There are many great sports cities in the United States and depending on where you live, sports can be a major part of the culture. Franchises strive for playoff berths, championships, bragging rights, dynasties and TV ad money.
But what about the fans? The guys and gals in the seats who fork over thousands of dollars for season tickets, or bleacher creatures with painted faces who sometimes go shirtless in below freezing temps. What about them?
For many fans it is not all about championship titles or playoff berths but about loyalty, passion and tradition. With that in mind, Philadelphia pops into mind as the U.S. City with the best fans.
Philadelphia has a proud professional sports tradition, teams in all the four major sports, an inordinate number of sports bars, a plethora of sports radio stations, not to mention sporting goods stores that typically sell out of team jerseys.
Philadelphia is also one of just three cities in which one team from every league plays within city limits.
Not to mention that in 1980, Philadelphia became the only U.S. city where all four major sports teams (The Eagles, Flyers, Phillies and 76ers) played for their respective championship.
For visiting pro athletes and their fans that make the trip, Philadelphia being known as “The City of Brotherly Love,” is extreme irony.
In more than one poll conducted by Sports Illustrated NFL players admitted to hating the Eagles fans the most than any other city, citing them is being loud, obnoxious, booing specialists.
Eagles fans have behaved beyond poorly in the past. There are too many lows to name but fans cheering Michael Irvin’s career ending neck injury after an awkward hit at Veterans stadium in 1999 deserves a shout out.
Birds fans have also been linked to throwing snowballs at opponents, which in some cases led to lawsuits, but not before they were thrown into a jail that was built in the underbelly of Veterans stadium to contain South Philly’s rowdiest, die-hard fans. And let us not forget Eagles fans viciously pelting Santa Claus with snowballs during halftime in 1968.
Flyers fans are no better. Just ask Sarah Palin, who was infamously booed off the ice at the beginning of a 2008 game. The self-proclaimed “Hockey Mom” and Vice Presidential candidate was caught off guard.
There was also the female Phillies fan who was busted for offering sex in exchange for World Series tickets and who could forget the tot, who was caught on camera swigging beer from a bottle in-between innings.
Bad behavior aside Philadelphia sports fans are considered to be some of the most knowledgeable, passionate, loyal fans in the United States.
Basketball phenom LeBron James has gone on record praising Philly’s fanatical fan base.
“It’s mutual respect. I love these fans here. They’re unbelievable,” James said. “They know sports. Obviously they love their teams. They love the Flyers. They love the Sixers. They love the Eagles. They love the Phillies. They respect the game and it doesn’t matter who it is, they respect that and there is mutual respect.”
Philadelphia’s sports teams have won a combined total of seventeen championships. The Eagles, founded in 1933, three championships all came pre-Super Bowl, but they still count. The Flyers two Stanley Cups occurred in 1974 and 1975. The 76ers has three championship titles under their belts and the Phillies last World Series win came in 2008 but the city’s most successful team no longer plays in the city. Between 1910 and 1930 the Philadelphia Athletics won five World Series during that period and was the only team to challenge the New York Yankees for American League dominance. The Philadelphia Warriors basketball team also won two championship titles before moving to San Francisco.
Philadelphia has consistently produced Grade-A athletes for its fans to be fanatical about. Julius Dr. J Erving, Moses Malone, Terrell Owens, Randall Cunningham, Len Dykstra, Pete Rose, Reggie White, Mike Schmidt, Eric Lindros, Allen Iverson, Bobby Clarke and Donovan McNabb are just a few great athletes who have called Philadelphia home.
Whatever you have to say about Philadelphia sports fans, one thing cannot be denied. They are a passionate crowd.
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