- Feb 8, 2001
- 29,033
- 6
- 81
A snowball's chance in...
By DON RUSSELL
russeld@phillynews.com
HOW WILL THE approaching snowstorm affect Sunday's matchup between the Falcons and the Eagles?
Will a blizzard stop Donovan McNabb from throwing deep?
Can Michael Vick get proper footing on a snowy field?
We'll leave those questions to the experts in the Sports department. Here at Blitz Package, snow at an Eagles game means just one thing:
Snowballs.
Forget about that nationally televised Monday-night flare-firing, the occasional mascot-beatings and the omnipresent barrel-chested boos. Of all the seamy tales of misbehavior, it is snowballs in the stands that give Eagles fans their national notoriety.
Two incidents in particular sealed our town's image:
? Dec. 15, 1968, Franklin Field (snow accumulation: 2 inches) - Santa is booed and pelted with snowballs during halftime of a season-ending loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Howard Cosell shows film of the assault on national TV that night and word spreads. In the last five years alone, the incident has been recounted more than 250 times in newspapers nationwide, according to the Nexis database.
? Dec. 19, 1989, Veterans Stadium (snow accumulation: 5 inches the previous week) - Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson faces a barrage of snowballs as he leaves the field under police escort. "That's not the kind of thing you'd ever see in Texas Stadium," Johnson gripes. "Our fans have too much class." Indeed, among the fans in the stands is Ed Rendell, who admits to paying a guy 20 bucks to hit the field with a snowball. Rendell is elected mayor two years later.
Is Sunday's NFC championship game, when up to 6 inches are expected on the ground, shaping up to be another Eagles Snow Bowl?
The team was close-mouthed yesterday about any snow-related plans this weekend.
It's worth noting, though, that the Linc's stands are much closer to the field than the Vet's. Rendell would lose plenty of dough if he makes a repeat bet.
From past experience at the Linc, though, it appears slippery conditions in the stands - not snowballs - may be the biggest problem.
The stadium's only other snow games were Dec. 6-7, 2003, the weekend of the Army-Navy game and a late-season matchup against the hapless Cowboys.
The Eagles hired scores of workers to clear the snow, and they were generally successful.
However, the aisles and stairs iced up and many fans took a tumble. At least six people were hurt.
(By the way, the Linc is turning into a potential goldmine for slip-and-fall attorneys. Open for just two years, the stadium has already attracted about a half-dozen lawsuits by plaintiffs claiming they were injured in falls, according to court records.)
Though there were no reports of snowballs fired onto the field, Cowboys fans who wore their colors that Sunday reported getting blitzed in the parking lot.
For this Sunday's NFC championship, then, Philadelphia fans clearly have the snowball edge. Annual average snowfall in Atlanta is less than 2 inches.
The Keystone curse
In his Tuesday Morning Quarterback column at NFL.com, Gregg Easterbrook notes it's not just Philadelphia that's had bad luck in NFC championship games.
In last decade, Pennsylvania has hosted six conference championships between the Steelers and the Eagles. And it's lost 'em all.
Well, damn
Blitz Package reader Michael Medway writes, "Don't get me wrong, I like bashing Atlanta as well as the next man... but if you're going to bash them at least get it right. The correct quote by Rhett to Scarlett in 'GWTW' was, 'Frankly, MY dear, I don't give a damn.' Now some over the years have tried to add the "just" between 'I' and 'don't,' but that's just plain wrong, my dear."
We stand corrected.
Worried? Us?
After three straight NFC championship losses, Eagles fans are hardly concerned about another choke, according to a poll yesterday on the team's Web site. Asked to describe their level of confidence, they answered:
If Eagles play well, it's a W: 54 percent
Feeling like there is no way the Eagles will lose: 23 percent
Too nervous to be confident: 13 percent
Wary about what's going to happen: 9 percent
Get the drift
"In honesty, I think the city's fans became proud of the fact that Santa Claus got hit with snowballs, because it labeled them and they want to live up to the label of being tough fans."
- Frank Olivo, who played Santa Claus at Franklin Field.
"I tried to signal to the fans to stop but they didn't. I don't blame the fans. If you're going to have snow in the stands, they'll throw snowballs."
- Ex-Eagles coach Buddy Ryan, after the 1989 Snow Bowl.
"I think there was more damage to the snowballs than there was to Jimmy's hair."
- A former Eagles spokesman laughing off the barrage of snowballs that hit then-Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson in that game.
