Ed Snider, founder of the Philadelphia Flyers, lost his fight with cancer on April 11. Last Monday night, before Game 3 of Philly’s playoff series against the Washington Capitals, the Flyers honored their late founder and biggest fan with a moment of silence.
The emotional atmosphere fueled the Flyers to a red-hot start, with forward Michael Raffl scoring in the game’s first minute. Unfortunately for the Broad Street Bullies, the Caps dominated the rest of the game, scoring five power-play goals and routing their opponent 6-1.
Fans grew more and more irritated as the blowout game trudged on. They grew so frustrated, in fact, that several fans began throwing the bracelets given to them for the pregame ceremony onto the ice. Flyers forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare was ejected from the game (and eventually suspended) for a scary hit on Caps defenseman Dmitry Orlov. While Orlov, still dazed and confused, was being checked out by trainers on the Caps bench, a bracelet thrown from above hit him in the face.
Headlines like “Flyers fans throw light-up bracelets at Ed Snider’s ghost” (Yahoo Sports) and “Angry Flyers fans threw a whole bunch of wristbands onto the ice during Game 3 against the Capitals” (SB Nation) reminded the country that Philadelphia sports fans are the worst of the worst.
This incident is just another notch in the notorious belt of shameful acts that Philadelphia sports fans have done over the years. Whether it’s by throwing snowballs at Santa Claus (1968 Philadelphia Eagles), pelting batteries at baseball stars (1999 Philadelphia Phillies) or cheering for career-ending injuries (Michael Irvin against the 1999 Eagles), Philadelphia fans have built a reputation as barbarians.
Each and every professional sports franchise has fans that do despicable things. Philadelphia may even have more degenerate fans than most other cities, and its fans may be in the news more often than other cities too. But as one of them, I’m sick of the generalization that all Philadelphia fans are the scum of the earth.
Why aren’t other fan bases nationally accosted for their actions? Let’s look into the worst incident of each of the four major sports since the turn of the new millennium. It may be a surprise, to many readers, but Philadelphia fans aren’t responsible for any of them.
NHL – Vancouver riots, 2011
After the Boston Bruins defeated the Vancouver Canucks in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, the city of Vancouver went above and beyond disappointment. According to CBC News, police declared the downtown area near the CBC building and the central post a riot zone.
The Vancouver Fire Department does not know how many fires in total were started. In fact, fire crews were directed by police to leave the downtown area, allowing them to focus on fires only where there was immediate public danger. Officials reported dozens of injuries, most of which were caused by pepper spray or tear gas. But Vancouver General Hospital did report one head injury, two major trauma cases and three stabbings.
MLB – San Francisco Giants violence
San Francisco, home to probably the most successful MLB franchise of the past decade, has also been the home of unprecedented violence. The violence peaked in September 2013, when 24-year-old Jonathan Denver was stabbed to death leaving AT&T Park in San Francisco. He was wearing Los Angeles Dodgers gear and allegedly shouted, “Giants suck” to an individual wearing a Giants cap leaving a nightclub.
NBA – Malice at the palace
Early in the 2004 NBA season, Ron Artest of the Indiana Pacers and Ben Wallace of the home team Detroit Pistons had been battling on the court all game long. With under a minute to play in a game separated by 15 points, Ben Wallace fouled Ron Artest hard, causing a stoppage in play. Artest ended up lying down on the scorer’s table, where a Pistons fan threw a cup of beer at him.
The scene quickly got out of hand when Artest charged out into the stands to confront the beer-thrower. Fans swarmed and started throwing punches at Artest and his teammate, Stephen Jackson, who had also entered to the stands.
NFL – Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins violence
NFL fans are generally the most passionate sports fans in the United States, which means they do a lot of regrettable things. For example, just last year at FedEx Field in D.C., a Cowboys fan was stabbed after Dallas defeated the home team in a Monday night bout.
Even worse, a fight at a restaurant in Chesapeake, Virginia following a Redskins-versus-Cowboys game led to one man being killed and another charged with second-degree murder. According to the victim’s fiancée, the victim was with a group of Cowboys fans, who collectively chirped at a group of Redskins fans. The fact that something so menial resulted in a funeral is why this story was at the top of the list.
To conclude, I’d like to state firmly that the actions of individuals that belong to a particular fan base do not represent the entirety of that fan base. While this should be obvious, it has not been the national portrayal of Philadelphia sports fans for over half a century now, ever since a select few of Eagles Nation pelted a man dressed as Santa with snowballs.
