The All-Pro center praised the Eagles’ fanbase for its authenticity and called Cowboys supporters “polar opposites” ahead of Sunday’s game. | From @ToddBrock24f7
The Cowboys and Eagles don’t actually play each other for another three days, but a fierce battle has already started… at least in the media, with players on both sides taking shots at the opposing fanbase.
The rivalry between the two clubs always turns nasty as gameday approaches. But this time around, the stakes seems to be even higher than normal as the 4-1 Cowboys bring their vaunted defense and backup-helmed offense to Philadelphia in a primetime clash with the division-leading Eagles, the NFL’s last unbeaten team at 5-0.
After former-Eagle-turned-Cowboy Jason Peters kicked off the trash talk with a colorful and NSFW description of the Eagles faithful, Philadelphia center Jason Kelce shared a few choice thoughts of his own about followers of America’s Team, all but calling Cowboys fans disingenuous fakes.
The war of words started Wednesday when Peters explained what he expects when he returns to (hopefully) face his former squad while wearing enemy colors this Sunday night.
“I just know Philly fans are [expletive] idiots when it comes to the camaraderie and the Cowboys- any team, really,” Peters said via The Athletic‘s Jon Machota. “They know that. They pride themselves on being nasty. They’re going to cuss at you… Philly fans are the wildest fans out there.”
The Eagles’ four-time All-Pro was asked specifically to “return fire,” but Kelce took the high road.
“I know Jason Peters very well,” Kelce told Angelo Cataldi and the Morning Team on Philadelphia’s WIP-FM. “And I know when he calls Philadelphia fans ‘[expletive] idiots,’ it is in a very complimentary fashion. He is a huge fan of the Philadelphia fanbase; I know that for a fact. So I’m not falling for this get-all-revved-up-about-a-former-teammate deal you’re trying to throw at me right now.”
Kelce was then asked about the bitter rivalry between the two franchises 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.”
A longtime Eagles player calling his ex-team’s fans “idiots,” even with the R-rated adjective in front of it, is one thing. Most Philadelphia fans seem to revel in that reputation; even Kelce himself recognized it as a comment on the local passion for the team.
A Cowboys opponent calling Dallas fans inauthentic and suggesting their love of team is merely the byproduct of marketing hype and celebrity bandwagoning is something else entirely.
None of that takes away from- or even adds to, probably- what happens on the field Sunday night. But things could get rough in the stands at Lincoln Financial Field for any of the Cowboys faithful who will be in attendance and looking to prove their authenticity.
And Kelce’s comments will no doubt be remembered and revisited when the Eagles and their fans- however you choose to describe them- visit AT&T Stadium on Christmas Eve.
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