Philly sports fans consider themselves ‘gritty’ − but it’s merely a myth used to fuel their passion
- Written by Timothy J. Brown, Professor of Communication Studies, Eastern University
Philadelphia sports fans like to think of themselves as “gritty.”
In Philadelphia, grittiness can be defined as a working-class ideology that thrives on being the “underdog[1]” and emphasizes toughness, hard work, physicality and a combative defiance.
No event might be as exaggerated in defining Philadelphia sports fans’ gritty identity than when Eagles fans pelted Santa Claus[2] with snowballs at Franklin Field on Dec. 15, 1968.
Over 50,000 Eagles fans showed up on that freezing December day for the last game of the season to support their team, which had a lousy 2-11 record for the season. A Christmas Pageant was scheduled for halftime, but the Santa Claus never showed up. A staff member, in an attempt to salvage the pageant, spotted a short, 19-year-old fan, Frank Olivo, in the stands dressed in a second-hand Santa suit. Frank was selected as a last-minute replacement[3]. When the imperfect Santa walked across the field and attempted to greet the crowd, the fans were not in the mood, given their team’s record.
The rest is history.
As sports writers and news outlets magnified and reproduced the Santa story over and over, it cemented a storyline characterizing Philly’s sports fans[4] as mean-spirited and hostile – the worst of the worst[5].
But Philly sports fans’ zealousness for their teams is about more than rowdiness and thuggery.
I am the dean of the College of Arts and Humanities and a professor of communication studies[6] at Eastern University, which is located in the Philadelphia surburbs. My colleague Ellen Santa Maria[7], who is an adjunct instructor[8] in the Communication Studies department at West Chester University, and I recently took a closer look at Philly’s sports fans’ gritty identity[9].
We argue this identity, which is based on both fact and fiction, not only explains the passion of Philly sports fans but underscores the power of myth in our contemporary society.
Myths in American culture
A myth is a storyline fueled by memory and imagination that represents an oversimplification of events, people and relationships.
The substance of the myth is more emotional than logical, and it combines both reality and fiction. Myths also convey values and beliefs that individuals and groups accept as true, which influences their actions and behaviors[11].
Cultures create myths to convey morals, reaffirm beliefs and justify actions[12]. Examples of myths from American culture include but are not limited to American exceptionalism[13], the American frontier[14], the rugged individual[15] and the American dream[16].
Because myths are based on belief, the mere mention of an incident or circumstance will confirm the myth[17], while contrary information is conveniently ignored, downplayed or rationalized. For example, rugged individualism emphasizes the self-made person – the idea that success can be achieved independently. However, this myth ignores or downplays the reality that most individuals who achieve success have significant social, financial or political support.
Philly’s ‘gritty’ fans
Where does Philly’s gritty identity come from? A common explanation suggests it emerged as far back as 1800[18] when Philadelphia lost its status[19] as the nation’s capital, which was moved to Washington, D.C. As a result, Philadelphians came to consider their city an underdog city[20].
Today, Philly sports fans expect their local teams and players to demonstrate a working-class ideology in their style of play. Philadelphians love players who are hard-nosed, hard-working and give their best effort on every play.
And Philadelphia sports history is rife with examples of the gritty identity.
For example, Veterans Stadium, where both the Phillies and Eagles teams played for decades before the arena was demolished in 2004[21], was known for having a jail in its basement[22] for unruly fans.
The 1970s Flyers hockey team became known as the “Broad Street Bullies[23]” due to their aggressive physical style of play that won them the Stanley Cup.
An infamous 1990 Eagles game against the Washington Redskins is commonly remembered as the Body Bag Game[24]. Six Washington players were knocked out of the game from injuries. At one point, one of the Eagles players reportedly said to the Washington bench[25]: “You need any more body bags?” In reality, none of the injuries was fatal.
In 2010, a Phillies fan was tased[26] by a Philadelphia police officer for running onto the field. The footage of the fan[27] evading security before falling to the ground reinforced Philly fans’ reputation for being unruly and obnoxious.
A Phillies fan gets tased on the field in 2010.And in 2018 the Flyers debuted their new mascot – a tall, big-bellied orange monster with a beard and googly eyes called “Gritty[28].”
Rocky: A gritty icon
But no character might be more influential in sealing Philadelphia’s gritty identity than the fictional boxer Rocky Balboa from the 1976 cult classic film “Rocky,”[29] written by and starring Sylvester Stallone.
Rocky is a working-class Italian American boxer from South Philly who goes from being a small-time club fighter and an enforcer for a loan shark to, eventually, heavyweight champion of the world.
Rocky embodies the definition of a myth because the film combines both reality and fiction. The character is filmed in real places in Philadelphia[30], including the Italian Market, Independence Hall, Pat’s King of Steaks and the Philadelphia Art Museum. This confers authenticity to the character, yet the rags-to-riches storyline is improbable although emotionally satisfying.
Rocky Balboa is the archetype of Philly’s gritty identity.
Photo by Screen Archives/Getty Images[31]
Philadelphia has embraced the character so much that there is now an annual Rocky Day[32], Rocky Fest[33] and Rocky Run[34]. And the Philadelphia Art Museum, despite its world-renowned art collection, might be better known for its “Rocky steps[35]” and the outdoor “Rocky” statue[36] where tourists line up to pose for photos.
So when the next “gritty” incident makes its way into Philadelphia sports headlines, those who perceive Philly fans to be rude and obnoxious will likely point to it as further proof, while Philly sports fans will dismiss or rationalize the characterization as a misunderstanding of their passion.
References
- ^ underdog (www.youtube.com)
- ^ Eagles fans pelted Santa Claus (whyy.org)
- ^ last-minute replacement (thelibertyline.com)
- ^ characterizing Philly’s sports fans (books.google.com)
- ^ worst of the worst (haverfordclerk.com)
- ^ professor of communication studies (www.eastern.edu)
- ^ Ellen Santa Maria (www.linkedin.com)
- ^ adjunct instructor (www.wcupa.edu)
- ^ gritty identity (www.pdcnet.org)
- ^ Len Redkoles/NHLI via Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
- ^ influences their actions and behaviors (doi.org)
- ^ convey morals, reaffirm beliefs and justify actions (www.doi.org)
- ^ American exceptionalism (doi.org)
- ^ American frontier (doi.org)
- ^ rugged individual (doi.org)
- ^ American dream (www.jstor.org)
- ^ confirm the myth (doi.org)
- ^ as far back as 1800 (billypenn.com)
- ^ lost its status (www.cbsnews.com)
- ^ underdog city (www.theculturecrush.com)
- ^ demolished in 2004 (www.youtube.com)
- ^ jail in its basement (billypenn.com)
- ^ Broad Street Bullies (phlsportsnation.com)
- ^ Body Bag Game (www.philadelphiaeagles.com)
- ^ reportedly said to the Washington bench (www.philadelphiaeagles.com)
- ^ Phillies fan was tased (thatballsouttahere.com)
- ^ footage of the fan (www.youtube.com)
- ^ “Gritty (www.nhl.com)
- ^ the 1976 cult classic film “Rocky,” (www.imdb.com)
- ^ real places in Philadelphia (www.visitphilly.com)
- ^ Photo by Screen Archives/Getty Images (www.gettyimages.com)
- ^ Rocky Day (www.phillyvoice.com)
- ^ Rocky Fest (www.phlvisitorcenter.com)
- ^ Rocky Run (rockyrun.com)
- ^ Rocky steps (www.visitphilly.com)
- ^ “Rocky” statue (www.associationforpublicart.org)
Authors: Timothy J. Brown, Professor of Communication Studies, Eastern University
