By Ryan Avidano
I grew up in New Jersey. Being from a state so close to Philadelphia, I heard a lot of people have a lot of thoughts on the “batshit crazy” fans of Philadelphia sports. If I asked my dad, I would hear about the dangerous rioters who tear their city apart win or lose. If I asked my step-brother I would hear about the pure love Philadelphians have for their teams, and they express that in the universal language of partying.
When the Philadelphia Eagles were in the Super Bowl, I knew that whatever happened, the city would go crazy. Police officers greased light posts and blocked off busy intersections in order to mitigate damage and injury to the expected fans. I knew there was the potential to witness one of the most hectic nights possible. My suspicions were confirmed when a viral video went around demonstrating a large group of Temple students flipping a car at a pregame celebration.
As we know, the Eagles lost their 2023 Super Bowl game. I anticipated raging fans tearing the city apart. Instead, when I went outside I was met with silence. No one was happy, no one was raging, it was just a sad sort of melancholic fog across the city.
This immediately made me question what I had originally believed of Philadelphia fans. Instead of fighting like a wounded animal, the city fell back to tend to its wounds, preparing for the next fight.
Only having been in Philadelphia for about 7 months, I felt I needed to speak to someone who understood the city a little bit better than I did. For that I turned to my older step-brother, Brayden Gack, for his perspective on Philadelphia sports and to answer a couple of questions I had about Philadelphia fans.
So Brayden, you lived in Manayunk during the 2018 Super Bowl, would you say that the celebrations are more reserved for Center City, or is it more widespread throughout the greater area?
“I think that the most intense celebrations happen in Center City for sure. I mean yeah in Manayunk there were a lot of celebrations, but stuff like setting shit on fire and flipping cars didn’t really happen”
Does Philadelphia deserve that reputation? Of being violent, angry fans?
“Again it’s kind of a mix of yes and no. Like yeah, Philly fans are intense and all, but other cities celebrate too when their team wins. It’s probably got something to do with the reputation of the city in general and how people say it’s dangerous.”
Why do you think more people cause mayhem for wins rather than losses?
“It’s just to celebrate. I don’t think it’s anything more than that. It’s how we show our love for our teams. The destruction kind of just happens along with it.”
Brayden was right. All cities celebrate, so why does Philadelphia have a reputation for being violent fans? Other cities celebrate just as much as us, with just as much chaos. However, for some reason our loud and proud love for our teams unjustly leads us to be considered the “most insufferable fans” in the nation. It’s a unique lesson in predestination. The citizens of Philadelphia have been assigned a permanent characteristic that they may have never had any choice in developing.
Yes, there can be people who are sore losers, but they are not representative of Philadelphia at large. Philadelphia fans take their sports seriously, and when they lose, instead of raging we tend to internalize the loss and bide our excitement for the next season.
There are many different love languages. People may show their love through words of affirmation, gift giving, acts of service, and more. The celebrations we hold are the ultimate display of love for our teams. It’s much like an act of service. A physical reminder of our love for our sports and for our teams.
Where other people may see disorder, is actually an amazing display of loyalty and love. Anyone who questions the love that Philadelphia has for their teams could not possibly understand the level of dedication they have to the Eagles, Sixers, Phillies, and Flyers. In some ways, being a fan is the purest form of love. The love for something so much bigger than yourself. It may look violent, disorderly, chaotic, or downright psychotic. But it’s love. Pure and Simple. Our teams are families, and when your family wins, you celebrate like there’s no tomorrow.