D.C. Sports Fans vs. Philly Sports Fans

         As a simultaneous lifetime resident of Northern Virginia and fan of Philadelphia professional sports team, I uniquely have the ability to accurately distinguish between the typical D.C. fan and Philly fan.  Thom Loverro’s article below merely manifests currently and practically this disconnect, but deep down I know it’s more an issue of priorities. 

Thom Loverro: Fight with Philadelphia is not one the Nationals can win

                 You see, in Philly, the Eagles, the Flyers, the Phils, and, to a lesser extent, the Sixers, are the priority.  In D.C., only the Redskins (I will concede this…yes, D.C. folk love their Redskins still) are the priority.  D.C.-ites would like to claim that the Caps are the priority now, but for every 10 current Caps fans I can show you 7 of them who didn’t even know Jaromir Jagr was once a Cap, let alone Michael Pivonka and Liut.  The Bullets?  Ha!  The Nationals?  Just see above link.

                But you know, it’s not all D.C. folks’ faults.  As a D.C. folk myself, I realize that there are much bigger fish to fry in this area than underperforming professional sports teams.  For one there’s the whole political spectrum, which everyone in and around D.C. is invariably directly, or pseudo-directly involved in.  That and educational and vocational pursuits rule the Beltway lands.  We’re a bunch of overachieving, goal-seeking, educationally inundated folks.  This is a far cry from a large portion of blue-collar Philly fan demographic.

                But as Mr. Loverro succinctly describes in his article above…Philly fans are of a different breed.  They live and breathe their teams.  In D.C., fans are passionate, but only when convenient (or when success forces attention).  As long as it doesn’t conflict with another iPhone appointment (apart from the Redskins), D.C. fans are there to support their teams.