An Annual Tradition
by ChrisJanuary 13th, 2005 9:59 pm
Whenever a Philadelphia sports team is hosting a playoff game, I always do enjoy reading the scathing reviews of the Philadelphia sports experience, which are inevitable printed by the opposing team’s hometown newspaper, warning their readers against the horror of rooting for their team in my hometown. God bless their little hearts, but we couldn’t be that bad, could we?
Well who knows, but as I learned from the St. Paul Pioneer Press, this morning, the fearful residents of Minnesota can take heart because “it’s not like risking your life”.
Plenty of tickets are available for the Minnesota Vikings’ second-round playoff game against the Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, in part because verbal and even physical abuse clearly await Vikings fans, some travel professionals said Wednesday.
Their advice: If you go to the game, skip the Vikings clothing or other team regalia. They could be hazardous to your health.
“Don’t look like a Vikings fan if you want to enjoy the game, and value your safety and possessions,” said Steve Erban, who runs Creative Charters in Stillwater. “The stadium is beyond civilization.”
Erban said when he brought Green Bay Packers fans to Philadelphia for a playoff game last year, Eagles fans pelted them and him with coins and beer bottles and tried to knock them down in the aisles.
“Any time they scored a touchdown, you got bathed,” Erban said. “I witnessed a Packer plastic helmet, worn by a woman, taken off her head, and then they pounced on it and broke it into pieces. All of that is a staple.”
…For the safety reason and others, numerous tickets are available through some ticket agencies and tour companies, who buy the seats from season-ticket holders and sell them at higher prices.
I particularly like the quote “The stadium is beyond civilization.” God bless. That’s touching. Really.
I feel bad for the poor, visiting Minnesotans. They shouldn’t be scared. We’re really very nice. Really. You can trust me.
As a side note, my very first Philadelphia sports memory is of watching Steve Carlton warm up at Veteran’s Stadium, prior to one of his starts in 1980. My second Philadelphia sports memory is of two very large, disheveled gentlemen tumbling down the steep, poured concrete steps of Veteran’s Stadium, all the while trying to beat one another to death with their fists. I was quite young and very nervous about the situation, but my father told me he would take care of it if they managed to fall far enough to reach our seats. Luckily for him, they never did.
Fond memories, both.
As another side note, and with all due respect to Wampum, Steve Carlton was the greatest left handed pitcher of all time. Here’s a stat to chew on; in 1972 Steve Carlton’s record was 27-10 with a 1.97 ERA (!), on a Phillies team that only won 59 games.
January 14th, 2005 at 1:16 pm
I don’t know if they did it again this year since I stopped buying the paper, but another tradition around this time is The Daily News having Don Russell doing one of his idiotic pieces where he just rips on the opposing city that the Eagles (or Flyers) happen to be playing.
It’s occassionally funny, but he ends up looking like an idiot since the last couple times he’s done it, the Philly team lost.
Russell is only a good writer when it comes to beer.
January 14th, 2005 at 2:18 pm
I have a funny story about Don Russell and one of those very pieces, but I can’t tell it. Well not here anyway. I can’t even say why. Funny though. Sort of. Well, mildly amusing. Ok, it’s pretty dull. Anyway, if you ever see me around the neighborhood just ask and I’ll fill you in. I’m the short guy.
January 14th, 2005 at 4:31 pm
Okay, I’ll be the only guy at the Foodery buying Amstel Light instead of something Belgian.
January 14th, 2005 at 5:10 pm
Oh, you’re that guy. Living near the Foodery and all of that Belgian beer has made me a poor but happy fellow. Happy until the delirium tremors set in that is, but that shouldn’t be for at least another few weeks.
My wife, however, is considerably less pleased with our close proximity to the Foodery. Go figure.
January 14th, 2005 at 6:25 pm
I don’t know about previous years, but last year the “idiotic” stories about the opposing cities were written by Will Bunch, not Don Russell.
January 17th, 2005 at 9:49 am
They were? I don’t have any, not so interesting, stories about that.