Philadelphia Fans, Who We Are and Why You Will Never Understand Us

I hear from lots of people that Philly fans are the worst.  They say we are rough and mean to not just opposing teams, but our home teams too.  Some people might think I would get mad at them.  But I don't. 

I actually feel bad for them. 

I feel bad not just because they don't understand what Philadelphia Sports means to me, but more importantly, because they will never experience the love and admiration I have for my teams.  They will never know what it is like to live and breathe in every moment of a game.  In every pitch, swing, tackle, pass and shot.  It's something that is with every Philly fan.  We live our teams.  We love our teams.

People love to talk about how we booed Santa Claus.  Do most of those people know that "Santa" was a skinny, half-drunk loser who didn't even have the full costume?  Or that we were losing that game badly?  Do they realize that to a Philly fan, celebrating Christmas isn't as important as celebrating a win?  No, of course not.  To them, it's just another game.  To us, it's our life. 

After a weekend of sports, most people just go about their week at work, doing what they do.  For Philly fans, whether or not our teams win is the single most determining factor in how our week goes.  If you were to look it up, somehow, I would be willing to bet that the most productive weeks at any workplace in Philly is after a win.  That is the power our teams have over us.  I know it's cliche, but you just wouldn't understand.

I also hear endless talk about how we rode Donovan right out of town, arguably one of the best quarterbacks in Philadelphia history.  What they don't understand is that to us, Donovan was never a winner.  And no, it's not because he never brought us a Superbowl victory.  It had nothing to do with the NFC Championship losses or the endless injuries.  He just wasn't a "winner".  

Our winners are Curt Schilling, Brian Dawkins and Mitch Williams.  These guys are winners not because they win, but because when they win or lose, you feel it in your core.  These are guys that break down, from a magical mixture of emotion and exhaustion, right there on the field. 

When Brian Dawkins is in tears on the sidelines, no one is counting his tackles and sacks. We are crying with him.  When Curt Schilling is pulled from the game after a bad outing, we aren't counting the home runs he has given up.  We are entranced by how angry and disappointed he is for not being able to deliver a victory for us.  When Mitch Williams gives up the hit that lost the World Series in 1983, we aren't cursing his name and burning his jersey.  We are in awe of a pitcher who is on the brink of throwing his arm out with every pitch he hurls. 

Donovan just never touched us that way.  He would win, he would lose.  He would throw interceptions and touchdowns.  He would run and get sacked.  Through it all, he would smile.  While some cities might appreciate that cool, calm and collected demeanor, it drove us insane. 

We want to see some emotion about that touchdown or interception.  Any emotion.  Without it, you'll never be a winner in Philadelphia.

Lastly, one of the craziest things I've heard Philly fans called is front-runners.  Our baseball team is the losingest franchise in the history of American Sports.  Our football team has never won a Superbowl.  Our hockey team hasn't won a Stanley Cup since 1975.  And our basketball team, hasn't been good since winning the NBA Championship in 1983. 

Throughout all of this mediocrity, we have been there.  Expecting to win, expecting to turn it all around with the next home run, touchdown, goal or dunk.  When we yell about our teams, it is not because we are mad they lost, it is because we expect them to win.

When the Flyers went down 3-0 in the series vs. the Bruins last year, we weren't mad at the team.  We simply expected to win the next four in a row.  History, logic and even common sense were against us.  Especially in Game 7, when we were down 3-0.  But we didn't worry.  We knew we were going to win.  To a non-Philly fan, the absolutes in life are the basics.  The sky will be blue, the sun will rise and the grass will grow.  To us, the absolutes are that every team that carries the Philadelphia name, is the best team in the world.

So to you it may seem like we hate our teams, or we get on them when they lose.  But what really happened is a universal truth, to us, has been taken away.  It hurts us in a way that, sadly, no one who cheers for another city will ever understand.