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2:41 AM Sat, Dec 27, 2008 | Permalink
David Marcus
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I have been to many stadiums and arena's in both a personal and professional capacity. There's only been one city in which I've ever felt unsafe as a spectator.
Philadelphia.
Four years ago, a friend of mine in Philadelphia invited me to the Cowboys/Eagles game on Monday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field. At the time, T-O had just been suspended from the Eagles and Philly fans were not happy. Drew Bledsoe was the Cowboys' starting quarterback. I gladly accepted her offer.
I should have known something was up when I boarded the plane for Philly on a Friday at DFW Airport. I was very innocently wearing a DeMarcus Ware jersey, going about my own business. While standing in line to board the plane, a man walked up to me...looked just like your typical businessman or executive. I still remember his words.
"Be careful Monday night...we're in a pretty bad mood right now."
Consider yourself warned, right? Hardly the way I wanted to begin my trip to the City of Brotherly Love.
In any case, my weekend in Philly started off innocently enough. My friend and I had dinner Friday night at a local sports bar. I felt I was conducting a kind of psychological experiment, wearing my Ware jersey out to dinner. To my shock, the surrounding patrons were generally pretty respectful. I felt there was some respect for my fearlessness at wearing a Cowboys jersey in the heart of Eagles country.
At one point, the bar's owner stopped by the table and engaged me in a long philosophical discussion about why Eagles fans hate Cowboys fans. It was a true eye-opener about jealousy, fame, and the power of the almighty dollar. When the discussion was over, I understood the mentality of the Philly fan a little better.
Make no mistake about it- Eagles fans despise the Cowboys. But they may despise Cowboys fans even more.
According to Eagles fans I spoke to that weekend, Cowboys fans are considered to be stuck-up, wealthy, arrogant, self-entitled, and rude. Interesting, that one segment of fans can be so readily stereotyped across the board. During my three days in Philly, I had several discussions with Eagles diehards, and tried to show them a different side of Cowboys fans, at least to them. I felt I had succeeded....that is, until game night.
On our way to the stadium, my friend told me that her seats are season tickets. Instantly, I felt a little safer. I remember telling her something to the effect of, "How bad can it really be then?" She didn't agree with my assessment and proceeded to tell me some nightmare stories about visiting fans at "The Linc" who have been treated viciously by Eagles supporters. She told me that she witnessed a father have to console his young crying daughter, after a group of Eagles fans cursed and screamed at her throughout the game. She told me that it doesn't matter how big or small you are...you will receive extreme abuse if you are noticed as a fan of the visiting team at Lincoln Financial Field.
And a Cowboys fan? Even worse.
And to think, it was much worse at the old Veterans' Stadium...the only stadium in the NFL to have its own temporary judge, court, and jail below the stands. No joke.
I've been a sports anchor/reporter for the last 14 years, but have always been a Cowboy fan. When not working, I may occasionally be found wearing a Cowboys jersey. It's hard to ditch allegiances to your hometown team, regardless of journalistic duties. I don't feel my fandom prevents me from being impartial...if anything, it enhances my interest in being fair and balanced. If anything, I'm simply passionate and involved. We all want the Cowboys to succeed. It makes life more interesting for all of us. With that in mind, I put on my DeMarcus Ware jersey and walked with my friend from our car in the satellite parking lot at Lincoln Financial Field.
Instantly, I felt like I was wearing a target on my back. The jeers and cursing started almost immediately. I can't repeat what was said, but I was a bit stunned. As soon as tailgaters noticed me, the downpour of expletives began. Teenagers, senior citizens, parents, kids...fans of all ages...all began screaming at me at the top of their lungs.
Welcome to Lincoln Financial Field, eh?
And worse of all, my so-called "friend" began joining in with the cursing chant against me. She apparently thought it was very funny. I, on the other hand, did not.
Once I walked into the stadium itself, I felt a little bit safer...relatively speaking. What makes going to an Eagles game wearing a visiting uniform so scary, is how lax the security personnel seem. I remember walking up to a security officer in my section and asking him (with a little tongue in cheek) to keep his eyes out for me during the game. The officer said something like he "couldn't guarantee anything" and to expect a good deal of abuse from the fans. He said it would be an "interesting experience" for me.
Not exactly confidence-inspiring.
