philadelphia sports fans

Just finished watching the Eagles game (hey! They finally played reasonably well. At least from what I saw). The CBS announcers, like many sports commentators, just don't get Philadelphia fans. The complaint typically goes something like this:

"I just don't get Philadelphia fans. Why do they boo so much? You come to a game to have fun. There's just so much negative energy here. Why are they booing? I just don't get it!"

This is typically followed by some throwaway line about how, of course, it's the fans' right to boo.

What non-Philadelphians don't understand is that Philadelphia fans care about their teams. Not in the "Oh, Nowhereville Borings, you're so wonderful and make me so happy. I could never be angry with you" sense. Philadelphia fans are emotionally invested how their teams play. And emotion, positive and negative, gets vented somehow. When Philly fans are pissed off, they're going to boo. Not because they hate their team but because they fair.

For the record, when Michael Lewis picked off a Chad Pennington pass to definitively shift the momentum towards the Eagles, the crowd erupted in cheers. Because they care.