As one born and raised in the city of Brotherly Love, I spent a lot of my days on the playground, chillin' out, maxin' and relaxin' all cool, occasionally shootin' some b-ball outside of school. When I wasn’t at the playground, though, I found myself drawn to watching and/or attending sporting events. As the youngest of five, and the only girl, I didn’t have much of a choice in liking sports. But I’m convinced that I would have been just as obsessed with sports even if I hadn’t been coerced into it by my older siblings and my sports fanatic parents.
For as long as I can remember, whenever one of the Philadelphia teams was playing (even the 76ers for a time), my family was watching. It wasn’t a matter of who we were playing or if we thought it would be a good game, but rather we watched because they were our team and no matter the outcome we would support them thereafter.
When in attendance of games or watching at a local restaurant or bar, it was always and is still, refreshing to be in a place surrounded by people who are cheering for the same team. Of course, there are those that root for the opposing team but they dare not combat a crowd of loyal Philadelphia sport fans alone. While I’m sure the comradery among fans of other cities’ teams may be apparent, I can only speak on behalf of my city and my fans; and there is no doubt that we have an aura about us that cannot be imitated.
Outsiders agree that we are one of a kind; however, their agreements have negative connotations.
Yes, we cheer loudly. Yes, we drink beer. Yes, we enjoy heckling our opponents. And yes, we’ve been guilty of engaging in some reckless behavior, but what fans haven’t?
When has it ever been a bad thing to cheer loudly for your team? Isn’t that the idea? Most of the fun in attending sporting events is creating an atmosphere that not only the players enjoy playing in, but also one that the opposing team feels threatened by. The sounds of the stadium are what make watching a game in person an experience completely different from watching it on television.
We enjoy a tailgate, so what? I’m convinced that the ridicule here stems from jealousy. I’m convinced that not many tailgates can compete with those orchestrated by Philadelphians. We will spend hours prior to games in parking lots cooking up a storm, enjoying cold beer, and most importantly, bonding with neighboring taligaters. We have exponentially greater tailgates than those of other fans. If you’ve yet to experience one, please don’t pass judgment until you have.
We’ve often also been ridiculed for the aggressiveness we exercise towards opposing fans. I cannot say that there are fans that have gone to extreme measures to defend our teams, but every city is equipped with these dim-witted individuals who tend to go too far. As for those who participate in harmless banter, is this action singular to Philadelphia sports fans? Absolutely not. Sporting events are the optimum setting for people to express their hatred for the opposing team and their fans.
It seems unfair to patronize Philadelphians for some questionable behavior, but refuse to do the same of other fans. There are a plethora of fans that have done the unthinkable and ran onto the field during games, yet many only seem to remember the Phillies fan who did so because he was apparently the first victim of tazing by authorities.
Arguably, the most noted thing that Philadelphia fans are degraded for is the 1968 incident at Veterans Stadium, where fans threw snow balls at Santa Claus during an Eagles game. What are seemingly never mentioned though, are the similar behaviors that were reported by Jets and Giants fans; and these ended in lawsuits.
Most Philadelphians would agree that the nature of our fans has been topic of conversation in a multitude of settings in the presence of a variety of people. If you’re a true Philadelphian, which most who are born and raised claim to be, you will defend your fellow fans every time they are subject of scrutiny. We Philadelphians stick together, whether in times of winning seasons, losing streaks, or outside criticism. We are dedicated to our teams and will revel in the reputation as being the “worst fans” if that means continuing on as is and having a hell of a time while we support the teams we know and love no matter how many times they break our hearts.
