It was a cold, snowy winter day on December 15, 1968 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. The two-win Philadelphia Eagles were hosting the Minnesota Vikings on their home turf. To much surprise, the game was not the center of attention that day. It was on that infamous day, Philadelphia fans were given their notorious reputation as the worst fans in sports.
Because of the impending Christmas holiday, the Philadelphia Eagles had plans to have Santa Claus come out during halftime to entertain all of the eager fans at Franklin Field that day. Although, a snowstorm had hit the area the day of the game, making it impossible for the big man to make it to the game. Therefore, the Eagles entertainment director stepped in, approaching a fan in the stands who was dressed as Santa Claus that day.
Just like the Eagles’ season that year, things started to slip away fast, very fast. Santa stepped onto the field, only to be greeted by hundreds of irrational, booing fans. It only took a few moments before a snowball flew onto the field in Santa’s direction. One snowball turned into hundreds, giving Philadelphia fans the reputation that it still upholds today.
But in defense of the Philadelphia faithful, they are not the worst fans nor are they maliciously mean; they are just flat out passionate. On that cold day, the Eagles were losing and the season was not going the way they wanted, therefore they were already stirred up.
Philadelphia just wants to win and if you don’t give that winning product on the field, the team representing the city will hear it. The fans in Philadelphia don’t boo just because they want to, they boo to push the teams that represent their city to be the best.
Yes, this passionate fan base has had its downs, but it certainly has had its ups as well. Back in 2011, the Phillies were playing the New York Mets on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball when fans across the stadium got the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed. The fans at Citizens Bank Park, fans of both the Phillies and Mets, united together and broke out in chanting “U.S.A.!”
The loyalty in the city has been recognized nationally before as well, as the city was once voted the number one hockey city in America, thanks to the tremendous following of the Philadelphia Flyers.
Back in the Phillies glory days in the late 2000s, the Phillies sold out 257 straight games. Most recently, the city of Philadelphia hosted the NFL draft, which was the most attended in history. The city came out in full force with over 250,000 people lining the Ben Franklin Parkway to welcome the future of the NFL. Whether they were Eagles fans, Giants fans or Cowboys fans, everyone came together for three days to make history.
Although these fans have been put down for years for being the worst, there needs to come a point where they are recognized as the best, and this is that time. Every time you turn on a Philadelphia Eagles game, the announcers cannot go one game without mentioning that fabled day in 1968. Thats correct, 1968. Something that happened almost fifty years ago still plagues the city to this day.
But what happens when these passionate fans do something positive? It goes completely unnoticed to those outside of Philadelphia. Everything draws back to that cold winter day in 1968, where hundreds of drunk fans threw snowballs at Santa.
Therefore, it is time to give these fans a break. Yes, there may have been many times were these fans have seemed a bit rough, but they only do it for the love they have for their city. No matter where you live, what city doesn’t want the best of the best to represent them.
Living in Philadelphia comes with a distinct sense of pride, one that cannot be found in any other city in the United States. This great city of “Brotherly Love” may show the love they have for the teams that represent them in an odd way to some. But at the end of the day, it is only because they truly love their city.
