Philadelphia sports fans have become well-known for being rowdy and passionate about their favorite teams. The Eagles fandom in particular has a vocal nature with many iterations of controversial behaviors.
The antics of Eagles fans are under a heavy spotlight again after one of their own verbally abused a female Packers supporter, leading to an investigation by his employers, who branded his comments ‘completely unacceptable’.
The foul-mouthed rant, which has gone viral in recent days and also led to the team issuing a stadium ban, took place at Lincoln Financial Field as the Eagles cruised to a 22-10 win over the Packers in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.
At one point, Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell, who works for a DEI-focused management consulting firm in East Brunswick, New Jersey, refers to the woman as an ‘ugly, dumb c***’. That sparks a confrontation with her fiance, who is filming the incident.
Philadelphia will host at least one more game at The Linc this season, with the Rams in town today for the Divisional round, and fans have once again flown across the country to support the road team.
It will no doubt be a raucous atmosphere, and potentially a difficult one for those in the yellow and blue of LA. Here, we take a look at why…
The latest spotlight
Even with a playoff win, the Eagles’ fan base couldn’t have a sterling day with Caldwell’s actions.
NFL fans rallied around the couple and, according to TMZ, the Eagles have identified Caldwell and are considering their response to the incident.
On Monday, BCT Partners – a management consultant firm based in New Jersey – released a statement on the incident. On Wednesday, the firm fired Caldwell.
The company – which aims to ‘harness the power of diversity, insights, and innovation to transform lives, accelerate equity, and create lasting change’ – apologized over the rant and said it had begun a ‘full investigation’ into its employee.
In the video, Caldwell is seen shouting at the woman – who is wearing a Packers beanie – from his seat in the row behind.
Let’s punch an animal!
On the way to the Eagles’ only Super Bowl victory was two separate incidents of Philadelphia fans punching police horses.
Both games at Lincoln Financial Field during the 2017-18 postseason drew police reports of first a 22-year-old, then a 19-year-old, punching horses belonging to the Philadelphia Police Department.
‘Police say it all started when the 22-year-old Whitehall Township resident got ejected from the Eagles-Falcons game for being intoxicated and not having a ticket. After he got tossed, police say Hendricks approached a mounted police officer – punching his horse repeatedly in the face and neck, then striking the officer in the legs,’ one of the police report stated per Fox 29.
The wins over the Falcons and Vikings put them into the Super Bowl, with a victory over the Tom Brady-led Patriots taking place two weeks later.
More chaos ensued after their first NFL championship since 1960.
Championship ‘celebrations’
Compared to total carnage, Philadelphia fans had a tame night after Nick Foles outdueled Tom Brady at quarterback in the 2018 edition of the Super Bowl.
There were only four arrests, but many light poles and traffic lights were not standing after the win, per Slate.
The most Philly part of the evening also involved horses after the triumphant victory.
One Eagles fan did not punch a horse. Instead, he ate some of the mighty beast’s poop. How intoxicated does someone have to be to think that’s a good idea?
Stay classy, or gassy, City of Brotherly Love.
Philly’s favorite food gets tossed
Eagles’ fans have a mantra of protecting their own with everyone else being the enemy, with their inner hatred coming out if something happens to one of their own.
Take a 2014 game against the then-Washington Redskins, and opposing defensive end Chris Baker was ejected for a hit on Foles.
Eagles fans tossed food at him as he headed to the locker room, including cheesesteak ‘innards’ and a hot dog.
Baker was asked about the interaction after the game.
‘Um, it just missed,’ Baker said. ‘I think some tartar sauce or some mustard was thrown. But it did miss me though. It’s Philadelphia. You’ve got to expect it.’
The video of the food being thrown was uploaded onto now-defunct app Vine. The hit can still be seen here.
Starting them young!
Taking another loss for the Giants just outside of Lincoln Financial Field earlier this month was a female New York football fan who was brutally taunted by several young Eagles fans, who are about 8 years old.
The green-and-black clad Philadelphia children get into a shouting match with the woman after the Eagles’ 20-13 victory over the Giants in Week 18 with most of their best players sitting.
How the argument started is unclear, as the first clear comment from either side audible is the woman yelling at the kids, ‘You’re like 3 feet tall’ as if the 8-year-old kids care about their height at such a young age.
Tons of different insults can be heard coming from the kids back to the woman, who has to be restrained by seemingly her partner in an Eagles’ beanie.
‘3-14! 3-14!’ one child can be heard yelling, referencing the Giants’ final record.
At one point, the woman gets free from her partner’s grip and aggressively tries to walk up to the children before being caught. Hopefully, she was intoxicated and did not decide to run up on kids sober.
