E-A-G-L-E-S, EAGLES!

For those of you who know me, it comes as no surprise that Ernie and I are avid Philly sports fans.  Phillies, Eagles, Sixers.  Flyers too, but not as much.  I find watching hockey on tv hard to do…where is that puck?  I know I am not alone in that, because for a time they tried to use a graphic that highlighted where the puck was, but that was just distracting and didn’t really work out well. 

If someone gives me tickets to a Flyers game, though, I’m there.  And will def root for them and watch them, if and when they ever make it to the playoffs or a championship game ever again. 

I am, after all, old enough to remember when the Flyers won the 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup.  I was 11 and 12 years old then and watched every game.  Who didn’t love Bobby Clarke and Bernie Parent?  My sister made a photo album of pictures she took of the game and the team off the tv when they won in 1974.

I still remember running out to our street in Havertown, up to the corner of Marthart Ave and Darby Road and watching a whole town celebrating and one guy who streaked.  That was the first time I ever saw a naked man.  Thankfully, it didn’t scar me too much, lol.  Yeah, those were the days.  So, still love the Flyers.  Just don’t participate in it to the degree we do with the Phillies, Eagles and Sixers.

But I digress.  Let’s get back to the point of this story.  What is the point you are wondering?  The passion of being a Philly sports fan is the point.

It’s been written about and discussed ad nauseum forever now.  Our reputation is both revered and hated.  On the positive side, it’s awe and respect for a fan base who fanatically loves and supports their teams.  We bleed midnight and kelly green, red, and orange.  We are there through thick and thin.  We are honest.  We hold our teams accountable and will let them know when we think they are stinking, or not giving it their all. But we stick by them even in those situations, never abandoning them. 

On the other side, we are viewed as horrible, awful, obnoxious fans who throw snowballs at Santa.  And yes, for a time, there was a jail for disorderly conduct situations at the Vet.  Even at the Linc when it first opened.  But apparently, we have learned to behave ourselves a bit, so it’s gone now. Opposing teams don’t want to have to play us at home because of us. We are a factor.

I can’t say as I ever really bought into the hype in either direction.  I truly didn’t think we were that different from other sports fans, really.  Doesn’t everybody love and support their teams? Are we really that unique here in Philly? I wasn’t sure.

Well, well, well.  Now we are really getting to the point of this story.  I learned first-hand that, no.  Not all fans are the same in every city.  We are in fact unique in our passion.  I learned this because in recent years Ernie and I have taken to travel to see our teams play.  We’ve been to a few cities now to watch either the Eagles or the Phillies play and nowhere that we have been yet even comes close to our Philly passion.

Take Green Bay.  Ernie and I went to Green Bay pre-covid when Carson Wentz was still the QB.  Carson was starting to be inconsistent and who knew what to expect in a matchup against Aaron Rodgers in his home field.  There were a good amount of Eagles fans at the game.  (Another example of Philly fandom—no other fans travel the way Philly fans do.  Last year, at the Eagles vs Houston game in Houston, the Houston fans sitting next to us remarked, “This is our first away game” as the stadium contained more Eagles fans than the home team).  Two women wore Philadelphia Cream Cheese hats that they made.  Hey, when in Wisconsin.  It was brilliant.

The game was not going well.  It looked like we were going to lose.  Until, in incredibly exciting fashion, Carson Wentz pulls off some magic and we pull off a come from behind win right at the end of the game. 

Well you can imagine the giddiness we Eagles fans felt and how crazy we went.  Did I mention that there were a lot of us there?

On our way out of the stadium, I stood in the concourse waiting for Ernie to exit the bathroom. A horde of Eagles fans went by and broke out into our Eagles chant.  I of course joined in with much joy , abandon, and in as loud a voice as possible (is there any other way?).  After the chant though, I realized I was standing next to a woman who was a little older than me, and who was a Green Bay fan.

I turned to her and apologized for singing the chant (I did not want to contribute to the obnoxious Philly fan narrative, lol).  This is where it hit me like the proverbial ton of bricks that we Philly fans are unique.  She put her arm around me, smiled and said, “Oh you go right ahead and sing your song.  Why shouldn’t you? You won! Congrats on winning!”

Toto, we aren’t in Philly.  I stood there, a bit confused and dumbfounded.  Clearly, I have been forged in the fires of Philly fandom for too long.  That was something that would never happen at the Linc if the opposing team won.

I feared for her if she were ever to make a trip to the Linc for a game.  “Do not break out into song if your team wins,” I wanted to warn her.  “Just get up and leave as quietly as you can, and avoid making eye contact with any Eagles fan.”

Then there was the time we went to a Mets vs Phillies game at Citi Field.  We were sitting out in the bleacher section.  It was a hot, summer day.  A lot of people were drinking a lot of beer.  Utley was hitting the ball out of the park in Utley’s Corner in fine fashion and we won the game.  Shouldn’t be a problem, right? Phillies fans happy with the win, we all cheer, yay! 

One young man, Phillies fan, behind us reacted to something a Mets fan said.  Next thing you know the Phillies fan guy is pushing and shoving the Mets fan.  Philly fan guy may have thrown a punch or two. 

When the cops came over to arrest Philly fan guy, he says jauntily, with a grin on his face, “That’s how we do it in Philly.”  I mean, we won the game, and we still need to defend our honor in the face of anything or anyone that would besmirch it.

So yeah.  Philly sports fan passion.  It’s real.  It’s unique. It’s fun and fantastic (a.k.a phun and phantastic).  I wouldn’t want it any other way. 

And here we are, the Eagles are 4-0 and the Phillies are on the brink of another World Series if we can get past Atlanta. 

And we Philly fans? We keep dancing on our own. Nobody likes us, we don’t care.