BEING an Eagles fan comes with some pretty cool benefits. We got a kick-ass team, based in a kick-ass city, and unlike most places in America, Eagle fans don’t go dormant when the season ends. We keep up on our team regardless of what other sports season it is.
Some of us who eat, sleep, and breathe Eagles football; dig out every morsel of news we can find, and run back to share it with the rest. Because here it’s 365.
But there’s a downside to being an Eagles fan. Having to own up to the Giants Super Bowls wins? That’s not it. Nor is it listening to Cowboys fans drone on and on, about how a T-rex was their last Super Bowl MVP. The worst part is that the term “Eagles fan” has become synonymous with the word “asshole”.
You’ve heard it: “Oh he’s an Eagles fan. You know they threw snowballs …” or; “Little early for the Boo-Birds, Troy. But this IS Philadelphia.” or; “This crowd cheered when Michael Irvin was carted off the field.” and don’t forget; “It got so bad they put a jail in the basement of the Vet.”
You’ve seen it: Someone will make a douchebag remark or say something totally classless to a female, then to excuse it the d-bag will say “I’m an Eagles fan” and laugh, like that somehow makes it okay.
What I hate so much about that reputation, is that it’s greatly exaggerated. If we were half as bad as advertised, you’d NEVER see an opposing jersey in this city. Can you imagine if every time you saw someone wearing a Cowboys hat or jersey, you lived up to our national rep?
Making matters worse are the Eagles fans who revel in it because they think they get a sort of cred from it. Many of these Fake-adelphians leave the Linc, get on the Walt Whitman, and leave OUR CITY stuck with the damaged reputation.
The cherry on the top though, is the rest of us. Those of us who sit by and allow assholes to define our fan base, and our city. While you may not care what strangers think of you, you should care when someone else gets to define you to the rest of the world. If you don’t want to be judged by your gender or the color of your skin, you should want even less to be judged by your shirt, simply because others have given theirs a bad name.
“I’m an Eagles fan” is no excuse for asshole behavior. And I can say that because I’m an Eagle fan, and I’m no asshole.
How about you?
EAGLEMANIACAL.com 