Philly Fans Suffering - From Self-Induced Bad Karma

I am a native Philadelphian. I am a Philadelphia sports fan. I am proud to be a Philadelphia sports fan. And man, there are times that I hate Philadelphia sports fans. There have been rumblings from amongst the Philadelphia sports faithful that there might be a curse at work against us, that the four (it's three if you discount the NHL as a non-major sport, an argument that carries more merit with me these days) major Philly sports teams are doomed to never again win a championship. They point to a lack of championships produced by any of the four (Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, Flyers) since 1983 as a sure sign that someone somewhere put the maloinks on us all. I don't believe in the "curse" theory. What I am beginning to believe in more and more these days is karma - and our karma as a fan base is pretty krappy. As the Hindu god Vishnu once said, paybacks are a bitch.

I will spare all of the tired references to Philly fans throwing snowballs at Santa Claus (and Jimmy Johnson for that matter) and how we have cheered badly injured opponents (see Michael Irvin). We complain when the national media repeatedly brings up these (and worse) examples of our collective fan behavior, but the truth is the nasty Philadelphia sports fan reputation is one we revel in. It is said by many that we are the most passionate fans in the country, and that the behavior exhibited by many in Philly is merely the result of being hungry for a winner. I can envision a new Snickers commercial based on this excuse-making: "throwing glass bottles at a Giants fan and his kids in the parking lot after a game - another side affect of hunger.").

One of my most vivid memories as a Philly sports fan is not of something that happened on any of the four teams' playing surfaces. This recollection is from an event that transpired on one of the ramps leading down from the 700 Level of the (thankfully) now-demolished Veterans Stadium during the late 80s. Chip Lohmiller of the Washington Redskins had just hammered through a game-winning field goal, sending the Eagles faithful to the exits in agony. Upon making my way through the exit tunnel, I found a group of 20-or-so Redskins fans exulting in their victory. It pissed me off that they were being as vocal as they were, and I traded some good-natured barbs with them while I waited for my friends to catch up with me.

There was one 'Skins fan in particular who was louder and more obnoxious than the others. He was a large black man, well over 350 pounds, and his number 44 Riggins jersey was stretched to its maximum capabilities. I remember the man's giant man-boobs bobbing up and down as he danced around the area that passed for a concourse yelling "Ya'll sorry!!! The Eagles be SORR-EEE!!! Y'all just sorry!!!". What happened next seemed to be out of a dream. Three Eagles fans, no lightweights themselves, came out of the exit way and saw this maroon-clad behemoth dancing and taunting us and didn't blink before reacting. One guy simply socked the fat Redskins fan in the eye and continued to pummel him (he fell down to the ground immediately) while the other 19 'Skins fans stood there, too horrified to react. His two friends began putting the boot to him while he lay on the ground yelping and semi-squealing for help. The last of the three Eagles fans stopped kicking and punching the man after only 10 seconds and walked over to the giant metal trash can that was chained to the wall. He motioned for me to approach and asked me to help him rip the trash can from the wall. We stomped and yanked the chain, freeing the trash can after about 30 seconds or so. After we got it free, he said "thanks", grabbed the trash can and took it over to the melee. A few of the Redskins fans thought about getting involved, but after surveying the scene (there were now a couple hundred mostly green-clad onlookers on the ramp) thought better of it - and just stood there staring. A couple of them ran down the ramp, presumably to either save their own lives or to get help. The guy with the trash can made his way through the mass on onlookers - and the beating stopped as soon as he made eye contact with his two partners. After the can was kicked over and emptied, the three men grabbed the 'Skins fan and stuffed him head-first into the trash can as best they could, turned it around and kicked the can down the ramp - sending the presumably near-unconscious loud-mouthed visitor rolling down towards the 600 Level. After watching the trash can roll out of sight, we all ran the other way. I remember thinking on the way down to the Pattison Ave. subway platform that it sure seemed as though this wasn't the first time these three guys (I would find out later that the three were from Fishtown) disposed of an opposing fan in this manner.

There are no fans in any other city across our great nation that focus on the negative more than my fellow Philadelphia sports fans. Tune in to sports talk radio after any Eagles game and hear the Philadelphia sports fan complain. We complain after losses, and sometimes justifiably so. However, we also complain after victories! Mike Schmidt, one of the greatest players in the history of baseball, a career Phillie, and my childhood hero has three quotes attributed to him that perfectly sum up the Philadelphia sports fan mentality. The first, and probably most famous: "Philadelphia is the only city, where you can experience the thrill of victory and the agony of reading about it the next day." The second is not as famous, but no less telling: "If you're associated with the Philadelphia media or town, you look for negatives. I don't know if there's something about their upbringing or they have too many hoagies, or too much cream cheese." The third cuts right to the heart of my argument: "You're trying your damndest, you strike out and they boo you. I act like it doesn't bother me, like I don't hear anything the fans say, but the truth is I hear every word of it and it kills me."

Isn't it time that we Philadelphians realize that there is more to providing a real home field advantage than simply trying to intimidate the visiting team and/or fans? A true home field advantage is created when the home fans give the home team a boost through their support. While it is true that professionals should be motivated to play regardless of what the people are doing in the stands, athletes perform better when they WANT to produce for the home crowd. Philadelphia fans are some of the most vocal and energetic in all of sports. But Philadelphia fans will also venomously turn on an athlete in a heartbeat - regardless of what they might have accomplished in their career (see Michael Jack Schmidt, Hall of Famer).

