Philadelphia Sports Rivalries Define Philly Fans.

If you’re a true Philly sports fan then you know our love for the game runs deep. We all have our favorite Philadelphia sports rivalries. We cheer loud, take pride in other team’s misfortunes and could care less if anyone finds us obnoxious. Because we are obnoxious! And anyone can get the smoke if they think we’re not going to always fully represent who we are as fans. Unfortunately, it has gained us a bit of a reputation. In 2010 The Bleacher Report ranked Philadelphia fans as number nine out of twenty-five in the best/worst fan ratio. Not too bad right? Well, fast forward to a 2019 Thrillist survey where our beloved Eagles fans ranked at number five out of thirty-two. Thirty-two franchises, that is. Which means our fans cracked the Top Five! Go Us! 

But seriously, our rivalries reach across all of the top four sports platforms; baseball (New York Mets), basketball (Celtics/Lakers), hockey (Everyone?) and most importantly football. Every week from Labor Day until the New Year begins we sit on the edge of our seats cheering our birds on as they battle teams we couldn’t care less about because they ain’t the Eagles. However, we have been known to become a little ‘animated’ at times with certain teams. And for Eagles fans there is no rivalry more heated than our ongoing feud with the Dallas Cowboys. 

Philadelphia Sports Rivalries: Eagles vs. Cowboys

This rivalry definitely goes both ways; however we are certainly the aggressors and wear that title with pride. For over thirty years the Philadelphia Eagles and Dallas Cowgi- I mean, Cowboys have been locked in a gridiron gladiator battle that reaches back to the two consecutive Bounty Bowls from 1989. Just in case you may have forgotten this is where Eagles fans solidified their reputation as some of the most passionate in the entire league. The first Bounty Bowl, nicknamed after it was alleged legendary Eagles coach Buddy Ryan had taken a “bounty” on quarterback Troy Aikman and kicker Luis Zendejas, definitely laid the foundation for the ill will between both Eagles and Cowboys fans. Their Thanksgiving Day matchup resulted in a crushing loss for the Cowboys when we totally annihilated them 27-0. On December 10 1989 the Eagles and Cowboys had a re-match titled Bounty Bowl II at Veteran’s Stadium. And it was during this memorable scrimmage that we, the city of brotherly love, clenched our reputation in front of the entire world. And it was not pretty.

Listen, when you come from the city that booed Santa Claus you can only expect we don’t play when it comes to our sports. Even the reigning Queen of Everything Beyonce’ found that out when she was still a member of Destiny’s Child during the Philadelphia 76ers 2001 Playoff Run. During Halftime of Game 4 she, along with fellow members Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, sang their hit song ‘Bootylicious’, which seems harmless enough right? Nope! Because Williams, along with their dancers, made the ill-advised decision to wear Los Angeles Lakers attire during their performance. And it truly was a booooo-tylicious response when they got booed all the way out of the First Union Center. 

Hey man, I bet you they never forgot that day, and probably learned a valuable lesson in the process like the kids from South Park. Regardless of what people say about us as a fan base it just shows how much we care about our teams and our Philadelphia sports rivalries. They become a part of us and they become a part of our weekly traditions. There’s no substitute for watching a game with your favorite people, regaling in the highs and lows and taking full ownership of the insanity that comes from being a die-hard fan of Philly teams.  And let’s just face it; we’re never going to change. So the world better love us for who we are. And if they don’t, it’s cool. As Jason Kelce famously sang at the Super Bowl Parade last year “No one likes us, we don’t care!”