Where do Philly fans get such a bad reputation from?

Question

I've been to several Rangers games and 98 Yankees games, so I've seen alot of fans from different teams, and I gotta say, after going to 2 games against the Phillies and today against the Flyers, Philly fans are probably the coolest of the bunch. All of other team's fans have big mouths, but I've never had a problem with a Philly fan. I even had a chat with a guy in a Giroux jersey. Usually talking to the other teams fans means telling them to shut up or go home, or stop picking on Arod, but we were actually civil. Not to mention, every single Flyers fan I saw stayed to watch the entire 7-0 butchering, so they're loyal too. Why do these fans have such a bad reputation? Is it because of a couple of incidents with a couple of idiots which all teams have?

BQ: Hartnell fell down more times than the Rangers scored, what's wrong with him?

Answer 1

It was during the 1972–73 season that the Flyers shed the mediocre expansion team label and became the intimidating Broad Street Bullies, a nickname coined by Jack Chevalier and Pete Cafone of the Philadelphia Bulletin on January 3, 1973 after a 3 to 1 brawling victory over the Atlanta Flames that led Chevalier to write in his game account, "The image of the fightin' Flyers spreading gradually around the NHL, and people are dreaming up wild nicknames. They're the Mean Machine, the Bullies of Broad Street and Freddy's Philistines." Cafone wrote the accompanying headline, "Broad Street Bullies Muscle Atlanta". The fans follwed suit.



hartnell is not the best skater and probably has his skates sharpened.

Answer 2

Only one time in my life have I had a problem with Philadelphia fans, and that was last year when I went to a Pirates/Phillies game. At least half of PNC Park was taken over by Phillies fans and the Phillies pounded the Pirates 12-4. I think I only ran into only a few Phillies fans I liked. Everyone else was a complete a$$hole.



Other than that, all of the other Pirates/Phillies or Penguins/Flyers games I've been to, I ran into a bunch of cool fans, and even talking with them about the game and their teams. Every team has idiot fans, so no one should stereotype Philly fans as nothing but idiots. I've seen Steelers, Penguins, and even Pirates fans give opposing fans problems (I went to the Pirates/Tigers game the night after the Penguins beat the Red Wings in Game 7, and some Pirates fans were trash talking Tigers fans, and I even saw one Pirates fan dump beer on a Tigers fan), and no one in the media says a word.

Answer 3

I've been around Philly fans all my life and outside of a few idiots that every team has a share of, they aren't any different than any other set. I often raise an incident after the Flyers smoked the Leafs in a playoff game I attended. As one of many people making their way through the parking lot, I was behind two clearly marked Leaf fans who were receiving encouraging remarks from all Flyers fans within earshot.



BA: Perhaps he, Mumbles, Sniffles, and Jeffy were out partying on South Street the night before.

Answer 4

Every team has ignorant fans. Philadelphia gets a bad wrap because of the whole throwing snowballs at Santa Claus thing. Philly isnt so much a bad city in terms of watching the games with their fans, but Philly fans are notorious for how quick they will turn on one of their own players..Scott Rolen for example.



Edit: I'm from Jersey, and most fans are only like that with Flyer and Ranger fans. If you were a Wild fan per say..nobody would of bothered you.

Answer 5

Every team has some rotten fans (as in bad apples as was already mentioned). I don't live near Philly but I know people from there who are Flyers fans and they are all really cool.



Awesome game, though. Seems like the Flyers and Red Wings are both stuck with their current points while other teams are catching up..

Answer 6

There are more ignorant trash talking people here in Yahoo than at any arena. I have had the good fortune of traveling to many different cities and have managed to get in hockey games at those arena's. I choose to wear a Wings jersey as it allows me to start conversation with many different people. And other than a couple of clowns in Chicago who wanted to fight without even saying a word my experiences have been nothing but good. Of course some will say something dumb but 90% just enjoy what I do...good hockey! I met a group in Chicago that I am still friends with and they have connections that have allowed me to land hotels for $50.00 a night. Philly fans have done some crazy things with the Santa incident being the single event that earns them the label of bad fans (in spite of it happening before many of the Yahoo people were even born....unfortunately I was an adult with children when it happened). Every city has idiots and every city has tremendous fans....hell, how many people attack Wings fans because a couple people whine about stupid stuff? Go to a Wings game and you will find the same things you found today...99% of the people you meet will engage you in great conversation and at the end of the game wish you a safe trip home. That is what good fans do...then you get the clowns here who ***** about everything and find any ignorant reason to hate on other teams or their fans. Philly is no different I am sure (it is one city I havent made it to....yet).



BQ....it is Scott Hartnell, maybe he was up late with Carters wife (a little fun jab that surely will piss off some Flyer fan in here). In truth he probably had skate issues or the ice was soft (I didnt see the game).

Answer 7

When you hear the crowd chanting "f** you" and you see middle aged women in the crowd waving their fists and joining in that sort thing, you know you're watching a game in Philadelphia. That's one of many reasons.



Many teams will have away fans at games (some more than others like Phoenix, Anaheim, the Florida teams) but away fans very rarely go to Philadelphia for fear of getting lynched.

Answer 8

Maybe because of that Phillies fan who intentionally puked on a little girl at a game.

Answer 9

Because most Flyers fans are white trash.

Answer 10

my problem with Flyers fans is that they got so big headed after last season. im indifferent with the Phillies fans. i still think that Phillidelphia is a crap town, though



BQ: loss of balance?

Answer 11

I'm not speaking for all Philly fans, but the ones I know: My mother is from philadelphia, and so is the rest of her family. Those people are the worst, and least knowledgeable hockey fans I have met. One of them tried to tell me how Matt Carle is a better player than Sidney Crosby... I'm not saying all philly fans are like this, just the ones I'm related to.



BQ: He's one of the worst skaters in the NHL

Answer 12

They threw snow balls at Santa Clause. Santa doesn't even exist.

Answer 13

philly fans are stupid. fans from chicago and san jose are too.