ATTENTION. YOU SAW C1 THAT WOULD PUT THEM C1 C1 LIKE, I CAN’T BELIEVE C1 AND THEN WE HAD C1 AWAY C1 HAVE C1 THIS C1 COINCIDENCES? I GUESS, C1 CHICAGO WHITE SOX. SO WHY WOULD HE POINT OUT A FLIERS JERSEY? WELL, OF COURSE, HE HAS TIES TO PHILLY. HE ATTENDED VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY, WHERE HE RECEIVED A BACHELOR
Flyers fans link team’s winning streak to gifting Pope Leo a custom jersey
Updated: 6:45 PM EDT Apr 10, 2026
A family of Philadelphia Flyers fans believes their team’s recent hot streak may be connected to a custom jersey they gifted Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican. Valerie Giacobbe and Jesse Gennett, from Media in Delaware County, were visiting family in Italy when they caught the pope’s attention. His team accepted the black and orange number 14 sweater they had made for him, featuring “Pope Leo” on the back. Flyers go on a runThat same night, March 18, the Flyers won their game, kicking off a three-game winning streak that brought their record to 9-3 over a stretch and moved them into an Eastern Conference playoff spot. Vatican moment draws attention”I mean, right when we did it, we were just kind of like in disbelief. We just kept rewatching the videos like can’t believe that happened. We’re like, nobody’s going to believe us. And then we like had clips of it. And then it was just weird. And I believe, like, right away, they, kind of went on, like, they won like three games,” Giacobbe said. “It’s crazy, the momentum that the Flyers have gained since giving him this jersey. It’s, it’s like, I said, it’s just surreal,” Gennett said. “Like, if you believe in coincidences, I guess, you know, this is the biggest one.” Pope’s sports tiesPope Leo, the first American pope, is known to be a big sports fan, particularly of the Chicago White Sox.His connection to the Flyers may stem from his ties to the Philadelphia area, as he attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977.
A family of Philadelphia Flyers fans believes their team’s recent hot streak may be connected to a custom jersey they gifted Pope Leo during a visit to the Vatican.
Valerie Giacobbe and Jesse Gennett, from Media in Delaware County, were visiting family in Italy when they caught the pope’s attention. His team accepted the black and orange number 14 sweater they had made for him, featuring “Pope Leo” on the back.
Flyers go on a run
That same night, March 18, the Flyers won their game, kicking off a three-game winning streak that brought their record to 9-3 over a stretch and moved them into an Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Vatican moment draws attention
“I mean, right when we did it, we were just kind of like in disbelief. We just kept rewatching the videos like can’t believe that happened. We’re like, nobody’s going to believe us. And then we like had clips of it. And then it was just weird. And I believe, like, right away, they, kind of went on, like, they won like three games,” Giacobbe said.
“It’s crazy, the momentum that the Flyers have gained since giving him this jersey. It’s, it’s like, I said, it’s just surreal,” Gennett said. “Like, if you believe in coincidences, I guess, you know, this is the biggest one.”
Pope’s sports ties
Pope Leo, the first American pope, is known to be a big sports fan, particularly of the Chicago White Sox.
His connection to the Flyers may stem from his ties to the Philadelphia area, as he attended Villanova University near Philadelphia, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1977.