Wednesday, May 07, 2008

There Will Be Blood, Philly Fans Will Boo ... Let's Go Pens! Let's Go Pens!!

From Sports Illustrated, for cryin' out loud ...

"Ever since they booed Santa Claus, Philadelphia fans have had a reputation as the nastiest in all of sports."

From Answers.com ...

"The incident occurred in 1968. The Eagles were having a miserable season under Joe Kuharich, who may have been the most disliked coach in team history. The team started off the season 0-11 (back then they played 14 games), but the lone bright spot was that the team would be in position to select O.J. Simpson with the first overall pick in the 1969 draft. The Eagles then went on a two-game winning streak and lost out on the first pick. So even when they won, they lost."

"The Santa Claus incident occurred during halftime of the last game of the season, a game in which the Eagles were defeated by the Vikings. Back then, the regular season ended before Christmas, so they had a show at halftime. An older person was supposed to be Santa but he didn't show up (or was too sick or drunk depending on which version of the story you hear). In his place, they found a guy in the stands who had come to the game dressed in a Santa suit. He was young, skinny guy who didn't look the part. There have been accounts of the person being drunk, but it's unclear whether that's ever been verified."

"The fan reaction was a combination of a poor portrayal of Santa, frustration with coach Kuharich (who was fired after the '68 season) and the team. Philadelphia had become a football wasteland at the time. Between 1962 and 1977, the Eagles had exactly one winning season. On this day, fans took their frustration out on Santa."

Men In Black ... Well, in Black 'n Gold: Let's Go Pens!


Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there's a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin' in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he's a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you'd think He's talking straight to you and me.

Well, we're doin' mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin' cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we're reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought 'a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin' for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believen' that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believen' that we all were on their side.

Well, there's things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin' everywhere you go,
But 'til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You'll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I'd love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything's OK,
But I'll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
'Till things are brighter, I'm the Man In Black.