Santa Claus, batteries, blah blah blah...
The same old tired stories have combined to make up the exhaustingly unimaginative Philadelphia fan archetype - a boorish, likely drunken, loudmouth with no morals or scruples, willing to shout and taunt and fight if necessary as long as it means defending their beloved and yet, somehow at the same time detested sports franchises.
Surprise, surprise; a recent Sports Illustrated ranking still has Philadelphia fans, and more specifically, Eagles fans, as the most hated fan base in the NFL. Check out their reasoning below. Guess what incident they invoke first?
"It all started in December 1968, when those disenchanted fans of the Eagles sitting at Franklin Field decided that the best way to unleash their invective was to hurl snowballs at Frank Olivo, a 19-year-old man who stepped onto the field in a Santa Claus suit. The fans were disgusted because the then-lame franchise was winning too much at the end of the season-winning their way right out of the derby for USC's O.J. Simpson, who went to Buffalo as the first pick in the 1969 draft. Philadelphia took defensive back Leroy Keyes (who?) with the third pick, leaving Joe Greene on the board for the Steelers with the next selection.
"In 1998, the team installed a jail in the bowels of Veterans Stadium and hired a judge, the delightfully-named Seamus McCaffery, to preside over the rowdiest of an infamous bunch. And in 1999, several of Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin's teammates were understandably distressed when they thought Eagles fans were booing the future Hall-of-Famer as he lay on the field with the neck injury that ended his career. In truth, the fans were booing Deion Sanders, but the fact that they cheered as Irvin lay on the field motionless tells you all you need to know. Every fanbase is unfortunately defined by the minority who do stupid stuff like this, but it seems that Eagles fans are more defined than any other group."
The Irvin situation happened over a decade and a half ago and, to hear at least one person tell it, Olivo may have been as much at fault for his pelting as the fans - he was supposedly disheveled, dirty, and quite possibly drunk, though Olivo has since denied that. But the fans may have had an even better reason for being upset - the 1968 Eagles were terrible.
There's no denying that Philly is a tough place to play, not just for players on the opposing team, but for the home squad's players as well. There's a reason reports have emerged in recent days that quarterback Nick Foles, shipped to the Rams this offseason, was ill-equipped to handle the bright, burning spotlight of the Philly fan base and their overworked, ultra-defensive media.
And in some ways, it's hard to fault them. The city's last championship was the Phillies World Series win in 2008. Before that, the last Philly team to win a championship in one of the four major sports was the 76ers in 1982-83. In short, it's been a long, frustrating trip for Philly and Eagles fans. Whether that counts for something where angry, uncouth behavior is concerned, is up for debate. But there's no denying that years of falling just short and, in some instances, like with the Eagles, never having won a Super Bowl in the entire history of the franchise, will wear on a city and fanbase that have committed not just money, but time and emotion to teams that just don't seem to know how to come out on top.
Long story short; Philly fans may very well be the worst. Frankly, as a Philadelphia suburb native, I can attest to the validity of this ranking. I've seen players booed mercilessly. I've advised friends not to wear opposing team's colors to Lincoln Financial field. I've watched fans silly enough to wear a Mets jersey to Citizen's Bank Park, pelted with hot dogs and soda and trash as they try making their way to their seat in the nosebleeds.
But they represent a small sample size. Most Philly fans aren't drunken buffoons or angry instigators. Most are simply tired and frustrated and want desperately for their beloved team to finally get over the hump.
