Jason Babin said Eagles fan chants were “vile” and personal

Getty Images

Philadelphia fans are notoriously vocal, but Eagles defensive end Jason Babin said some of them crossed the line during last week’s loss to the Falcons.

Since he was rotating more with Brandon Graham, he spent more time on the sidelines than usual, and what he heard repulsed him.

“During the game there was a good section of fans chanting some of the most vile things I’ve ever heard,” Babin said, via Geoff Mosher of CSNPhilly.com. “Not just at a football game, but in life, in general. Talking about attacking Coach [Andy Reid], talking about people’s wives and kids and chanting them. And I just thought there was no place for that in the NFL, none whatsoever.

“Just some of the foul things people were saying. Yeah, I’m gonna be protective of Coach Reid, Coach Wash and my teammates. It was upsetting that a few bad apples were chanting that kind of stuff, but what are you going to do?”

Breaking a three-game losing streak would help, but Babin — who has played for five different teams — said what he heard was beyond the normal dissatisfied fans.

“But if I could say just one of the things they were chanting, it’s way past bad, it’s foul,” he said. “I’ve never heard — listen, I don’t want to even repeat what I heard, it was that bad. And I’ve got a pretty high threshold for adult jokes, to give you an idea of what they’re saying.”

Philadelphia’s crowd has a reputation for a reason, having booed Santa Claus and an injured Michael Irvin. But a segment of the population seems intent on driving that image lower and lower.

80 responses to “Jason Babin said Eagles fan chants were “vile” and personal

  1. I thought fans “cheered” an injured Michael Irvin. If you’re going to refer to “Philadelphia’s crowd” as a group, get your generalizations right.

    I guess that as accurate as likening 64,000 people to the group of idiots that would stumble over at the end of a game to yell “vile” things over the railing.

  2. Worse than when they taunted Joe Jurevicious and his critically ill newborn son in the NFC Championship loss to the eventual SB XXXVII winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers?

  3. “[…] it’s way past bad, it’s foul.”

    I love any chance to take a shot at Philly fans as much as the next guy, but hey Jason, I think the Philly fans are saying the same thing about what you guys have been doing every Sunday. I’d be pissed too if I paid $200 to watch that garbage.

  4. He has no examples bc he is full of it. I have seats right at the only spot he could have heard any remarks (entry ) and I heard nothing. As far as chants, what did he hear complete sentences chanted????? A chant is two words max. Fire andy was only loud cheer all game. Get him out of here too (which with this remark and twitter is what I think he is trying to do). Nothing was said and no one chanted anything about anyone’s daughters. What a joke!

  5. Those philly fans are dispicable. Remember they also cheered Matt Cassel’s injury in KC, and threw batteries as opposing players in Cleveland and one philly fan even murdered another fan after a game in california. Oh wait, that wasn’t Philly fans? Well I guess if you tried to match reality with perception, you wouldn’t have much of a story to write.

  6. And Babin sucks! Hes a scheme player whos playing in a scheme that isnt working. Without Washburn and the wide 9 he would have been another first round bust years ago!

  7. Jason, how could this surprise you? Your team was anointed the best team in the NFC East for no other reason than the media just plain wants it to be so (same with the Cowboys by the way). the fans bought in AGAIN and are bitter that it is not going to come to pass. It’s like being told the lottery check’s in the mail only to be told later, sorry, your neighbor gets it instead. When you think about all the money that’s been dumped into that team and all the promises that were made and most of all the rabid-and-less-than-reasonable fan base, it makes pefect sense.

  8. Calling Philly fans vile is like calling Chris Christie fat. It may be true but nothing is going to change it.

    You took the extra money to play there Babin, go earn it.

  9. I’m 26 and have been living in the Philadelphia area for the last 20 years. I am sick and tired of the fans around here always proclaiming they are the best fans in the country and they get a bad rep. Babin nailed it when he calls them vile. Granted its not everyone, but it is a good majority.

    Let me start off by saying I’m a Cowboys fan(yea yea yea.) I’ve been to a game at the Linc, I’ve been to a game in Baltimore and I’ve been to a game at new Cowboys stadium last year. I’ve never seen a more vile and hostile crowd than in Philly. Granted I didn’t wear my cowboys jersey to the Eagles game so I wasnt bothered all game, but there are 40, 50, 60 year old me just yelling obscene things at the top of their lungs, screaming at kids wearing cowboys jerseys, its downright pathetic.

