StevieInferior Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 These guys no fans of Philly By NED BARNETT, Staff Writer RALEIGH--While the Carolina Panthers plotted strategy before playing the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, four young men in Panthers gear huddled in a Philadelphia hotel room and made a plan for meeting the Philadelphia Eagles' fans. The Panthers won. The four Panthers fans did not. The four men from Raleigh, all 22, knew following their team into the Eagles' nest would be a dicey adventure. An element of the Eagles' fan base is famously unruly and known to be famously unfriendly. That's why they made a plan before leaving their Philadelphia hotel and taking the Broad Street subway to Lincoln Financial Field. One of the Panthers fans, Jason Forehand, a former East Carolina football lineman, led the pregame meeting. "We knew that it was going to be a rough environment. We knew there was going to be a lot of trash talk, and we were prepared for that," he said. "I said, 'Guys, we're going into hostile territory. We're going to get a win and get the hell out of here.' " They got the win. Getting out of there was another matter. They didn't mind the crude heckling on the subway or the abuse once they took their seats in the upper deck without any other Panthers fans in sight. But when the Panthers scored first in the second quarter, fans higher up rained beer, peanuts and taunts. Stadium security told the four they needed to leave their seats and would be given seats at the club level. They were led around the stadium, but the stadium staff could not locate open seats. Meanwhile, having spent $1,820 for four tickets, $130 for a hotel room, and driven more than 400 miles from Raleigh, the four fans missed seeing the rest of the game. As they waited in a concession area for their new seats, Forehand said he was approached by a police officer. The officer said a woman had accused him of spitting at her and striking her in the stomach. Forehand was bewildered. So were his friends. "He didn't hit that girl. We had never even seen her," said David Ritchie, an N.C. State student who was part of Forehand's group, along with Cody Wallace and Justin Woolard. Forehand, who stands 6 feet 4 and weighs 300 pounds, doesn't think it was a case of mistaken identity. He thinks the young woman and her male companion made the allegation to get him thrown out. "This was a malicious act on her part," Forehand said. Police took Forehand to a cell in the stadium jail and then moved him to a downtown jail. He was held for 23 hours. His bed was a concrete slab. His Philadelphia hosts fed him not cheesesteaks but a cold cheese sandwich he didn't eat. Forehand said he heard the police joking that they had "one of those Panther boys" in the cell. "They were pretty pleased to have me in there," he said. Forehand was released on his own recognizance after his father retained a Philadelphia lawyer, Jeffrey Azzarano. He is due to go back to Philadelphia for a hearing on Feb. 26. "Just from being down at the Eagles' games, the story he tells doesn't sound all that outrageous," Azzarano said. "It sounds like the kid is getting jammed." Eagles spokesman Ron Howard said the police report is not yet available and he wouldn't comment on the matter until he saw it. But he provided a statement from Eagles president Joe Banner that said he was aware of problems with fan behavior toward visitors and that the Eagles had made efforts to protect Panthers fans before the game. Jill Porter, a columnist with the Philadelphia Daily News, wrote before the game that a few bad fans probably would do more damage to the City of Brotherly Love's reputation. She was right. Even Charlotte Mayor Pat McCrory was heckled to the point that he left the NFC championship game with a police escort. "Whether the Birds win or lose on Sunday, one thing is almost certain: The city will have to contend with the monkey on its back," said Porter, a Daily News writer for 25 years. "By that I don't mean the outcome of the game, but the goon fans -- the infamous vulgarians who spoil whatever good publicity the city gets by crossing the line from booster to boor and intimidating the opposing team's supporters." Foreman hopes tapes from the stadium's security cameras will show he didn't assault anyone. Meanwhile, he's on a campaign to stop Philadelphia's offense. "If I can give back to the game by putting a stop to this kind of thing, that's what I'm going to do," he said. "If I can prevent it from happening to anybody else in Philadelphia or any other stadium, I will. You should be able to go on the road and support your team." Philadelphia didn't deal well with the Carolina upset. Maybe it will do better for an upset Carolinian. Columnist Ned Barnett can be reached at 829-4555 or nbarnett@newsobserver.com http://www.news-observer.com/barnett/story/3263744p-2917304c.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kilmer17 Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 shocked I tell you. Im shocked. Karma is a *****. Good thing Fecal fans cant figure that part out. They dont deserve a championship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WallyG3 Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Ah, "The City of Brotherly Love". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
panel Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 And they are happy, the eagles fans torcher other fans, and make them never want to come to their staidum again, but they feel fine traveling to other staidums, and end up being the loadest and most obnocious. The hoggets can't travel to philly anymore, they have been beat up to much there. Its true, they said so when they were on Jay Leno. