Eagles fans long ago turned the page on Santa snowball fiasco. The rest of the world has not

PHILADELPHIA — There’s plenty to unpack for a holiday game in Philly. You’ve surely heard the tale before: how fans near the end of one of the worst seasons in Eagles history dipped their fingers into snow at Franklin Field on a frigid December afternoon, cupped their hands and pelted poor ol’ Santa Claus with snowballs — long before anyone was beaten at Dodgers Stadium, or a Kansas City Royals coach was assaulted on the infield, or the “Malice at the Palace” occurred, or any of the other countless incidents of abominable behavior that surely would stain any other team’s fanbase — except they weren’t from Philly. As instructed, 20-year-old Frank Olivo ran downfield past a row of elf-costumed “Eaglettes” and the team’s 50-person brass band playing “Here Comes Santa Claus.” Only fans turned on him in his disheveled outfit, angry over another lost Eagles season, and cold, tired and feeling a bit churlish, they chucked snowballs at the woeful Santa impostor. Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print Email Facebook X Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest Flipboard Print The secret has long been out, with the Eagles’ home at Lincoln Financial Field and the Phillies’ home across the street at Citizens Bank Park now each at two decades of providing a raucous, intimidating — yet fan-friendly — atmosphere that cheered on a Super Bowl and a World Series title this century, that put a dent in the rep of the city’s Santa-hating notoriety. Another good samaritan bites the dust.” The Dec. 27 Standard-Speaker noted: “Eagles fans took out their season-long frustrations on Santa Claus a week ago Sunday when they fired snowballs at the old gent at Franklin Field.” And a TV columnist for the Minneapolis Star wrote fans throwing snowballs at Santa was only “understandable in January when the Christmas bills come in.” “There was no sidebar about it.