A couple of weeks ago I made my first foray into Lincoln Financial Field.
A lifetime ago, I was a longtime Eagles season ticket holder and proud denizen of the 700 level.
I still tell people I saw things up there that I still don't believe today.
Which brings me to the biggest difference I noticed between that dirty old bowl and the Taj Mahal Jeff Lurie built with a big chunk of public money.
We were way up in the I-95 end zone, but the sight lines were terrific. That's what happens when you build a football specific stadium, instead of a multi-purpose facility like Veterans Stadium. There were some spots up there in the 700 Level that I'm not sure were even in the same zip code as the playing surface. In other words, binoculars were often a must-have item up there.
Yes, the Vet had more 'character,' if that's what you want to call it. Sure it was a dump, but it was our dump.
The Linc has better video boards (although the sun made seeing the one in the opposite end zone less than ideal). And it's certainly not as loud.
The Linc has been described as being somewhat antiseptic, and I'm not sure I would disagree. Then again, that's not always a bad thing.
But there was one overriding difference I noticed in that rarified air in the Linc.
Maybe it's me but the fans seemed a lot more civilized.
I noticed a lot of fans wearing Saints gear. They drew some catcalls and friendly banter, but nothing compared to the nightmare experiences that were routine to anyone who would dare to wear the opposing team's colors in the 700 Level of the Vet. This was problematic, since our section was right next to the seats that would routinely be sold to the opposing team.
Fistfights were routine.
The abuse heaped on those opposing fans bordered on the obscene.
That experience has always tempered my advice that people not wear their favorite team's colors to sports events in Philly.
Should fans be able to exercise that right? Absolutely. Is it a good idea? Very often not.
Apparently that new spirit of cheering for your own team does not extend to 69th Street Terminal.
Video popped up this week of a New York Giants fan getting into a confrontation with Eagles fans after the Monday Night Football contest in which the Birds rolled over the G-men at the Linc.
SEPTA police are now looking to talk to both sides in this battle, which appears to show some trash talking resulting in the inevitable - punches being thrown. The Giants fan,sporting a red Eli Manning jersey, got the worst of it, getting coldcocked in the video.
Who would have thought you'd be safer in the Linc than at 69th Street Terminal?
Comments