Obsessive Fandom
The Philadelphia Daily News - Eagletarian
Obsessive Fandom
Les Bowen, Daily News Staff Writer
Thinking a lot about obsessive fandom today, for a couple reasons. One is this report from High&Inside about Montreal Gazette writer Pat Hickey's car being vandalized during or after Game 1 of the Canadiens-Flyers series. Really not cool. Though Pat -- a very decent guy I knew back in my days as a hockey scribe -- thankfully is being very cool about it, not piling on to the "Philly fans are pigs" bandwagon. He knows this kind of stuff, sadly, can happen anywhere.
Serendipitously, today also is the publication date for a book about being an Eagles fan, called "Bury Me In My Jersey, A Memoir of My Father, Football and Philly," by Roxborough native, LaSalle grad and Temple lecturer Tom McAllister. It's an interesting book, but one that sometimes is as painful to read as it must have been to write.
Despite his academic background, which includes the incredibly presitigious Iowa Writers' Workshop, McAllister is the sort of Eagles fan who ... well, let's just go to McAllister's narration of his behavior at the end of a loss to Jacksonville at the Linc in 2006. Keep in mind while reading it that this is the first game his fiancee has attended as she attempts to decipher the rituals of Eagles fandom.
"As the Eagles strolled complacently off the field at the final whistle, I kicked the seat in front of me repeatedly until the cupholder snapped off and sprayed cracked plastic over the people in front of me. (A guy dressed as) Elvis yelled at me to settle down and I flipped him off. LauraBeth grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the concourse, shaking her head. We filed out of the stadium in silence."
That might not have been as cringeworthy as the scene set the previous year, at an Eagles win in Kansas City, when McAllister taunted and then smacked the foam hat off a Chiefs fan, and expressed puzzlement over the midwesterners' attempts to make him feel welcome.
The redeeming feature here is that the book is an attempt to come to grips with that behavior, by a man who has come to understand how childish and silly it was, some of it fueled by the death from cancer of his Eagles-obsessed father.
On the final page, McAllister writes: "Rather than handling my problems myself, I've been looking for the Eagles to solve them, to help me cope. My football obsession may have b rought me closer toDad, but now it is driving me further from the man he wanted me to be. I've used football as an excuse for immaturity, used it as a mask when I was afraid, hid myself from the real world."
The folks over at Igglesblog have an interview with McAllister today that is illuminating.
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Andy Reid looks like he eats donuts everyday including coffee. LOL FOREAL HE REALLY LOOKS LIKE HE EATS DONUTS EVERYDAY.
Remember you're rooting for the jersey. You don't like the Giants because they're wearing blue and not green. It really does come down to that. Players go where the best opportunity lies - not a city.— p-diddy- Last Oct, when the Eagles beat the deadskins on Monday night football, my friends and I traveled to D.C for the game. I wore my westbrook jersey and one of my friends had on an Eagles sweat shirt. We were attacked with beer from the rear, left, and right. No one broke their necks to point out how rude, and disrespectful the deadskin fans were. It is sad; the national media hates Philly and it is evident when our games are commentated by the likes of joe buck, and chris collinsworth. Last week I heard someone on ESPN say in regards to the phillies fan who was stung by the cop "he's a philadelphia fan by default he can be stung." THIS IS SAD.— bow
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- As a fellow fan and Philly resident, I despise all of you losers that make excuses for immature actions of other fans. Just because other fans are rioting or whatever, it doesn't mean you too are allowed that kind of behavior. If the Guy from Canada got his car vandalized, we as Philadelphians chould feel ashamed that one of our citizens has fallen into the same category as the Montreal rioters, not applaud him... I feel like I'm scolding a pre-schooler... I think anyone with a brain can understand this... Keep it classy, Philly, please. Very good article.— goeagles87
- Philly Fans get targeted FAR too often. Its easy for lazy writers.— Nezhy
- We are the men of sports fans, everyone else hates cus they don't got cajones, for the true Eagles fans, i will bleed green by your side, but for those idiots who have turned thier backs on McNabb, and even Dawkins i hope you realize your identity and put on cowgirl blue— Dawks4Prez
- It gets harder to be a Philly fan every week. Reading these comments defending these idiots and blaming the media for "targeting" us just leads me to believe it's just a matter of time before we're splashed across newspaper headlines and leading SportsCenter again. Grow up people. I agree it happens in every city, but let's face facts- it happens here too much and the more we act as apologists for these idiots, the less likely it becomes that we'll ever shake our reputation as animals. Maybe that doesn't mean much to you, but it means something to me and the vast majority of other Philadelphians.— Phightin Phil
- Did you people even read the entire article?? "The redeeming feature here is that the book is an attempt to come to grips with that behavior, by a man who has come to understand how childish and silly it was, some of it fueled by the death from cancer of his Eagles-obsessed father. On the final page, McAllister writes: "Rather than handling my problems myself, I've been looking for the Eagles to solve them, to help me cope. My football obsession may have b rought me closer toDad, but now it is driving me further from the man he wanted me to be. I've used football as an excuse for immaturity, used it as a mask when I was afraid, hid myself from the real world."" That's pretty much the most important part of this story, apparently it is lost on some people here.— LeChance
- Breaking pieces off a chair? That doesn't even qualify as violent. Dolphins fans probably even do stuff like that.— djack10
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- TheKolbIntereceptionMachineShow....Hey pansy, what is a panies? Your weak replies can't be hidden no matter how many times you change your dumb name. Besides, thought you were a Washington fan now?— Voytas
- The book is an EXCELLENT! I have read it once already and plan on reading it again. It is a must read for any obsessed eagles fan or any football fan for that matter.— billwithers1977
- phila 215 take that silver spoon out your mouth..could care less if you have season tix...we bleed green in the lehigh valley.— LVEagle28
