The world of athletics is an ugly place — just ask the people of Philadelphia.

For three consecutive years, from 2007-09, the city of Philadelphia was ranked ugliest in the nation in Travel Leisure’s “America’s Favorite Cities” survey; but something tells me they weren’t being judged on their five o’clock shadows or tramp stamps, but rather on their affinity for the “Friggin’ Eagles” and their worship of fictional sports icon Rocky Balboa.

The people of Philly are a special breed, or rather, a special brood. Inside the walls of their coveted stadiums, they’ve committed and endorsed countless instances of what some would call lewd conduct.

In April 2011, GQ Magazine ranked Phillies fans (No.1) and Eagles fans (No.2) as the two worst groups of sports fans in the country.

Throughout the existence of Philly Fanaticism, fans have done everything from cheering the misery and misfortune of others to booing and pelting Santa Claus with snowballs — this particular event took place at a 1968 Eagles game during halftime.
To list several examples (because there are so many good ones):

In 1999, Eagles fans cheered when Dallas Cowboys’ wide receiver Michael Irvin suffered a career-ending neck injury; Phillies fans cheered when one of their own was struck with a Taser after running onto the field at Citizens Bank Park; in 1999, Phillies fans allegedly booed the first hand-transplant patient after his opening pitch failed to make it to home plate; they also threw batteries at the St. Louis Cardinals’ J.D. Drew in 2002; and early in the 2010 season, a Phillies fan dubbed “Pukemon” by NBC 10 Philadelphia, allegedly intentionally regurgitated on an 11-year-old girl at an
April game.

Surrounding Eagles fans at Lincoln Financial Field also barraged two San Francisco 49ers fans in the stands with hundreds of snowballs during the Niners’ trip to Philly. This went on until security escorted the Niners fans out of the situation — hopefully to some club-level seating.

The list could go on and on; but the City of Brotherly Love, and perhaps the City of Collective Lynching, isn’t the only culprit of when fandom turns into fanaticism, or for that matter, zealotry.

During this season’s NFL Playoffs, San Francisco 49ers fans allegedly verbally assaulted a father and his two daughters — Saints fans — at Candlestick Park, screaming obscenities at them and labeling the children’s mother a “whore.”

While this type of fanaticism is dangerous, it isn’t until a fanatic acts on his or her feelings that the true dangers present themselves.

Los Angeles, March 31, 2011 — Bryan Stow, a San Francisco Giants fan, takes a trip to Los Angeles with his some fellow fans to watch his team take on the Dodgers. While at the game, Stow and company are mocked by Dodgers fans to a degree that convinced him to send a text message to his cousin, saying he was “scared inside the stadium.”

After the game, Stow and company were attacked by Dodgers fans. Stow was knocked unconscious after being shoved headfirst into the parking-lot pavement. His assailants continued to beat him to a point of near death. Stow, a paramedic and father of two, remained in a coma until April 14, 2011. Doctors had to remove the left side of his skull to relieve the swelling to his brain. Doctors say he has brain damage that could affect his memory
and personality.

His family reported, through a blog on Jan. 21, that they hope his feeding tube can be removed sometime soon.

When fandom becomes fanaticism, like nationalism becoming religion, that’s when people get hurt.

That’s when we need to take a step back and realize that it’s just a game. The successes and failures of our teams shouldn’t dictate the way we live our lives. Cheer for your teams; represent your teams, but don’t live and die by them — because when you do so, you force others to do the same, and people get hurt.