It's Time For A State Of The Union On Philly Sports Teams And Our Fanbase, Because The Relationship Is Broken
Heather Barry. Getty Images.This is something that is well past due right now. I think everyone in the Philly sports community right now can feel the tension in the air. It reached it's boiling point yesterday, but this is an issue that has been building up for a while now.
Obviously the aftermath of yesterday's Eagles win is getting the majority of the focus as opposed to the game itself. You had Nick Sirianni taunting Eagles fans in the crowd after the win, then bringing his kids up to the podium during the postgame press conference, and everybody has some pretty strong opinions on both moves. Some people say it's no big deal and that's just Nick being Nick, and anyone who has an issue with it is in the wrong. Some people think it was a clown move on both fronts, and think it's another example of why Sirianni isn't fit for the job. Some people think the reaction is only so strong because fans already have a strong dislike of Sirianni and look for any reason to rip on the guy whether it's fair or not.
The fact of the matter is that right now, the relationship between the teams in Philly and the fanbase is so fractured. This has been years in the making, going back to the runs in 2022. You had a fanbase that bought in so hard on our teams. Gave Trea Turner a standing ovation when he was playing like dog shit. Gave Alec Bohm a standing ovation after he admitted saying he hated this fucking place. Constantly defended Nick Sirianni when other fanbases were giving him shit for acting like a child after big wins. Had full belief in Jalen Hurts continuing to develop into an elite quarterback. Had more belief than ever in the Sixers after Joel Embiid finally won an MVP. The relationship between teams and fans had never been stronger than that time.
Ever since then it's been constant disappointment. Philly fans are already on edge enough as is, but adding in horrific collapse after horrific collapse has only sharpened those edges. The patience was worn thin, the hope has worn out, and that relationship between teams and fans is so toxic right now. The Sixers threatened to leave the city just to get their new stadium built in Market East. Nick Sirianni is taunting fans, the Phillies have completely destroyed the best home field advantage in baseball, and the Flyers aren't strong enough yet to carry the city on their own.
The saying is that winning cures everything. But on the flip side of that, it means that losing just heightens and magnifies every small problem into a major catastrophic issue. The fans hate the teams, the teams hate the fans, and you just can't expect anything good to come out of that. You can't expect the fanbase to continue being patient and supportive and thoughtful in the way they respond to little things like Nick Sirianni just having some fun with fans who were probably yelling for him to get fired all afternoon. You also can't expect guys like Nick Sirianni to just sit there and take it while every caller on the radio all week wants the guy fired and he has drunk fans in his ear all afternoon telling him to get lost.
How do we get the relationship back on the right track? Well obviously winning is the cheat code. These teams start to win and nobody even remembers any of this ever happened. But personally I think it's on the teams to be the first ones to extend the olive branch. Philly fans already tried to change who we were for these teams with all of the coddling that took place in 2022. Now it's time for the teams to go out there and say "you know what, we haven't been good enough. But we're not happy with it either, and we're going to do whatever it takes to get it right again". It's a common misconception, but Philly fans are actually pretty easy to please. All you have to do is show us that you care and that you're trying. We just don't want to feel like we care about these games way more than the players and coaches and owners do. Show some heart, show some balls. That's what Philadelphia was founded on.