From Enemy Territory

One must tread lightly when attending a sporting event as a fan of the visiting team. The comfort of being surrounded by 90,000 people that share at least one common opinion with you is no longer a guarantee; you will be judged as a person based solely on the cut of your jib. (which is not nearly as painful as it sounds.) But hey, you’ve decided to invest in the another owner’s attendance levels by purchasing a ticket, and you’re on an eastbound Metro train to see your hometown team take on the team that calls your current town home.

You better be ready for some football.

A couple of kids who grew up near the City of Brotherly Love, Jasen Andersen and I attended yesterday’s Eagles game – at FedEx Field in Landover, MD. Before we get into how one can survive and enjoy a sporting event in a foreign land, some notes on FedEx Field.

1 – As you can guess, Federal Express purchased the naming rights to Jack Kent Cooke Stadium once current owner Daniel Snyder took over the team in 1999. For just $7.6 million per year, you too can have a major sports arena named after you. (This is unless you are a bank, whereby you are only as permanent as the next big merger.) It seems like a curious move for FedEx. The general notion of marketing dollars is that they are spent in order to attract customers to your product or service. Does FedEx’s support of the Redskins really make that many people choose FedEx over USPS or UPS? Maybe I’d be inclined to use Alltel if I were a Jaguars fan, or Gillette razors as a Pats fan. But my choice of shipping provider? Unlikely.
2 – When Cooke built this stadium, he actually petitioned and won the right to change the area around the Field into an area known as Raljon, MD. What’s weirder? Raljon is the combination of his sons’ names, Ralph and John. Snyder deep-sixed this ASAP, leaving us all with an entertaining footnote and a relief that Cooke hadn’t named his kids Terry and Ellen. Phew.

Ok, back to the game. When attending as a visiting fan, do NOT hesitate to wear the colors of your team. The downside is that it makes you an instant target for any home team fan that feels like taunting or going on a drunk tirade. BUT, if you are to loudly cheer for the visiting team while dressed in plainclothes, you will be even more hated – perhaps as a turncoat or a narc. Plus, how often do you have an opportunity to wear a football jersey? It’s not exactly Casual Friday material, right?

(Note: I wore my green KEARSE jersey and Yaz rocked a WESTBROOK.)

Secondly, you must remember you are not alone. While the exception might be a Bucs fan attending a game in Seattle, if the two cities are close to one another, there’s a damn good chance there will be others there in favor of your cause. In this case, I would put the Philly fan base at about 20 per cent of the stadium. And judging from the final cheer once Garcia ran out the clock, it was up to a solid 40. When you see a fellow out-of-towner after a good play, high five that stranger. You’ve both earned it.

Third, do not taunt the home team fans. Football is a game of momentum. What you say in the first quarter will no doubted come back to haunt you. It’s a revenge tactic. That person will remember what you said, and let you remember it in turn when his team takes the lead. Nothing is more dangerous than comeback momentum. Not even the ballpark nachos.

Fourth, if you care to smack talk with those around you, stick to the current game at hand. The best representation of the two teams on the field are – shocker – the two teams on the field. Perhaps you could go back and refer to a previous meeting in the current season. But when it comes to talking about the game you are at, it makes little sense to reference the fact your team has 1) won Super Bowls in the 1980’s or 2) swept the other team 4 of the last 5 seasons. That’s in the past, and you didn’t buy a ticket for the past.

Finally, it’s only a game. Despite your superstitious crossing of your arms halfway through the second quarter, you didn’t have that big an effect on the outcome. Because of this, getting into a fight once the final whistle blows could be the dumbest thing you could do.

That is, except for wearing a Dallas Cowboys jersey to an Eagles-Redskins game. Sorry buddy, EVERYBODY hates you here.