EAGLES FANS ARE THE REAL DEAL, KELCE SAYS, COWBOYS FANS POLAR OPPOSITES!
By Harvey Hoffman
Eagles center Jason Kelce was asked about the bitter rivalry between the Eagles and Cowboys and how early in his Eagles career the depths of that hatred was instilled.
“You feel it right away from the fanbase,” he answered. “The moment you get here, almost the first thing any Philadelphia fan says to you outside of the stadium: ‘Inside the stadium, we don’t care what you do throughout the season. We just care that you beat the Dallas Cowboys.’ This is such an ingrained rivalry that means so much to the city- really, so much to both fanbases.”
As Kelce continued his answer, though, he expounded on his thoughts about the two fanbases and what makes them radically different, in his eyes.
And while his explanation was even-toned, measured, and well-articulated, Kelce went on to paint Cowboys fans with a brush that’s arguably even more offensive than anything Peters said.
“What I’ve realized, the more I’ve come to be a Philadelphian and the more I’ve played here and played the Cowboys,” Kelce went on, “it really is such a dichotomy. They’re like two polar opposites that have been in the same division and played so many meaningful games of football together. You have the Philadelphia fanbase, which is this extremely localized, die-hard fanbase that is authentic to all of them growing up together in this community and this environment that breeds authenticity. And you have the Cowboys fanbase- which they have in Dallas- but the majority of that fanbase is built on commercialism and all of this pop culture, Lakers/Yankees-type fandom that I think is the complete opposite of what the Philadelphia Eagles’ fanbase stands for. And you have that North-and-the-South going in to it; you have so many factors and different things that it’s led to being almost a game of cultures and values that I certainly feel and love to represent the side I’m on.”
