Philly Fans Really are Nuts!

My first trip with the Cowboys as a sports reporter landed me in Philadelphia. Growing up near New York City all I heard was how bad, obnoxious, and mean spirited they can be. Dallas Fans know this first hand. It is true, in Philly, there is a deep seated venomous hatred towards towards the Cowboys and their fans. I found this out first hand.

My News Director (who once worked in Philly) had the wonderful idea to have me don a Cowboys jersey with the dreaded #81. In case you live under a rock, that’s T.O.s number and fans there DO NOT like him. I know I was in trouble when most of Dallas sports media urged me not to do it. My Boss even sent me an early morning e-mail wavering on the idea. And my very good friend who lives in Philly told me I had a “death wish.”

Well everything went pretty much as expected except for one thing, I was not injured! But I was tackled, grabbed, one person tried to lite me on fire, people threw everything from beer to hoagies at me. For the most part though, the fans took it in good fun and I never felt in any danger.

The sad part of this is, Philly is one of the few stadiums where fans of visiting teams should not, for their own safety, where their teams jersey. If it wasn’t for my camera, I just may well have been hurt.

For all the fun I had, I truly believe the fans there are over the top and in the end it hurts their image, Philly’s image, leaving Lincoln Financial Field no place for the faint of heart or a family dressed in Cowboys Gear.