The Dichotomy Of Philly Sports Fans
Mike Leitao ~ 01/15/2024
Philadelphia sports are infamous for a variety of reasons. It is a historical city in America in the northeast where people are generally colder than the rest of the US. The media can be absolutely brutal and no matter if the team is a championship contender or rebuilding fans expect competence at least and will turn on a team, player, or coach if they feel like it is deserved. Playing in Philly has never been an easy task, and the fans are a large reason for that. Though it can be tough if the fans turn, it is also possible to earn eternal glory in Philly. Look at players who fans treat as literal Gods such as Allen Iverson or Nick Foles. All of this is to say that the fans in Philly can be both ends of the spectrum, and that was on clear case this weekend, as we saw Flyers fans come together to bring more energy to a game than I have seen in the past decade while also having an Eagles fan be such a piece of shit that it once again results in widespread outrage.
I do not want to even waste much space on the absolute bum at the Eagles game who verbally abused some Packers fans in the bleachers. I tell everyone who wants to go to a game in Philly as an away fan that they should be warned that there is a chance people are going to say unnecessarily rude things, since normally the scummiest people also happen to be the loudest. I can also say I will happily boo an opposing fan or tell them to sit down and shut up and call them ugly. I can also say though that I go to games to cheer on my team, not shit on the other team and their fans. Unfortunately, there are some fans in this world who seem to enjoy that much more than cheering for their team. At this point, everyone has seen the video so no reason to go in depth on it. The dude is a boneheaded idiot. All he did was probably get himself fired from his job and got banned from Eagles games for life.
Anytime shithole people like that, who would rather verbally abuse an away fan than cheer on their own team as they are winning a playoff game, get banned it makes game day experiences just a little better. So yeah, no one is going to pretend and deny that there are some really awful Philly fans out there in this world who are not only pieces of shit, but loud pieces of shit. But at the same time, every fanbase has those types of fans, but for some reason Philly is the town that gets put on blast the most. I would argue fans in New York are worse than Philly, but because of their market size they get passed over for being dicks all the time while anything one Philly fan does that is bad gets the entire city called garbage. But the real truth is that the fans of this city are just passionate, and when they want to show it, they show it in full force.
The Flyers kind of suck this year. The team is rebuilding, they have one star player and most of their other players are underperforming. The team will not play many truly meaningful games this year, but this past Saturday they played one. On paper, a Ducks vs Flyers game has all the makings of a bad game that no one cares about, and any other year that would be true. But it happens that this year also had a small additional detail, that being the first time former Flyers prospect and general traitor to the city Cutter Gauthier played in the city of brotherly love. For those unfamiliar with the backstory, allow me to fill you in.
Cutter Gauthier was drafted 5th overall by the Flyers in the 2022 NHL draft and instantly became their top prospect who would ideally make his impact felt with the Flyers within the next couple of seasons. He played the 2022-23 season in Boston College where he had a productive season and all signs pointed to him joining the Flyers for the 2023-24 season. Combine that with the recent drafting of Matvei Michkov and the Flyers future offense was looking like it was going to be fun. But then the season started and Cutter was still not a Flyer, then at the start of 2024 he was shockingly traded to the Ducks. When the trade first happened, many were shocked as you never see a rebuilding team give away one of their top prospects meaning something else had to be going on. Then it came out that Cutter decided he no longer wanted to be a Flyer (after telling the team he did when he was drafted) and refused to talk to the team at all, forcing their hand in a trade. So, with all that background information, it is easy to see why this game had a big game feel to it even though both of these teams are struggling currently. For the Flyers fans, it was their opportunity to let the kid know that we don't want anyone who doesn't want to be here. Right from the start, the crowd was non stop booing anytime he touched the ice. The second he got the puck, the boos intensified to a near deafening level. “Fuck you Cutter” chants rained throughout the arena the entire game and anytime Cutter made a mistake (and he made quite a few) the crowd would burst into cheer. The arena was at no point quiet, and couple the animosity towards Cutter with the Flyers playing some of their best hockey (which is not a random occurrence) this season, and the Wells Fargo Center was rocking. When Jamie Drysdale, who was acquired from the Ducks in the trade, scored a powerplay goal, the crowd erupted like they had just scored the game winning goal in the Stanley Cup Finals. Chants of “Jamie’s better” veered down throughout the remainder of the game, and the Flyers won 6-0 to thunderous applause. Even though going into the game both coach and players tried to downplay this game as being special and chalk it up to media nonsense, they all knew it was important to the fans and they played their asses off for us. And this is the flip side of the awful Philly fans debate. The fans rallied behind their team, behind the players who want to play in Philly, behind the guys who know this is a tough city to play in but a rewarding city to play in. It is not the type of place for a weak player like Cutter Gauthier to play in, but for a guy like Matvei Michkov who may only barely be 20 years old but plays with grit and edge that the fans love, this city is perfect for him. You can become a villain in Philly much easier than you can become a legend, but believe me, these fans love these players who emphasize and love the city. Guys currently playing like Bryce Harper or Saquon Barkley who left other organizations and came to Philly because they love this place, get non stop love from the fans. Philly ain’t everyone's cup of tea, and for the weak players out there who would rather go live in California and enjoy the sun and no pressure since everyone there is laid back, have fun. But for the players who would do anything to win, will take the blame when they fuck up but also walk with a swagger when they kill it, have the grit and grind to tough it out in a city where the fans and media can be harsh but the value of winning here is the equivalent to becoming immortal, Philly is the place to play, and the fans are who you want to play in front of.
