A Redskins team physician once drove to his first Philadelphia game. Left his car with District plates in the public lot.
What a rookie mistake.
Four slashed tires later, he was forced to stay overnight. Welcome to the City of Brotherly Love.
The Redskins travel to long-time nemesis Philadelphia today. Veterans Stadium has given way to Lincoln Financial Field, but it remains the NFL’s worst venue in the East and probably second only to Oakland’s madhouse where prisons and insane asylums allegedly provide fans for games.
The NFL recently published a fan conduct policy intended to curb violence and poor behavior. It has a snowball’s chance in Havana of succeeding in Philadelphia where even a jail underneath the stadium hasn’t broken the Eagles backers who doused Redskins running back Clinton Portis’ mother with beer in 2005 to spark yet another fight in the stands.
Then there was a little egg throwing contest among Eagles fans at Redskins busses last year. Washington won, 20-12.
“Their fans are like their defense — real aggressive and violent,” Redskins cornerback Fred Smoot said. “I think a lot of Philly fans should be suspended for two weeks like we’d be suspended for violent hits. They should be suspended from the stadium for two weeks.”
Philadelphia isn’t alone in fan misbehavior. Green Bay fans line up to drop trow when rival Minnesota Vikings busses arrive. Cleveland’s Dawg Pound throws biscuits. Then again, everybody throws everything around the NFL as visiting players know not to remove their helmet before reaching the tunnel.
“There’s always somebody throwing something at you, saying something about your mom,” Redskins offensive tackle Jon Jansen said. “They’re passionate about their team and that’s what makes the game so great.”
Said Washington quarterback Jason Campbell: “That’s just fans having their little fun. I remember in college [when playing for Auburn] LSU did a little bit. Alabama did a little. We don’t worry about it.”
Eagles fans take abuse, too. When Philadelphia played New York at Giants Stadium in the playoffs, Eagles fans in a convertible waved flags and yelled at backers in the parking lot. They didn’t know there was a toll booth awaiting. New Yorkers pelted the opposing fans stuck in the open vehicle with snowballs just like Santa Claus was once pounded by Eagles fans during a halftime show at The Vet. What a karma payback.
Not all stories end badly, though. Jansen often sees things that make him laugh.
“A lot of times people want to make the game so serious,” Jansen said. “It is your job and you want to go out there and perform well, but there’s a lot of funny stuff on the field and stands and to let that pass would be wrong.”
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Contact him at [email protected].
