Philadelphia sports fans have a reputation of being not so pleasant. You know - booing Santa Claus, cheering when Michael Irvin was laid out on the turf, etc. So it really should come as no surprise that during a ceremony to raise the Phillies’ 2008 World Series Champions banner at Citizens Bank Ballpark, two Philly fans would get into fisticuffs.
From THE 700 LEVEL (some language NSFW):
Yeah, there’s bound to be some punches thrown at your average Phillies game, but on this particular night at this particular moment? And 10 feet away from the actual ceremony, too?
Interesting artistic choice by the cameraman to film the banner raising at a 90-degree angle. He must have worked on the old “Batman” TV series in the ’60s.
12:53 pm on April 7th, 2009
Stay classy Philly
6:37 am on April 8th, 2009
2 young guys beatin on an older bald guy. Wimps.
2:07 pm on April 8th, 2009
o so that kid represents all of philly.
2:44 pm on April 20th, 2009
This event did happen, the fans in Philadelphia booed and threw snowballs at the jolly old elf but
Howard Cosell took a laugh-it-off incident and turned into a national travesty that still haunts the city.
I'm reluctant to tell the real story because I like that other fans think we're nasty enough to boo Santa.
I like it that fans and players are afraid to venture into this city, it gives us a certain edge. Anyway,
here's what happened on that fateful day.
On December 15, 1968 it was the last game of a pitiful season for the Eagles. At this point they were
2 -11, they were 0 - 11 until they beat Detroit and New Orleans thus ending their bid to draft O. J.
Simpson. They were set to play Minnesota and snow had been falling steady since the night before.
Wind gust were up to 30 mph and the temp was about 22 degrees. Over 54,000 people attended
the game and this just goes to show how loyal Philadelphia fans are.
A Christmas pageant was scheduled for halftime, the Eagles cheerleaders were dressed in elf costumes and a
50 piece band was to play carols while Santa paraded around the field in a sleigh. There were a few problems
however, 15 hours of snow and a half of football turned the field into a mud pit, the sleigh wasn't going anywhere.
Santa would have to walk — if there was a Santa. It turned out that the guy hired to play Santa at the Stadium
couldn't make it through the snow, the powers that be had to find a stand in.
Enter Frank Olivo, he was sitting in the stands wearing a corduroy Santa suit. Olivo weighed 170 lbs and was 5' 6".
The Eagles Brass begged him to stand in for the absent Santa. When Olivo took the field the fans got their first
glimpse of a disheveled looking Santa , who also appeared to be drunk, so they started booing him. Olivo, a true
Philadelphia fan, egged the booers on asking for more. Then from the stands a lonely snowball pelted him, after
laughing it off more snowballs came Santa's way. Shortly there after it was a snowball frenzy. To this day Frank Olivo
laughs at the day he became famous he loved every minute of it.
Howard Cosell's sports show on on ABC weekend report picked up the story and shown it nationwide. Without
knowing the story behind the booing and the snowballs, Howard Cosell gave Philadelphia it's reputation we still
hold to this day. The fans so nasty they'll even boo Santa Claus.