    When I went to the Cowboys game I couldnt tell you how many Bills fans were around us, when Dallas scored ppl gave them sh*t in good fun, but nothing was vile or to the extent eagles fans take it.

    Its about time a player blasted the fans. Unfortunately these people have nothing else going for them in their lives that they take sports to such an extreme that they yell at little kids. No matter what stadium you go to, no parent should have to be worried about taking their kid to a stadium and having grown men yell at them.

    I’ll never forget turning around in the eagles game to see a 50 year old men just screaming obscenities at the top of his lungs at the refs and holding his middle fingers in the air. Get a life dude.

  10. im not justifying the fans actions and i have no problem with athletes making the money they make but their are millions of people that would be willing to take the chants for the money and perks you receive.

  11. “I love any chance to take a shot at Philly fans as much as the next guy, but hey Jason, I think the Philly fans are saying the same thing about what you guys have been doing every Sunday. I’d be pissed too if I paid $200 to watch that garbage.”

    So, because you pay $200 to watch a football game, the Philadelphia Eagles must win?

    The NFL now more than ever is a game of parity, and just because a team loses, does not mean that they didn’t try, or are a disgrace or are “garbage.”

    It’s sad that “fans” let NFL rule so much of their lives that they threaten other players safety. That’s what is “garbage.”

    And I’m talking about all fans, not just ones in Philadelphia.

  12. If this bothers you, stay at home for better food, shorter lines to the head, no parking problems and with the red zone on T.V., more action

  13. Any fans he could hear at field level have probably paid thousands, if not tens of thousands of dollars for PSLs and season tickets. Not to mention getting gouged for parking and concessions.

    Damm right their ticked off.

  14. And this is surprising – why? This is exactly why the NFL can’t get dads to bring their kids to games anymore. It’s everywhere, not just Philly. To one degree or another, a subset of the population whose IQ matches their waist sizes, feel entitled to say whatever they want in the most base manner possible. Happens at every stadium. Some worse than others. As long as booze is one of the primary NFL sponsors and public intoxication is seen as a valuable revenue source by the teams, this ain’t gonna stop. We live in a country where screeching four letter words and open sexual references is considered “a right”, even when children are around. In the old days, a cop would happily popped one of these assclowns in the head with his nightstick and it would done. But now that’s “brutality”. So, people who want to have a pleasant afternoon have to avoid public events. No one is a stronger advocate of free speech than me, but this isn’t free speech. This is being a douche for no other reason than you’re angry at the world and you’re determined to make sure everyone pays for the “sin” of your life not turning out the way you imagined and you can’t hold your liquor. It’s pathetic.

  15. Babin is right. Buying a ticket doesn’t entitle you to act in a way that would be inappropriate on the street. If what you’re yelling at these players isn’t what you’d have the stones (or decency) to say to somebody’s face on the street, then it’s inappropriate. Pro football is entertainment, nothing more. And if you take it so seriously that you would either yell these type of things or condone them on the grounds that the team is bad……..then you’ve got some serious man in the mirror issues and you are part of what is very wrong with this society these days. Don’t think that buying a ticket entitles you to anything more than sitting in a seat and watching a football game.

  16. If you’ve ever been to Philadelphia, you’d understand why the people that live there are entirely miserable and insufferable losers.

  17. Ha, coming from the guy that celebrates making a tackle when his team is down 20 points. Don’t worry about it Jason, you’ll be playing for your 6th different team very soon. Maybe instead of listening to the fans try spending some time thinking about why you’re standing on the sidelines in the first place.

  18. 1/2 the country votes for Democrats, that doesn’t make ALL of us idiots. Quit the generalizations….

  19. Ahh another chance for anti eagles fans to make up more stories about the eagles fans. BTW his play this season has been vile.

  20. Oh really now? Thats news to the rest of the league. never would have thought the eagles faithful would turn on their own. Pathetic. Spin it however you want but Philadelphia, in general, lacks class. Bash me all you want. I live in Texas so its a fairly large target to hit.

  21. So.. was anybody shot? Was the comments as vile as the teams performance? My Eagles are an absolute embarrassment of a team. Our vaunted D didn’t force a single punt til late in the 4th quarter and you’re worried about insults? Here is what I am insulted by… Andy Reid, Michael Vick, Jason Babin, DeSean Jackson, our entire O-line, Howard Mudd, Bobby April, Marty Morningwegh, Nnamdi Asumguah, etc..

