ESPN personality unerves Philly sports fans

On Friday, Chris Russo took a page out of Stephen A. Smith’s book. The “Mad Dog” is the master of his craft and very, very New York-centric at that. Like Smith, he knows how to play to a crowd, as he did Fanatics Fest live from NYC. And in doing so, Russo took aim at Philadelphia sports fans, as only he could.

While talking about fan bases that make him mad, they all do, but in Atlanta in particular, Russo also rebuked the “City of Brotherly Love.” It didn’t take long for Russo to launch into a scathing critique of Philadelphia sports fans, painting them as fickle and undeserving of their reputation as a passionate sports city.

“Game 7, 1981, second-round playoff series, Bucks-Sixers,” began Russo. “That is a Sixers team with Julius Erving. That is a Bucks team with Bob Lanier, Marques Johnson and Junior Bridgeman. They played in Philadelphia. They both won way over 50 games. It was Mother’s Day — a seventh game — 99-98, Philly. You know how many people were in the building at The Spectrum? 5,700. Do you know how many people were across the street, Mother’s Day, Phillies and the Cubs? 30,000.

“So, the idea that Philadelphia, PA. is some sports haven is a bunch of nonsense. They will jump off the Phillies’ bandwagon. They were booing them the other night! The Phillies! Who have done nothing but win the last three years. They lost to the Marlins, and they booed them in the first inning.

“And forget the Eagles. And did you know the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl and (Carson) Wentz got hurt, did you know at halftime of a Sunday night game with Nick Foles late in the year when they were 11-2, when they got off the field at the half, and they were losing 10-0, they booed the Eagles! That was the year they won the Super Bowl.”

While Russo’s larger point here makes some sort of sense, he has some of the facts wrong.

The Eagles were down 23-21 at halftime of that game against the 2-11 New York Giants and went on to win 34-29. But as a freshman at Temple University in 2017-18, I can attest to that being the case. I remember the sky falling that very day that Wentz tore his ACL, only to be relieved by Nick Foles, who would lead them to their first Super Bowl victory in franchise history.

But as history will tell, the fanbase wasn’t completely in love with its backup quarterback. That was until he led the Eagles to a 6-1 record—including LII—in relief of Wentz, cementing himself as a legendary figure in the city alongside Rocky Balboa.

It should be noted that Russo started to get booed during this portion, as he seemingly went off the rails. The Philadelphia faithful in the crowd let him have it. Sure, you can accuse the town of being a frontrunner, but it’s hard to argue with the passion being larger anywhere else.

At the same time, most sports cities are frontrunners, if we’re being completely honest here. Few places around the country are selling out games unless the team is winning. The American sports culture is that of winning, and the support when they’re losing just isn’t there. Don’t believe me? Check Citizens Bank Park’s attendance from 2013-21.

“The sports fan in that town thinks they’re better than everybody else. New York is better! New York is better!” said Russo, with the boo’s now coming down like large raindrops. “Philadelphia by far — No. 1.”

No. 1 in what?

“You should be drug tested,” said Stephen A. Smith, a former Philadelphia Inquirer reporter and columnist himself. “Philadelphia is one of the greatest sports towns in America. You have lost your ever-loving mind. The Sixers, the Eagles, the Phillies…Excuse me? Philadelphia is a fantastic — let me tell you something right now; you can say that (the New York fans overtook Wells Fargo Center during this year’s NBA playoffs), but the fact of the matter is, as someone that worked in that city for 17 years, they boo you, they might get disgusted with you, but it’s because they hold you accountable.

“It is a great sports town. You’re wrong about the city of Philadelphia. You’re wrong.”

Can “Mad Dog” be both right — and wrong — here?

[ First Take ]

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