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 I hope the guy sues the b1tch that accused him for the cost of the ticket, hotel, travel, lost wages, court costs, plus treble damages. I'm not at all surprised by the cops. I was part of a group of fans in Skins gear that got flipped off by a cop as we tried to cross the street to get to the Vet. I knew we were in trouble then, and attending that game was the worst experience I've ever had in a football stadium. You won't catch me dead in Philly again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OURYEAR#56 Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 How does the league allow this? I mean this is the same group of people that clapped, I mean clapped when Michael Irvin was taken off on a stretcher. These are the same fans that hit Harry Carlson in the head with an ice ball from the rafters of the stadium. I'm sorry that they are a group of worthless people. That does not give them the right to hurt people. How can a police officer arrest a person on the speculation that he did something like this in this type of enviroment. Here's the list of people I would sue: 1) The Stadium itself, for not providing adequate protectio, and facilitating the fans unruliness by providing beer and achololic beverages when a threat of misconduct is present and has been acted on in the past. 2) The whole organization: for not addressing the issue of unruly fans, and not remeding in any way the conducts of these fans. 3) The NFL: for not regulating the Eagles team policy to provide a safe haven for visitors and Eagles fans to enjoy the venue that they paid for. It's one thing is the threat is not imminent. Obviously from past events, the Eagle fans present a clear danger for both patron of the Eagles, and visitors respectfully. 4) The City of Philidelphia: for violating my Due Process Rights. The only way to change this is to start hurting people where it counts, in the pockets. I hope the Eagles never win a Superbowl. They deserve what they get, a bum QB, and a bum city. Stop acting like children.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TC4 Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Lower life forms I tell you, they are lower life forms.............. :eaglesuck :eaglesuck :eaglesuck :eaglesuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlsbadd Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Thanks for the post ouryear, you said everything I was thinking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bazooka Tooth Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 I can not even believe that. It is amazing. They are absolutly horrible up there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endzone_dave Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 I'm not defending the Eagles fans in any way, I think they are scum. But just how stupid do you have to be to wear the other teams gear at Philly during a playoff game. I know it's a free country but they knew they were taking a risk. They were "huddled in a Philadelpia hotel room" so they knew they were going to be dealing with hostile fans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoCalMike Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Sounds just like the way Raiders fans behave out here.....UGH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HighPlainsDrifter Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 Unbelievable! The "city of brotherly love" huh, I'd rather Sit in the Black Hole with a Raiders Suck! shirt on than to be caught in the Vet with another teams gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Consigliere Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 It's not the smartest thing, but you're supposed to treat guests with some measure of civility, why they behave so outrageously I have no idea. I really feel bad for the few decent Eagle fans that have to be surrounded by such horrid human manure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeSkin Posted January 26, 2004 Share Posted January 26, 2004 That's so absurd it sounds almost like an urban legend. I'm stunned by how barbaric the scum in Philly is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
28-Green Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 It is a shame that some fans give such a bad name to their teams fans. You know it's bad when you need a police station and a court in the stadium. :eaglesuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeSkins Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 I think everyone who is killing the Eagle fans here may be forgetting something... Remember the Outside The Lines episode about a young Eagles fan, who, after enjoying a game in DC where the Eagles thoroughly whipped us (it was the MNF smoke game last year), was assailed by a group of Redskins fans, and had multiple bones broken. He was eating through a straw after it was all over.... I'm just saying that it's not just Philadelphia fans that are stupid, and we're not necessarily any better anywhere else. Snowballs in the meadowlands, beer bottles in Cleveland, and, to carry it over to another sport, an assault on a coach (Royals/W. Sox). Fans take it too far everywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimReefa Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by JoeSkins Remember the Outside The Lines episode about a young Eagles fan, who, after enjoying a game in DC where the Eagles thoroughly whipped us (it was the MNF smoke game last year), was assailed by a group of Redskins fans, and had multiple bones broken. He was eating through a straw after it was all over.... I would never say this about the fans of any other team... but he probably started it. Every year there are fans of other teams that pack Fed Ex Field, including Cowboy fans - loads of them - when we play their teams. And when an incident occurs it just "happens" to be an Eagles fan at the center of it? I don't buy that for one second. There is a reason there was a courtroom at the Vet. There is a reason that they cheered Michael Irvin's injury at a time when you still couldn't be sure whether he would walk again. They are the most disgusting, obnoxious fans in the country, and if the Eagles were contracted or moved to LA, the league would be better off. :eaglesuck :eaglesuck :eaglesuck :eaglesuck :eaglesuck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Sick Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 My idea is... To rig up a Redskin fan (preferably a HUGE one) with cameras and video recorder and record the type of treatment they get at the Linc. Then SUE THEIR ASSES !! I'll bet once their cheap-a$$ owner gets a load of that lawsuit, he will fix the problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldskool Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 Originally posted by NoCalMike Sounds just like the way Raiders fans behave out here.....UGH. No sh!t Mike. Living down here you see them all the time and I read posts about the Fecal fans and all you have to do is replace Green with Black and there the same lowest common denominator fan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skinsfan62 Posted January 27, 2004 Share Posted January 27, 2004 That's why that city won't ever win it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.