Brotherly love — I don’t think so. From The Seattle Times: Sideline Chatter:
Three takes on Philadelphia’s hard-boiled fans:
• Red Sox manager Terry Francona, as quoted by the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News: “Hey, I spent four years managing in Philadelphia. On Fan Appreciation Day, someone slashed my tires in the parking lot.”
• Slogan on the official Eagles Fan Club Web site, www.eaglesfanclub.com: “Where the fans are tougher than the players!”
• Ian O’Connor of the Journal News of Westchester, N.Y., on ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters”: “The Eagles are the only team in the sport who actually want to score early to take their own fans out of the game.”
What the heck does Ian O’Connor know? Many friends were at the Linc on Sunday, and they said the place was electrifying. They are great, loyal fans, and they keep going to games despite bad management (Phillies), arrogant management (Flyers), questionable management (76ers). I wasn’t at the game, but I’m one of those fans, and I welcome the arrogant ignorance of New York-centric writers like O’Connor, who never respect Philadelphia anyway.