Getty Philadelphia Eagles fans get a bad reputation, but they are among the tamest in professional sports.
The Philly home-field advantage was on full display early on Saturday morning. The New York Giants — the bad guys in the NFC East trying to play the role of underdogs — were dealing with busted pipes and no running water in their team hotel, according to reports.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan confirmed a rumor that the Giants couldn’t shower when they woke up. It’s actually a pretty common occurrence across professional sports. Rival fans, or sometimes hotel staff, trying to mess with the opposing team to get them off their game is a diehard tradition. Philadelphia Eagles supporters will stop at nothing to tip the scales in their favor. There was no immediate indication of who was responsible for the pre-game hijinx.
The Giants team hotel in Center City has no water, per sources (and as @LicensePlateGuy said). Busted pipe. No showers this morning. They’re working on fixing it.
Nick Sirianni would be a prime suspect for busting those water pipes, right? He hates the New York Giants. Just kidding. However, the passionate head coach does look for any competitive advantage he can get. He talked about his preparation for the NFC Divisional Round playoff game earlier this week. Nothing changes from Week 1.
“What’s the difference between this preparation now today and the one against Detroit? Nothing. The moment of the game and who we’re playing and where we’re playing, that doesn’t change,” Sirianni told reporters on January 17. “That’s been our consistent message all year and what our players know and what our players do as you get ready for each game, and you treat each game exactly the same because every game is big in this league.”
Giants Fans Expected to Take Over Lincoln Financial Field
One thing that rarely happens in Philadelphia is another team’s fan base taking over Lincoln Financial Field. Eagles fans are too prideful to surrender their home stadium to the enemy. In fact, they tend to be the aggressors on the road as evidenced by their hostile takeover in Arizona and Sirianni’s triumphant return to Indianapolis.
So it’s very surprising to hear news of an impending New York invasion on Saturday night. According to Crossing Broad, Giants fans are planning an indoor tailgate party at the Xfinity Live! entertainment complex in South Philadelphia, right outside the parking lots around the Linc, on Saturday from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Yikes. Giants legend Carl Banks, a two-time Super Bowl champion, was listed as the guest host.
@PHLEaglesNation Shame on xfinity live for even booking this.
Meanwhile, a local TV station reported that Giants fans were buying up tickets in bulk. It was estimated that 18% of the crowd will be cheering for Big Blue. Could it be true? Tune in at 8:15 p.m. tonight to see if the hype was real.
FYI – Ticket consultant estimated to local Philly TV news last night #Giants fans could be up to approx 18% of stadium tonight, based on regional NJ web sales.
Giants Elevate 2 Practice Squad Players
The Eagles elevated veteran safety Anthony Harris for their playoff showdown versus New York. He’s expected to be a key contributor on special teams. On the other side, the Giants elevated defensive back Zyon Gilbert and wide receiver Makai Polk about 24 hours prior to kickoff. Gilbert, an undrafted rookie out of Florida Atlantic, has seen action in three games this season, including a 48-22 defeat to the Eagles on December 11. He’ll be counted on for special-teams help. Polk may remain inactive on Saturday night.
The Giants also revealed a new two-word slogan for what they hope is a lengthy postseason run. The franchise has tweaked Frank Sinatra’s iconic “My Way” and changed it to “Our Way” for their unexpected turnaround. What does it mean?
“All throughout the year you hear, ‘That is a championship team because they do this, or have that guy,’ ” Giants receiver Darius Slayton told the New York Post. “We win ‘Our Way.’ However we need to get it done, we get it done. We’ve shown every possible way.”
It means everything.
The Eagles, of course, are going with “It’s a Philly Thing” as their motto. Slogans are great but let’s see what happens on the field.