Never has it been said that Philadelphia fans have a problem being loud. In fact they are known around North America, whatever the sport, for being not only wherever their various teams manage to land on the continent but for also making their presence known. No bigger display of that commitment to a city’s sports has been made than at the Philadelphia Flyers game at the Verizon Center in Washington, DC against the Capitals on Tuesday night. Undoubtably the sheer power of Flyers fans outside of Philadelphia has been matched at other points over the years, but it is hard to imagine for those locked to the city the joy of those living in other regions when they see hundreds of their kinsmen lining the stadium seats and the arena sections being just as loud as they themselves are.
I personally never understood the power that Philadelphia fans could muster outside of it’s own sports’ facilities. Since I moved to Washington, DC because of school I have made it to many Flyers games, but never in my life have I seen hundreds drown out thousands.
The rivalry between the Flyers and Capitals seems to have reached a boiling point thanks to an OT winner by Joffrey Lupul in the game 7 series of last year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs. There is absolutely no love loss between the two cities that face off regularly in each of the 4 major sports.
On Tuesday the orange and black jerseys began speckled between the red Capitals shirts, hats, and jerseys. But from the end of the National Anthem you could hear “Let’s Go Flyers!” shouted from every corner of the Verizon Center. The Capitals fans of course responded with a roar of “Flyers Suck!” after each offering from the Philadelphia faithful. Trash talk between those painted orange and those in fake, shiny, red hair sounded a lot like every event taking place at the Wachovia Center. This time though instead of the rarely found opposing fan managing to score tickets to a game amongst the Flyers’ sold out Philadelphia crowds the Capitals fans were in greater number. They were bumping into Flyers fans on the escalators and making fun of them in the hallways. “Fourth Place Flyers” became a nifty little chant to which each one of the hundreds of Philadelphians would respond “STANLEY CUPS!”
This of course was while the Flyers were losing. From the moment Claude Giroux scored the first Philadelphia goal the Flyers and their fans never looked back. Russian flags were greeted with “USA! USA!” chants from the Flyers fans.
In between the second and third a beer run ended in the only real altercation of the night. A Flyers fan was run into by a Capitals fan and beer spilled everywhere. The Philadelphian brushed off the liquid and socked the Capitals fan in the face a lot like a well positioned Riley Cote jab (click for youtube).
Much like Andre Roy the Capitals fan buckled as the Flyers fan bolted. I wish now that I could’ve shaken his hand. No words were spoken, but everyone knew that Philadelphia had earned it’s own little niche in the Verizon Center. The Flyers were taking over.
Three consecutive goals cemented a Flyers’ victory. As the Capitals crowd grew fainter with it’s “Flyers Suck!” chants the “Let’s Go Flyers” chants from those clad in orange and black drowned out the stadium until throughout the arena all you could see was the orange standing out amongst a sea of red. The Capitals fans slowly began to leave turning their stadium into what it had been for the last decade or so when their team couldn’t buy a trip to the playoffs. The Philadelphians were in control and letting everyone know.
On the way out chants of “Let’s Go Flyers!” were met by the hurried footsteps of every Capitals fan rushing away as fast as possible. Outside “E-A-G-L-E-S Eagles!” rang out into the Washington streets. It felt like we owned the city, and in many ways we did.
The presence of Philadelphia fans outside of the city is something taken for granted by anyone who has never witnessed a sporting event in another arena. I know because once upon a time I was one of those that had never seen an away game. I never knew that we could be so powerful with our backs against the wall miles from home. This is just a reminder of why the fans of the city of Philadelphia, who sell out all their sports regularly, win or lose, and even force sell out games away from home, are the best in the entire world. We already knew that though. Why? Because we are the ones that make us the best no matter where in the world we are.
