As I waited in a seemingly endless line to get my rental car here in Keflavik, something dawned upon me, we as a city are more proud of our identity as the collective Philadelphia than any other regional identity; both in the US and abroad. I want to be clear here, I am not talking about NATIONAL identity. We as Americans may not place in the top 10 of national pride being showcased outwardly to the rest of the world. No, I am specifically referring to our innate nature to project outwardly ANYWHERE in the world that unique, “Hey! We’re from Philly, f@#€ around and find out… Go Birds!”
A Classic Philly Confrontation
And I am fully aware that the last paragraph begs the question from you all, “Well?! What happened that made you think of this inane idea JJ? Jesus, you know you have a real flair for being long winded and dramatic!!?”
First of all, yes and thank you.
Secondly, you know me well. There I am standing in this line that makes the Dublin, PA Driver’s License Center line on a Saturday morning in spring look tame by comparison, and there are people from all walks of life and different nations patiently awaiting their turn to be upsold insurance on a Dacia Duster when these two slack-jawed flyover state yokels attempt to move their way to the front of the line. (Seriously these two “jazzy around Walmart” mouth breathers might as well have been wearing either Dallas or KC merch if either team had shit to celebrate!)
Now, while these two are waddling their way towards the desk, no one is saying a word. This complicit acceptance of such bullshit might be tolerated in Europe, but unfortunately for the Golden Corral duo, they had me in my favorite Birds toque about four party’s from the front.
Me [as they walk past the entire line]: “Hey! What do you think you’re doing?”
Yokels from flyover state: “We’ve been waiting for 45 minutes and we need to go!”
Me: “We all have, welcome to Europe, lines and grey architecture… that’s what Europe does.”
Yokels: *silence* [retreats to their place at the back of the line, looking longingly for a Snickers and Diet Coke]
Philly’s Unique Sense of Brotherhood
Okay, now that storytime is over, it brings me back to my original point, we have a domineering presence as Philadelphians that most regionalities can’t hold a proverbial candle to. The world over, the simplest identifier can lead to a full blown conversation about some weird mutual acquaintance on the Main Line; the cheesesteak place you’ll go to war defending; to the simple nod of the head and mutual “Go Birds”. And while you can say that about anywhere, I will posit that the sheer volume of occurrences and the shared camaraderie found in our city is the reason why we are the most prevalent and easily the most vilified fanbase in the U S of A. And I think we all wear it like the badge of honor it truly is.
We all know that the motto/slogan of our fair city is “The City of Brotherly Love”, but I don’t think we as a people truly ponder what that means as much as we probably should. So, before I turn it into another BS snake draft (that worked on levels IYKYK), or a topic for Segment 5 of the flagship show, I’m going to tell you what it means to me: Brotherly love is unconditional. It’s always there, regardless if you want or need it at the current moment. It’s also not exactly the warm and fuzzy kind of love. Your brother might love you and will always be there for you, but he’ll also smack you upside the head and tell you you’re being a dipshit. That’s us, as a whole, a city of brothers and sisters that will defend one another from outsiders, but will 100% beat the tar out of you in mom’s living room for some stupid shit you did.
The Gritty Effect
As I begin to round third on this diatribe and you hopefully polish off your morning coffee and prepare to begin your Sunday, I’m reminded of the perfect example to really drive home this thesis of mine… and of course I bring it back hockey, did you forget who was writing this??
Let’s harken back to when our beloved orange symbol of malcontent was introduced, Gritty! At first, we as a city dogged the shit out of his look, his backstory, everything. Then, do y’all remember what happened next??? The national media started taking shots at what looked like a deranged product of Jim Henson’s workshop. Then other NHL teams started making jokes. And what happened? In the same day that we were roasting Gritty, we immediately accepted him as our own and told the outsiders to STFU or FAFO! Now the Orange One is, dare I say, the second most beloved mascot in the city, despite his recent debut. That, boys and girls, is the brotherly love that makes us unique, and makes me proud to be from Philly, even halfway around the world.
Enjoy your Sunday.
Outside of the Greater Philadelphia Area, where have you seen Philly Pride on full display? Let us know in the comments below or on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Threads, BlueSky, or TikTok. Email us at [email protected] and we’ll share the story on the show. Join our Discord for further discussion with the GENY community!