As kickoff neared, we found our seats. To my horror, they were in the upper deck of the stadium...an area traditionally containing the worst of any stadium's residents. An elderly woman wearing a Brian Dawkins jersey seated next to me offered me a leftover hot dog from her tailgate party, and I politely declined, partially out of fear. There's no way the hot dog would have been laced with something, right? Right?
Now you're understanding the level of my paranoia. Philadelphia can do that to you.
Before the game began, I walked to the concession area to get a drink. The line was long...I was in jeopardy of missing kickoff. A man in an Eagles jersey ran up to me and screamed, "You're in our house now baby." Actually, there were a couple of "other" words he said as well....unprintable here, I'm afraid.
When I returned to my upper deck section and walked up the stairs to my seat, a sight I shall never forget...the entire section (and I do mean entire section of fans) began serenading me with some cursing in unison, the same cursing I had heard in the parking lot. I looked down at my diet coke. It was shaking and spilling out onto the concrete.
I already felt like the Eagles fans had won.
Oddly enough, once the game began, much of the torment ended. Fans were too fixated on the game at hand. I did notice something interesting: some other Cowboy fans around me were being subjected to cursing and screaming far worse than I had endured. I was largely ignored.
I asked my friend why I wasn't being singled out as much as the fans seated around me. My friend told me that was because the fans suspected I was from Texas...and not a "fair weather" Cowboy fan from Bucks County, Pennsylvania or nearby New Jersey. Eagles fans apparently save their worst disdain and anger for those locals who stray from the flock...and migrate to become Cowboy fans. Once my friend explained this to me, I gleefully took out my Texas Drivers' License and showed it to a couple of fans seated next to her. They nodded and even shook my hand.
It seems there's a kind of odd respect in Philly for Cowboy fans who are actually from Texas. Hatred, sure...but respect. There's no respect for Cowboy fans who actually live in Philly.
As for the game itself, the Cowboys trailed much of the way, but Donovan McNabb threw a late interception which was returned for a touchdown, and the Eagles fell.
I wasn't totally insane....I put on a jacket over the Ware jersey as I walked out of the stadium.
I never spoke to my Philly friend after that day ever again.
Sad, but true.
Welcome to Philadelphia.
David Marcus
I have been to many stadiums and arena's in both a personal and professional capacity. There's only been one city in which I've ever felt unsafe as a spectator.
Philadelphia.
Four years ago, a friend of mine in Philadelphia invited me to the Cowboys/Eagles game on Monday Night Football at Lincoln Financial Field. At the time, T-O had just been suspended from the Eagles and Philly fans were not happy. Drew Bledsoe was the Cowboys' starting quarterback. I gladly accepted her offer.
I should have known something was up when I boarded the plane for Philly on a Friday at DFW Airport. I was very innocently wearing a DeMarcus Ware jersey, going about my own business. While standing in line to board the plane, a man walked up to me...looked just like your typical businessman or executive. I still remember his words.
"Be careful Monday night...we're in a pretty bad mood right now."
Consider yourself warned, right? Hardly the way I wanted to begin my trip to the City of Brotherly Love.
In any case, my weekend in Philly started off innocently enough. My friend and I had dinner Friday night at a local sports bar. I felt I was conducting a kind of psychological experiment, wearing my Ware jersey out to dinner. To my shock, the surrounding patrons were generally pretty respectful. I felt there was some respect for my fearlessness at wearing a Cowboys jersey in the heart of Eagles country.
At one point, the bar's owner stopped by the table and engaged me in a long philosophical discussion about why Eagles fans hate Cowboys fans. It was a true eye-opener about jealousy, fame, and the power of the almighty dollar. When the discussion was over, I understood the mentality of the Philly fan a little better.
Make no mistake about it- Eagles fans despise the Cowboys. But they may despise Cowboys fans even more.
According to Eagles fans I spoke to that weekend, Cowboys fans are considered to be stuck-up, wealthy, arrogant, self-entitled, and rude. Interesting, that one segment of fans can be so readily stereotyped across the board. During my three days in Philly, I had several discussions with Eagles diehards, and tried to show them a different side of Cowboys fans, at least to them. I felt I had succeeded....that is, until game night.