This is getting long, so I should probably get to my point. My point is that I am sick and tired of hearing the scores of Philadelphia fans whine and cry about how they "deserve" a championship. I am as championship and parade-starved as anyone in this city, but I do not believe this fan base deserves anything at this point. To deserve something implies that something has been earned. Chicago Cubs fans DESERVE some good fortune. Red Sox fans DESERVED the World Series title the team won in '04. Are there not thousands, nay, hundreds of thousands of loyal Philadelphia fans that truly stand behind their teams through thick and thin? Yes, there are. But those people have long been drowned out by the drunken (can anyone explain why it is a necessity to be slobbering and vomitously drunk in order to "enjoy" a football game?), violent, negative fan that has long been recognized as the "true" Philadelphia sports fan. The truth is that there is a long laundry list of evidence that suggests that Philly sports fans are maybe one evolutionary ladder rung above European soccer hooligans.

I went an Eagles-Chargers game in the late 90's out in Southern California pitting the Rodney Peete-led Birds against the Jim Harbaugh-led Bolts. The game was as boring as any football game I had ever witnessed. If memory serves, the Eagles lost 13-10. What struck me about the game was that there were at least 3000 fellow Eagles fans that made the trip - a great sign of fan loyalty. What was shameful was that 1500 of them seemed to be involved in fistfights. Southern Californians are the most laid-back easygoing people in the country! They don't fight at football games. They don't care! Yet here were hundreds of drunken rampaging Eagles fans starting fights all over the stadium. One guy a few rows behind where we were sitting threw a beer on a lady after she and her husband politely asked him to stop cursing and spitting (drooling?) on their son. He punched the lady, got swarmed by stadium security and looked at me (I was wearing my jersey) for help. Sorry bro. You are on your own. I was truly embarrassed by the behavior of my fellow Eagles fans out there. It was a disgrace.

The barbarian Philly fan angle was played up by every media outlet imaginable leading up to the October 8th Eagles-Cowboys game, and the return to Philadelphia of Terrell Owens. Once the town's favorite Eagle (he was regularly serenaded with a European soccer chant changed to sing his initials), he was now being blamed by an entire city for last year's poor showing by the team (a 6-10 record). The national media told and re-told all of the old horror stories, and featured some of the more colorful screaming-mutant calls to 610 WIP. Funny how they left out all of the calm, rational callers... It felt as though the national media WANTED someone to do something stupid to justify the national obsession with the "evil" Philadelphia sports fan. But a funny thing happened on the way to another black mark on the city's sports reputation. No one threw anything at T.O. Fans let him have it verbally, but there were no arrests for assault. It probably helped that the Eagles won the game, but this should still be credited as serious progress. Maybe we are evolving after all.

This past Sunday, the Eagles suffered a loss that registered a 9-out-of-10 on the Philly Disappoint-o-Meter. The Eagles gave away their second game of the year, and they deserved the criticisms that have been raining down on them since the moment a 62-yard miracle field goal went through the uprights to beat them. Philly fans and media types did what it is they do - begin playing the blame game. I am not saying that I want people in this town to let up on their passion. I am not saying that I don't criticize Philly teams for their performances (I do) or get upset after a disappointing development on the field, court or ice (I most definitely do). What I am saying is that we as a city need to ease up on the negativity.

Athletes today are more mentally and emotionally fragile than they have ever been. The player who thrives while being afraid to make a mistake is a rarity. Turning on a guy when he is struggling does not motivate them to play better. If anything it probably causes them to press. If I had a dollar for every time a fellow Philadelphia sports fan has said something along the lines of "Yo, that guy stunk while he was here. We get rid of him and now look how good he is doing!", I would be a very rich man. Without getting too scientific about it, it would appear that the ratio of players who performed better after coming to play in Philly compared to the number of players whose output increases after leaving Philly is ridiculously weighted towards the latter. I don't believe it is even close. Now, one has to wonder - why is that?

Should everyone in Philly stop booing? No, they shouldn't. Booing has its place. Pat Burrell deserved some booing this year. Scott Rolen should be booed every time he comes here. Same with J.D. Drew, Kobe Bryant and T.O. Philly fans should continue to intimidate opposing teams, and giving visiting fans the business is fair game as well as long as it stops short of vulgarities and/or violence. Throwing beer, bottles or punches at someone for having the gall (stupidity?) to wear an opposing team's jersey in our houses is completely uncalled for. It is assualt, pure and simple, and people who perform these acts should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Stupid plays that occur during a game should be met with a vocal response from the fans, but every failure or loss shouldn't be followed by hundreds of call to sports talk radio calling for someone's head. Even though the Eagles lost, it doesn't mean Any Reid "stinks" (he is a very good coach) or that Donovan McNabb is "horrible" (he isn't, most teams in the NFL would kill to have him wearing their uniform). I am so tired of the knee-jerk reacting that the bulk of our fan base does after almost every game. I am also tired of the argument that the crass behavior of Philly fans is due to "20-plus years of losing". It's bunk. Philly fans were hard even in the early 80's when all of our teams were playing for championships. We need to tweak our reputation, even if it is only slightly. We want good players to want to play here. How else are we ever going to get over the hump? Who really wants to play for people that will turn on them as soon as they hit a rough stretch? We can still be tough fans while upping the positive support somewhat. If we don't, all we'll have to be "proud" of is our reputation - because there probably won't be any championships to hang our collective hats on.

[Currently Listening: Buck O Nine - "My Town"]