A look at XXXIX ... through the eyes of experience
Issue date: 2/2/05 Section: Sports
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PHILADELPHIA -- During the next week, as the hype for Super Bowl XXXIX heats up, fans from Philadelphia and Boston will prattle on about which city is the better sports town, which has the better fans, the coldest beer and the prettiest girls.
There might even be some talk about who has the better football team.
To better analyze these two crusty old towns, we enlisted two men who have worked in the sporting industry in both.
Terry Francona worked in championship-starved Philadelphia, managing the Phillies from 1997 to 2000. Last year, he presided over the Red Sox team that ended an 86-year drought by winning the World Series.
Jim O'Brien was coach of the Celtics from 2000 to 2004. He returned to his native Philadelphia this season to become head man of the 76ers.
Let's begin the debate.
How do the fans compare?
"The one thing I kind of feel, and I don't want this to come out the wrong way, is that Philly fans feel something is owed to them," Francona said.
"In Boston, I'm not sure I got that feeling. Don't get me wrong: Boston fans wanted to win badly, but I never heard, `It's owed to us.' That's probably a little different. But you have to take into consideration that my perspective is more from a Phillies point of view, and that probably affected things."
In terms of passion, O'Brien gave the edge to Philadelphia fans.
"I don't care what they say about Boston," he said. "I think the Philly fans are a little bit different from a passion standpoint. They are a little bit hungrier. They are a little bit edgier. Both are great sports towns, but there is a passion in Philadelphia that is at a different level."
That passion probably translates into aggression.
"In Boston, the fans are very vocal," Francona said. "But I was amazed when I was approached on the street how friendly the people were. I was expecting more aggressive behavior, like I'd seen in Philly. They were more upbeat and nice than I ever imagined they'd be.
There might even be some talk about who has the better football team.
To better analyze these two crusty old towns, we enlisted two men who have worked in the sporting industry in both.
Terry Francona worked in championship-starved Philadelphia, managing the Phillies from 1997 to 2000. Last year, he presided over the Red Sox team that ended an 86-year drought by winning the World Series.
Jim O'Brien was coach of the Celtics from 2000 to 2004. He returned to his native Philadelphia this season to become head man of the 76ers.
Let's begin the debate.
How do the fans compare?
"The one thing I kind of feel, and I don't want this to come out the wrong way, is that Philly fans feel something is owed to them," Francona said.
"In Boston, I'm not sure I got that feeling. Don't get me wrong: Boston fans wanted to win badly, but I never heard, `It's owed to us.' That's probably a little different. But you have to take into consideration that my perspective is more from a Phillies point of view, and that probably affected things."
In terms of passion, O'Brien gave the edge to Philadelphia fans.
"I don't care what they say about Boston," he said. "I think the Philly fans are a little bit different from a passion standpoint. They are a little bit hungrier. They are a little bit edgier. Both are great sports towns, but there is a passion in Philadelphia that is at a different level."
That passion probably translates into aggression.
"In Boston, the fans are very vocal," Francona said. "But I was amazed when I was approached on the street how friendly the people were. I was expecting more aggressive behavior, like I'd seen in Philly. They were more upbeat and nice than I ever imagined they'd be.