  22. everyone says we’re garbage fans lol but then they get pissed when you look up and see your stadium not full. Toughen up or you won’t make it in Philly babin, this isn’t Dallas.

  23. The media fuels the “image” of the Philly fans just as much as anyone else. The whole booing Santa Claus thing took place like a million years ago and was done by *gasp* like 10 people. It’s the same thing for all the other isolated incidents all the Philly bashers want to bring up. The fact that the Santa Claus incident still gets brought up today is unprofessional and incaccurate journalism.

    If you want to look at it with some objectivity, there are a few “bad apples” as Babin says, but most Philly fans are passionate and knowledgeable, and certainly don’t act any worse then the fans in the 20 some odd other cities I’ve seen games in.

    If there were a few less “bad apples” on the Eagles right now, maybe they could get some sacks and some wins, and finally get this team to it’s first SuperBowl championship….ever….

  24. “But a segment of the population seems intent on driving that image lower and lower.”
    =============================
    A segment?? Try the majority…
    That’s no-conscience northeasterners for ya, lol!!!

  25. Funny, I was at the game, sat on the 40 yard line behind the Eagles bench and 13 rows up. I heard one chant and one chant only “fire Andy”. Did I participate…no. However, that is far from “vile”. I’m not saying he didn’t hear an individual or two yell something vile, but to say it was being “chanted” is simply not true.

  26. I would love to hear the idiots on here ripping the eagles fans, what they think of fans getting murdered in other stadiums and parking lots. Please tell me where they rank……this shoud be good.

  27. Babin is a whining wuss who actually blows this year and is trying to deflect criticism.
    stop listening to the crowd and start playing. The vile fans are the reason a tattooed dope like you is sitting on millions of dollars.

  28. As long as we’re at it is anyone else sick of the TV cameras being pointed directly at the most obnoxious loud mouth fans in the stands EVERY GAME? Do the cameramen really have to egg them on to scream like they’re being stabbed and flash us the obligatory signs.

    Is it a rule in TV that the other 65,000 plus fans get ignored by the networks?

  29. Jason, you have more penalties (5) than sacks (3) and more penalty yards (20) than tackles (16) Maybe if you played better you would not have been on the bench. It seems you talk a better game than what you play. I won’t defend the few people that probably were vile, I don’t doubt that were some. I think that would apply to any city, any fanbase. Stop blaming everyone else for your problems, go out and play football. Mr Babin is just one of the reasons to dislike this team. This team has a bunch of me first players who care more about their own stats than they do about the team. I am sure many people would be willing to drive Babin to the airport. Don’t let the door hit you in the way out, although it would be more hitting than you have done this year.

  30. Maybe Philly fans should stop shouting and get back to throwing sh*t on the field? Because THAT”S classy.

  31. Stop the Eagle fan bashing. What’s worse – chants or iceballs thrown through Lincoln Kennedy’s facemask in Denver? Donk fans even pelted their own players with batteries. Clouded underneath that pretty image they try to portray is one of the worst, most racially charged fan bases in the league. How many of their players have been gunned down in the last few years?

  32. I am a long time Eagles fan, and yes the fans at the game can be an embarassment.

    No whining Jason. You are getting paid a lot of freakin’ money and not delivering AT ALL this year. $5 Million or so for 2.5 sacks thru 7 games? You are on track to make $1 million per sack this year! Sign me up, I will stand on the sidelines, hold a helmet, and hear all that they have to say.

    How bout you and Trent Cole start doing your jobs, and maybe they’ll stop.

    It’s too bad Trot and Dawkins aren’t around anymore to inject some heart into this team!!

  33. So tired of the media perpetuqating the philly fan thing.

    40 years ago a very drunken idiot half dressed as Santa was booed. the battery thing was not in philly. yes the Irvin incident was tasteless.

    get yer facts straight then open your eyes to the fact that every town has its idiots and – as in philly – they are a small minority.

    find something else to whine about

  34. > What can you expect of a fanbase that has never won a Lombardi ??????????

    They give Lombardi trophies to FANBASES? If I become, say, a Steelers fan today can I expect a big shipment of them tomorrow?

