Nor really about the rest of the post, just quoting because I grew up in Doylestown, and then briefly lived there again five years back after me and this girl I had known for three weeks decided to drop what we were doing and travel around the country. That last part is relevant for you because she's a huge Mets fan.
But it is fun living in another team's territory, particularly a hated rival--did that in the Burgh for a long time. You learn about another team, get to watch some more hockey, and even can make some great friendships that start off as chirps. I think it also changes how you watch hockey, because you end up seeing a lot of games where you're mostly ambivalent to the outcome, but watching it with people who aren't. You get to practice impartiality and actual hockey observation, just so you can impress your friends or play devil's advocate.
Also gives you some perspective when you watch another fanbase's members have the same ridiculous reactions to things, like the folks who always want the coach fired or the guys who want every player traded. You can also learn the differences, like I noticed Pens fans were always more hopeful than Flyers fans, and more certain that they would win games or whatever--but sometimes that drifted into bratty entitlement territory.
I hate the hell out of the Penguins still, but that whole experience had a funny effect on me: If I'm out in an airport somewhere, and I see a Penguins logo--like, on a hat or shirt--it makes me really happy. It isn't my team, but it was the origin of a lot of my best friendships. Hell, even when they won their Cups, I was mad as hell...like, kinda sick to my stomach in 2017, especially. But this tiny, tiny sliver of me was alright, because it made people I care about very happy. Iz only game.
The best is when your team wins a playoff series while you're living in that enemy territory, though. You get to feel all their anguish swirling around you and it makes you stronger. So hopefully you don't get to feel that any time soon.
Anyway, hope the folks in my hometown treat you as well as folks in that other town treated me, and that you've gained weird, conflicting positive feelings about the Flyers logo and our fans as a result. All the best!
Good stuff and yes I agree being down here in Philly land and being a New Yorker most of my life definitely has given me a different perspective on our respective teams and how we root and support them.
Before I moved down here, all I knew about Philly fans were that they were very passionate about their teams and that they hated pretty much every thing New York.
I happened to move to Dtown when I married a girl down here and my move here just so happened to coincide with the very same year my friggen Mets somehow choked and gagged a 7 game lead with 2 weeks to go to your Phillies.
I had made a bunch of friends here and believe me I was razzed and chirped to no end and deservedly so. It was all done in a good natured way and I got to see that Phillie fans and Met fans like myself had alot in common.
Fast forward 3 years and it just so happens my Rangers and Flyers are playing in a "win and you are in the playoffs" game at your barn and once again my boys don't get the job done and somehow Brian Boucher outplays the King and you guys get in the dance and my boyz go get the golf clubs out. It was as devastating to me as the Mets choke was and once again I'm getting razzed and abused by my buds as once again I have to take it.
Bottom line with Met, Jets, Ranger and Knick fans like me. When it comes to our rooting interests, I have found over the years we both share alot in common. Whether your an Eagle, Phillie, Flyer or Sixers fan over the years, both our fanbases knows what suffering and frustration is all about as it seems like our teams have the worst effin luck of any teams in all of sports.
Yes your Eagles won the Super Bowl a few years ago and I was actually very happy for you guys seeing I'm a Jet fan and we have no issue with each other there. In fact I probably hate the football Giants as much as you guys do and so I was very happy for all my long suffering die hard Eagle fan friends that they finally got a Super Bowl win.
I was envious because I could only hope that one day my Jets will win a SB for me(I was too young to remember the Namath Jets SB win)
Both our fanbases in every sport are very passionate about our teams and are very knowledgeable. And tho we are rivals in 3 of the 4 sports, it's very rare that our teams are good at the same time. It looks like things are changing tho as Met and Phillies should be good this year and very soon both Flyers and Rangers will be good at same time.
Unfortunately my Knicks I'm convinced will never be good again in my lifetime and so you guys will always have us there in hoops unless by a miracle we can draft another Patrick Ewing....lol
Bottom line...tho we have bigtime rivalries, we share so much in common the teams that I root for and your teams, tho I'd love to truly hate you guys...I can't. I love my Philly friends and I know that if one of my teams ever won a title and I went to a parade which hasn't happened much for me...Rangers '94 and Mets '86, they would be happy for me just like I was for Philly fans when they beat the Yankees in '08 and the Eagles in '18.
The camaraderie we all share is pretty damn cool and all the razzing and abuse we all give each other during the season is part of the deal and I wouldn't change it for the world.
