100-year-old Flyers fan invited to join team photo

BURLINGTON COUNTY, N.J. (FOX 29) - It was a major moment for a 100-year-old Flyers fan when he got to join the team's photo.

FOX 29 Photojournalist Bill Rohrer shares how the Flyers honored one of their biggest fans.

Every year, the Philadelphia Flyers get together at center ice for a team photo. Sometimes the team invites special guests to sit in.

Andy Andreola has to be the oldest fan if he's not the biggest. The Flyers joined the NHL in 1967 and Andy has had tickets ever since.

His love of hockey started early, growing up in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He played hockey well enough to land a spot on the Dutch national team after World War II.

If the team wasn't playing well Andy would let them know it. He would write letters to the late Flyers Chairman Ed Snider. Sometimes, he got a response back.

This year, one of the team's guests was Andy. He sat in his wheelchair and everyone that went by stopped and talked to him.

After over 50 years of being a fan, Andy was treated like a member of the team. It was hard to block the smile on Andy's face.