  35. when the eagles came to Jax 2 years ago, I saw no less than 6(yes 6) fights in the stands, and even more eagles fans just talking sh*t. I’ve been to about thirty Jaguars games and had NEVER seen anything like it at a football game. truth

  36. “Jason Babin said Eagles fan chants were “vile” and personal”

    In other news, the Sun Came up this morning, and is expected to set sometime in the evening.

    I mean seriously, what do you expect from these fans? They are the worst representation of a fan-base in the NFL.

    You to NY, you go to Atlanta, You to Green Bay, you wear your team colors and people jazz you and talk to you, and tell you good restaurants to go to after the game.

    You got o Philly a bunch of 35 year old adolescents want to fight you and say stuff about your mother.

    They are a bunch of losers.

  37. What do you expect from Philly fans. Easily the most classless fans in the history of sports! I wish a meteor hits your stadium while every member of the eagles fan base is in attendance.

  38. We’re back to this again? That minority of fans in Philadelphia won’t change. If so, they would have already Babin.

    By the way, how many sacks do you have this season?

    [crickets]

  39. @jianningwu….
    “They give Lombardi trophies to FANBASES? If I become, say, a Steelers fan today can I expect a big shipment of them tomorrow?”
    ==================================================
    That’s the only way an eagles fan will ever get near one. By changing teams.

  40. I dont know what could be worse, Babin challenging fans more then an offensive lineman, or Darin Gantts hack job of a career.

  41. Hey, Babin, know what’s really vile and offensive? You stealing $$$$$ from the Philadelphia Eagles and the fans. Try running your engine as much as your mouth, and maybe you’d actually make a play once a month. It might also help if you were as interested in representing the Eagles uniform with pride, rather than worrying about running with the bulls or fretting over some insensitive remarks from a few boorish fans. We get that you are useless against the run, but when your specialty is supposed to be sacking the QB, and you can’t even do that, we call your performance vile and offensive.

  42. golforepar says:
    Nov 1, 2012 5:07 PM
    Eagles fans are tough, when they have 70,000 friends with them.
    Hey, show some class!

    ———————————————————————————–

    As tough as someone who hides behing their computer to bash a fanbase?

  43. teedraper says:
    Nov 1, 2012 5:27 PM
    What do you expect from Philly fans. Easily the most classless fans in the history of sports! I wish a meteor hits your stadium while every member of the eagles fan base is in attendance.

    ———————————————————————————–

    What else can you say but……Wow!

  44. I really dont care what others think of Philly fans. You have to live here to get “it”. We expect a hard days work for incredible pay. Its that mentality that does not mesh well with a lazy one trick pony like Babin. Its brutal watching him reenact the letter “C” when going after a QB. The “C” is his only move play after play. We didnt even like him last year when he had 18 sacks because we knew they were hollow numbers. Teams ran the ball all over the Eagles as a result.

  45. Can’t say I’m proud of everything that has gone on at Birds games over the years, but when you are fed up with a bad product year after year you say things to get your point across. Boos are not working anymore and we just need to turn the page. By the way this happens in every stadium that the fans care about the product on the field.

  46. If Babin thinks the stuff he hears from beered up angry Iggle fans is vile, he should try sitting beside them in the stands.

  47. Here we go again the same old, tired boo Santa Clause argument! Plenty of people who have never been to Philly, dont know anything about Philasdelphia teams or fans making a lot of stupid comments. One nitwit even wants to blow up the stadium and all Eagle fans. But we’re the ones who have no class. Ok people get a clue. A few weeks ago Braves fans threw bottles on the field over a bad call! Dodger fans KILLED a Giants fan. Were any of you outraged then? No. But you are because Santa was booed. IDIOTS!

  48. One other thing, for every fan who says things like “we have a Super Bowl Trophy”, UH no you have nothing. The team has a Super Bowl trophy. What you DO have is an empty life!

  49. Passion is a good word. Shouldn’t have chased that money Jason! You’re UNDERACHIEVING. Sorry we’re not Tennessee and actually CARE.

  50. “…but what are you going to do?”

    If the Eagles are really sincere about ending this disgusting behavior, it’s really quite simple. Nearly everyone has a smart phone. Create a Facebook page where fans can report other fans that are acting like idiots. People can use their phones to record video as proof and upload it to the page, along with the seat numbers of the idiots being reported. Security sees the video, goes to that seat number and escorts the offending buffoon into one of the cells to await the real cops.

