How To Live With A Philadelphia Sports Fan

Three strategies to maintain your sanity

If the Eagles Super Bowl loss ruined your evening, you are not alone. In the past week, if someone said to you, “It’s just a game, right?” They are not a true Philly fan.

Philly Sports fans are legendary. The passion runs deep. The loyalty is fierce. Fan antics are at a whole different level…think greased poles and throwing snowballs at Santa Claus. Cheering the injured Cowboy Michael Irvin or verbally harassing Dodgers pitcher Burt Hooten are some of our more infamous moments.

Living with a die-hard Philadelphia sports fan husband for over thirty years has given me insights that I’d like to share. Keep these strategies in mind as you cycle through the sports year.

First — Have a Thick Skin

Don’t be hurt if this #1 fan has less than precise recall about family events or even romantic moments. At Thanksgiving, I was wistfully peeling potatoes, reminiscing about our first holiday together. “Remember how we held hands under the table,” I asked? Richard did not miss a beat, “Yes — that was the date of “Bounty Bowl — Eags won it 27–0”. (Eagles coach Buddy Ryan put bounties on Cowboy players.)

Another time, I showed him a photo of us at a recent family Sunday dinner. He remembered the Eagles’ opponent and the score that day without hesitation. Similarly, he can recite the outcome of the snow bowl, the fog bowl, the freeze out Falcons game, the body bag game, the 2008 Dallas season finale blowout — you get the picture. His only super bowl attendance in 1981 left him “mentally scarred for life.”

Sometimes, I join in the fun preparing wings, nachos, salsa, or sliders etc. On a day that we were losing big time, he asked if I noticed that my excessive food prep frequently resulted in an Eagles defeat. Really? No I did not notice — that’s crazy.

I continued to prepare game day food, throwing caution to the wind!

Second: Be Patient

Lest you think that my hubby cares only for the Eagles, he maintains that TO. THIS. DAY. he has never recovered from the ’64 Phillies. What? As a kid, my husband grew up with baseball as the only sport he followed. He spent his summers at the shore listening to the Phils on the porch. The Phillies were in first place the whole summer and the family planned to attend the World Series. (There were no playoffs in those days.) They were 6 games up with 12 games to go and they lost 11 in a row. “It was the worst collapse in the history of sports,” is a phrase I have heard many times. It took over 14 years for him to start watching the Phillies again. Grudge much?

Redemption song: Yeah! World Series champs: 1980 and 2008. Patience pays off.

When the Flyers started winning in the 70s it was the first successful Philadelphia team for fans of a certain age. When they played for the Stanley Cup, Richard was not in town. He was driving cross country with no phone and no radio. Frantic for news, he visited every rest stop along the way for score updates.

Richard has ventured into the personal stadium experience once again. Dinner plus batting practice is a six-hour game commitment. He is an all sports devotee by the way. We have spent two anniversaries with the Sixers.

Third: Get Your Own Hobby

When things get to be too much, I have my own hobby — many of them in fact: reading, spinning, swimming, quilting, writing, cooking, baking, gardening, walking, etc. You get the picture.

The gym lets me enjoy “sport” at my level and it’s fun to challenge myself every day. I am a washed-up athlete so I know it’s important to keep moving! Not so fast. Even as I try to quietly sneak out early for a spin class or swim, I cannot escape the latest news. At the slightest noise my sports fan is awake to announce any one of the following: Sixers lost in overtime, Phils won in 12 innings, or Flyers lost — the bums, etc.

Sometimes hobbies converge.

When the golden moments are there — you take them! The Phillies won the World Series at 10:30 pm in 2008. Time to change out of your pjs and go to 5 Points or Broad Street and celebrate. No, we didn’t climb any poles.

I am a children’s book author who also writes about the wonder and mystery of everyday grown-up life. For more visit www.amdidio.com.