By DON RUSSELL
russeld@phillynews.com
HOW WILL THE approaching snowstorm affect Sunday's matchup between the Falcons and the Eagles?
Will a blizzard stop Donovan McNabb from throwing deep?
Can Michael Vick get proper footing on a snowy field?
We'll leave those questions to the experts in the Sports department. Here at Blitz Package, snow at an Eagles game means just one thing:
Snowballs.
Forget about that nationally televised Monday-night flare-firing, the occasional mascot-beatings and the omnipresent barrel-chested boos. Of all the seamy tales of misbehavior, it is snowballs in the stands that give Eagles fans their national notoriety.
Two incidents in particular sealed our town's image:
? Dec. 15, 1968, Franklin Field (snow accumulation: 2 inches) - Santa is booed and pelted with snowballs during halftime of a season-ending loss to the Minnesota Vikings. Howard Cosell shows film of the assault on national TV that night and word spreads. In the last five years alone, the incident has been recounted more than 250 times in newspapers nationwide, according to the Nexis database.
? Dec. 19, 1989, Veterans Stadium (snow accumulation: 5 inches the previous week) - Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson faces a barrage of snowballs as he leaves the field under police escort. "That's not the kind of thing you'd ever see in Texas Stadium," Johnson gripes. "Our fans have too much class." Indeed, among the fans in the stands is Ed Rendell, who admits to paying a guy 20 bucks to hit the field with a snowball. Rendell is elected mayor two years later.
Is Sunday's NFC championship game, when up to 6 inches are expected on the ground, shaping up to be another Eagles Snow Bowl?
The team was close-mouthed yesterday about any snow-related plans this weekend.
It's worth noting, though, that the Linc's stands are much closer to the field than the Vet's. Rendell would lose plenty of dough if he makes a repeat bet.
From past experience at the Linc, though, it appears slippery conditions in the stands - not snowballs - may be the biggest problem.
The stadium's only other snow games were Dec. 6-7, 2003, the weekend of the Army-Navy game and a late-season matchup against the hapless Cowboys.
The Eagles hired scores of workers to clear the snow, and they were generally successful.
However, the aisles and stairs iced up and many fans took a tumble. At least six people were hurt.
(By the way, the Linc is turning into a potential goldmine for slip-and-fall attorneys. Open for just two years, the stadium has already attracted about a half-dozen lawsuits by plaintiffs claiming they were injured in falls, according to court records.)
Though there were no reports of snowballs fired onto the field, Cowboys fans who wore their colors that Sunday reported getting blitzed in the parking lot.
For this Sunday's NFC championship, then, Philadelphia fans clearly have the snowball edge. Annual average snowfall in Atlanta is less than 2 inches.
The Keystone curse
In his Tuesday Morning Quarterback column at NFL.com, Gregg Easterbrook notes it's not just Philadelphia that's had bad luck in NFC championship games.
In last decade, Pennsylvania has hosted six conference championships between the Steelers and the Eagles. And it's lost 'em all.
Well, damn
Blitz Package reader Michael Medway writes, "Don't get me wrong, I like bashing Atlanta as well as the next man... but if you're going to bash them at least get it right. The correct quote by Rhett to Scarlett in 'GWTW' was, 'Frankly, MY dear, I don't give a damn.' Now some over the years have tried to add the "just" between 'I' and 'don't,' but that's just plain wrong, my dear."
We stand corrected.
Worried? Us?
After three straight NFC championship losses, Eagles fans are hardly concerned about another choke, according to a poll yesterday on the team's Web site. Asked to describe their level of confidence, they answered:
If Eagles play well, it's a W: 54 percent
Feeling like there is no way the Eagles will lose: 23 percent
Too nervous to be confident: 13 percent
Wary about what's going to happen: 9 percent
Get the drift
"In honesty, I think the city's fans became proud of the fact that Santa Claus got hit with snowballs, because it labeled them and they want to live up to the label of being tough fans."
- Frank Olivo, who played Santa Claus at Franklin Field.
"I tried to signal to the fans to stop but they didn't. I don't blame the fans. If you're going to have snow in the stands, they'll throw snowballs."
- Ex-Eagles coach Buddy Ryan, after the 1989 Snow Bowl.
"I think there was more damage to the snowballs than there was to Jimmy's hair."
- A former Eagles spokesman laughing off the barrage of snowballs that hit then-Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson in that game.
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