Philadelphia Sports Fans Are the Worst—Fact or Fiction?

In the new book, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, brothers Chip and Dan Heath define why some ideas stick and others don't. They say that for an idea to become "sticky," it must be presented as a simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, emotional story.

The authors were able to identify some common threads of stories, events, and myths that have stood the test of time.

One urban legend that fits the bill is the famous Halloween story of people putting razor blades in apples.

It was so widespread, I remember taking my candy to the hospital for an X-ray. This legend became out of hand that in 1985 an ABC News poll showed that 60 percent of parents worried that their children might be victimized. The authors note, that same year researchers studied every reported Halloween incident since 1958 and found it to be a myth!

I would imagine that the Heath Brothers are not big Philadelphia Eagle fans because there is no more "sticky" story than the Eagles fans pelting Santa Claus with snowballs.

This story has been told and retold thousands of times and has portrayed the Philadelphia fans as the worst in the country.

In a new book titled The Great Philadelphia Fan Book, co-authors Glen Macnow and Anthony L. Gargano set the record straight on what happened on that cold December day in 1968.

The Eagles were in the midst of a horrendous season and the team owner Jerry Wolman was considered public enemy number one. The Eagles were finishing off a 2-12 season and residing firmly in last place in last place.

Yet there were over 58,000 fans in attendance.

The halftime show was supposed to be a Christmas pageant but due to bad weather team officials sent a 19-year-old fan wearing a bad Santa suit on the field with the introduction of "The Philadelphia Eagles wish you a Merry Christmas."

Macnow, who recently tracked down "Santa," said, "Santa had it coming for a different reason actually, Santa was a surrogate that day for Jerry Wolman and others. The poor kid just happened to be representing the frustrations."

The 19-year-old "Santa," Frank Olivo, says he has no hard feelings. "I'm a Philadelphia fan, I knew what was what. I thought it was funny."

So were the actions of a few frustrated fans, on that fateful day, really that bad?

Keep in mind, this happened 40 years ago and is still being talked about today! Even more astounding, this story is the main reason why Philadelphia fans are portrayed as being the worst in the country.

Talk about "sticky!"