Philly Attempts To Clear Up The Whole “Our City Booed Santa, Is Full Of Scumbags” Canard

We booed a Santa substitute, not Santa. The real Santa Claus was stuck in a snowstorm (through which 54,535 fans still made it to the game). A 20-year-old fan in a red corduroy Santa suit, sitting in the stands, filled in as Santa for the halftime Christmas Pageant. This stand-in Santa is the one who fans eventually booed and threw snowballs at. It’s still not a proud moment, but given the Eagles 2-11 record, the cold, slushy weather, the seemingly inferior Santa and the fact that this event occurred before most NFL players were born, maybe it’s time to retire the story. Local media paid little attention to the 1968 news, but Howard Cosell showed the incident on his weekend report and embedded it in Philly lore. (See The Great Philadelphia Fan Book by Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano for the full story.)

Santa, also known as Frank Olivo, has made peace with us. In a December 15, 2008 ESPN interview, he said, “I understood what was going on. I knew what it was all about. … The Philadelphia fans are the best fans in the world. I don’t care what anybody says, they live and die with their teams.”

It’s been said a thousand ways — Philly fans are loud, passionate and loyal. They’ll boo when it’s deserved, but will scream loud and proud in appreciation. They cheered ex-Sixer Allen Iverson for 10 minutes when he returned to the Wachovia Center for his first game as a Denver Nugget. And they cheered former Phillies manager Larry Bowa as the Dodgers’ third-base coach during the National League Championship Series.

Remember, this is the city where the nation was founded in 1776; where the first American flag was sewn; where the LIVE AID (1980) and LIVE 8 (2005) concerts took place; where Barack Obama delivered his milestone speech on race; and the place National Geographic Traveler called the “Next Great City.”