Demosthenes wrote:Someone is a little crabby! Do you need a time out?
I just call them as I see them and I stand by both statements as factually true.
Firstly, of the teams to win a cup, the Flyers are second only to the Toronto Maple Leafs (and you know how much flak I give to the Leafs) in longest cup drought. Oh, and in the past twenty years the Devils that you hate so much, have gone to the final (including this year) six times, winning three cups in the process. The Flyers have gone to the finals once where they were swept in 4 games handily.
As for Philadelphia sports fans being degenerates, oh let me count the ways (with video evidence where applicable):
1. (August 21, 1949) - Philadelphia fans start their degeneracy during a Philadelphia Phillies' game against the New York Yankees when in the eyes of Philadelphia fans, umpire George Barr made a bad call. The fans started throwing glass bottles and debris onto the field, even when the broadcaster begged for the crazed fans to stop. Umpire Lee Ballanfant was hit in the mouth by a glass bottle and umpire Al Barlick was hit in the back of the head with a tomato.
2. (the 1960s) - Speaking of throwing things at people, throughout the 1960s Phillies fans routinely threw batteries at Dick Allen, the team’s only black player. Keeping it classy with racism there, Philly!
3. (August 10, 1999) - But Philly fans don't just throw batteries at people out of prejudice. No, they are equal opportunity haters. After the Phillies drafted J.D. Drew and he elected not to sign with them due to a contract dispute, on his first game in Philadelphia the fans threw D-batteries and other debris at him.
4. (December 15, 1968) - Yet, batteries aren't the only things people hurl at Philadelphia sporting events. Philly, being a northeastern city, often has access to snow which they love to make into snowballs. In the Christmas spirit, Eagles fans pelted a man dressed as Santa Claus with snow/iceballs. In 2003, the same man was asked to don the red and white again at a 76ers game, where he was booed by fans. No wonder since 1968, Philadelphia teams have so few championships, as they managed to even tick off Santa, putting them decidedly in the 'naughty column' for decades to come.
5. (December 10, 1989) - Philly fans continue their love of snowballs by pelting the Dallas Cowboys' players and coach Jimmy Johnson with them. Furthermore, in 2009, two poor 49ers fans were mercilessly pelted at an Eagles game as shown:
[youtube]2isksLw0jW8[/youtube]
6. (April 14, 2010) - Snowballs aren't the only thing Philly fans like to project as shown by unruly Phillies fan Matthew Clemens. Clemens decided to stick his fingers down his throat so he could intentionally vomit on a little girl and her father (an off-duty police officer), who Clemens also hit in the head before he was taken down. You know you've sunk to a new low when you start inducing yourself to vomit on a little girl.
7. (March, 2001) - Yet, people aren't even safe from these types of shenanigans while encased in a glass box. After Tie Domi (admittedly a pretty big dick) sprayed a Flyer heckler with his water bottle, another fat drunken Flyer fan (I know fat and drunk is kind of redundant when talking of Flyer fans), Chris Trumbore, thought it a good idea to try and climb the glass to get at Domi. When the glass just couldn't hold his fat frame anymore, it gave way, vaulting himself into the penalty box with one of the top fighters in the NHL at the time. As shown, I think Tumbore got more than he could handle...
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8. (January 6, 1972) - Continuing with the hockey antics, at a Flyers game, St. Louis Blues coach and hall of famer Al Arbour after protesting a referee's decision, had beer poured on him and was hit by Flyers fans. This began an actual riot in the hockey arena.
9. (January 2, 2012) - Yet, you don't even have to be in the stadium/arena to feel the full effects of Philly's fan degeneracy. After the Winter Classic this past year between the Flyers and the Rangers, a bunch of Flyers fan beat a Rangers fan motionless. The kicker? That Rangers fan was a Marine vet who had won the Purple Heart. So even decorated war heroes aren't immune from Philadelphia's fans wrath.
10. (October 27, 2009) - The degeneracy doesn't stop at beating up respected war heroes, as some Philadelphia fans even indulge in whoring themselves out to attend games. Susan Finkelstein, listed a Craig's List ad stating "Diehard Phillies fan - gorgeous tall buxom blonde - in desperate need of two World Series Tickets," where she described the price as negotiable and stated ""I'm the creative type! Maybe we can help each other!" After the ad was spotted by a police officer, they set up a meeting with her where she offered to perform sexual favours on the undercover cop and his partner in exchange for Phillies World Series tickets, where she was promptly arrested for prostitution. Maybe being a dumb blond Philly fan she just took the "Suck it Philly" chant at face value?
11. (April 17, 1999) - Speaking of unruly things screamed by fans, on the NFL Draft in 1999, eventual Eagles quarterback - for a decade that included leading the Eagles to four consecutive NFC East division championships between 2001-2004, five NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl XXXIX appearance - was booed by the Philly faithful after being selected second in the draft. Welcome to Philadelphia, indeed!
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12. (Oct. 11, 1999) - However, booing their own players isn't enough for Philly fans. At an Eagles home game against the Cowboys, Dallas receiver Michael Irvin, after catching a pass and landing awkwardly on his head, he suffered a career ending neck injury. While Irvin lay motionless on the ground, Eagles fan cheered and when the medical staff attended to him (eventually wheeling him off the field on a stretcher) the cheering only got louder. Yes, Philly fans like to keep it classy as always by cheering life threatening/career ending injuries!
13. (1998) - Lastly, to try and control the ever increasing acts of violence during Eagles games, the Eagles organization actually had to install a court, judge and jail inside their stadium. A courtroom was built into the stadium where unruly fans were taken for judgment and sentencing after committing crimes at Veterans Stadium. The penalties for the crime forced offenders to give up season tickets, pay a $400 fine and sit in jail for the rest of the game.
As you and everyone else can plainly see, Philadelphia fans are by far the most despicable, degenerate, pieces of scum in all of North American sport. I honestly could have gone on and on listing more instances, but it's getting late and I think everyone gets the point.
You seem like a nice person Demosthenes, but the company you keep by being a Philadelphia sports fan makes you guilty by association of all this degeneracy. I think the only way to cleanse yourself of such sins are to denounce your allegiance to all Philly teams once and for all, and possibly take a bath in the East River (yes even the East River is cleaner than Philly fans) to wash away all the filth that is accrued up after decades of cheering for them.