On our way to the stadium, my friend told me that her seats are season tickets. Instantly, I felt a little safer. I remember telling her something to the effect of, "How bad can it really be then?" She didn't agree with my assessment and proceeded to tell me some nightmare stories about visiting fans at "The Linc" who have been treated viciously by Eagles supporters. She told me that she witnessed a father have to console his young crying daughter, after a group of Eagles fans cursed and screamed at her throughout the game. She told me that it doesn't matter how big or small you are...you will receive extreme abuse if you are noticed as a fan of the visiting team at Lincoln Financial Field.
And a Cowboys fan? Even worse.
And to think, it was much worse at the old Veterans' Stadium...the only stadium in the NFL to have its own temporary judge, court, and jail below the stands. No joke.
I've been a sports anchor/reporter for the last 14 years, but have always been a Cowboy fan. When not working, I may occasionally be found wearing a Cowboys jersey. It's hard to ditch allegiances to your hometown team, regardless of journalistic duties. I don't feel my fandom prevents me from being impartial...if anything, it enhances my interest in being fair and balanced. If anything, I'm simply passionate and involved. We all want the Cowboys to succeed. It makes life more interesting for all of us. With that in mind, I put on my DeMarcus Ware jersey and walked with my friend from our car in the satellite parking lot at Lincoln Financial Field.
Instantly, I felt like I was wearing a target on my back. The jeers and cursing started almost immediately. I can't repeat what was said, but I was a bit stunned. As soon as tailgaters noticed me, the downpour of expletives began. Teenagers, senior citizens, parents, kids...fans of all ages...all began screaming at me at the top of their lungs.
Welcome to Lincoln Financial Field, eh?
And worse of all, my so-called "friend" began joining in with the cursing chant against me. She apparently thought it was very funny. I, on the other hand, did not.
Once I walked into the stadium itself, I felt a little bit safer...relatively speaking. What makes going to an Eagles game wearing a visiting uniform so scary, is how lax the security personnel seem. I remember walking up to a security officer in my section and asking him (with a little tongue in cheek) to keep his eyes out for me during the game. The officer said something like he "couldn't guarantee anything" and to expect a good deal of abuse from the fans. He said it would be an "interesting experience" for me.
Not exactly confidence-inspiring.
As kickoff neared, we found our seats. To my horror, they were in the upper deck of the stadium...an area traditionally containing the worst of any stadium's residents. An elderly woman wearing a Brian Dawkins jersey seated next to me offered me a leftover hot dog from her tailgate party, and I politely declined, partially out of fear. There's no way the hot dog would have been laced with something, right? Right?
Now you're understanding the level of my paranoia. Philadelphia can do that to you.
Before the game began, I walked to the concession area to get a drink. The line was long...I was in jeopardy of missing kickoff. A man in an Eagles jersey ran up to me and screamed, "You're in our house now baby." Actually, there were a couple of "other" words he said as well....unprintable here, I'm afraid.
When I returned to my upper deck section and walked up the stairs to my seat, a sight I shall never forget...the entire section (and I do mean entire section of fans) began serenading me with some cursing in unison, the same cursing I had heard in the parking lot. I looked down at my diet coke. It was shaking and spilling out onto the concrete.
I already felt like the Eagles fans had won.
Oddly enough, once the game began, much of the torment ended. Fans were too fixated on the game at hand. I did notice something interesting: some other Cowboy fans around me were being subjected to cursing and screaming far worse than I had endured. I was largely ignored.
I asked my friend why I wasn't being singled out as much as the fans seated around me. My friend told me that was because the fans suspected I was from Texas...and not a "fair weather" Cowboy fan from Bucks County, Pennsylvania or nearby New Jersey. Eagles fans apparently save their worst disdain and anger for those locals who stray from the flock...and migrate to become Cowboy fans. Once my friend explained this to me, I gleefully took out my Texas Drivers' License and showed it to a couple of fans seated next to her. They nodded and even shook my hand.
It seems there's a kind of odd respect in Philly for Cowboy fans who are actually from Texas. Hatred, sure...but respect. There's no respect for Cowboy fans who actually live in Philly.
As for the game itself, the Cowboys trailed much of the way, but Donovan McNabb threw a late interception which was returned for a touchdown, and the Eagles fell.
I wasn't totally insane....I put on a jacket over the Ware jersey as I walked out of the stadium.
I never spoke to my Philly friend after that day ever again.
Sad, but true.
Welcome to Philadelphia.