  51. To all of you blasting us Philly fans, you don’t know what you are talking about. I’m tired of being generalized by a few bad apples. Oh… They boood Santa and blah blah blah… You know what? Santa was DRUNK!!!! Of course we bood him. We go and support are teams unconditionally. If they give a pathetic effort we boo. It’s called tough love. We have no championships yet we still pay our hard earned money to support our team. We have a right to boo them when they deserve it, and is there anyone who doesn’t think this team deserves to be bood that last month? Babin is just mad he has two sacks in 7 games.

  52. you know what babin maclin avant and what any other eagle has to say about the greatest fans in sports they need to go. im tired of these players talking down on there fans instead of worrying about what where saying go out and win some games. im a life time eagles fan your just passing bye.and whoever brings up santa clause is 1 pathetic and 2 has absolutely no idea what there talking bout and what really happened

  53. 2 pts. 1 Jason Babin is a liar 2 to all posters using the words of this liar in derrogatory comments about Eagle fans do so because they are not intelligent or knowledgeable enough to be Eagle fans

  54. As an Eagle fan, I even agree a ton of us are idiots with hating guys that give us the best 10 year run we’ve had (McNabb) but for stuff like this, I go to games everywhere and it’s the same stuff anywhere in the Northeast and out to Pitt, Clev, etc.

  55. Chrisgas,:Philly fans DO have the right to boo or cheer, but it’s obviously more than just a few bad apples. How else can you explain Philly becoming the first city to build a special court/jail in their stadium.

  56. Philly fans get annoyed when people bring up pelting Santa with snowballs (it happened but the Santa was visibly drunk), or cheering as Michael Irvin was injured on the turf (this happened but the booing was triggered by Deion and other Cowboys taunting the crowd during the stoppage of play, Deion was dancing around).

    My personal feeling is that the Santa thing is overblown.

    Of course there is the empty Super Bowl trophy case too, but Philly fans can’t really get mad about that as it is indisputable reality…

    …And nobody in the stands knew Irvin was seriously injured. We just knew he got laid out. ESPN used to do a whole “Jacked up” segment for years and people cheered that with no problems.

    Hey Babin, you know how they are, you didn’t have to take the money, you should have stayed in Tennessee, you ONE TRICK PONY.

  57. I remember watching that game when the Eagle fans supposedly booed Michael Irvin. Yes all Philly fans hated that guy but the truth is the fans werent booing Irvin, they were booing the bs call the refs made on that play when they flagged the Eagles for the hit they put on him. Get over it America.

    Yes Eagles fans are upset. Wouldnt you be if your team never won the Super Bowl???
    GO EAGLES!!!!!!

  58. Being a lifelong eagles fan, I can say that some fans are an utter disgrace and give the city a bad wrap. I don’t even like some of the Philly fans myself, and agree with a lot of what people say about them, but it does not represent the city as a whole. The one thing I love about Philadelphia is its passion, the will to root for a team that truly gives their all, and will not tolerate anything less. Any true fan would boo when you constantly see your team have a terrible game plan that never changes , and does not have the personnel to execute it properly. To be fair, the O-line is decimated by injury, and has a lot to do with their struggles, but they have done nothing with the scheme to help Vick or get McCoy involved. The wide 9 is garbage and pathetic, and the defense has not been even serviceable since the passing of Jim Johnson, which is clear now that he disguised much of Andy Reid’s shortcomings. Andy has never drafted a true leader on the team and let the best in team history walk for nothing in return, and the players on the team now clearly have other agendas which is clearly presented every week on the field. I’m sure there will be plenty more posts about the “awful” Philly fans, because it is only week 9 and the outrage is just starting to scratch the surface.

  59. jahmic | Nov 2, 2012, 2:30 AM EDT
    Home of brotherly love

    ———————————-

    Actually, you are correct. But think about it for a moment. I grew up with 2 older brothers. And the one thing i could count on, was them telling me when i did something stupid, didnt give my all, etc etc. and thats kind of how Philadelphia is. If youve never been here, educate yourself a bit on the city. Yes, we have many resident clowns that defy logic and reason, or even basic human dignity, but dont think that its unique to Philly.

    Ive been to other stadiums, and have seen some great fans, and some crappy ones too. Sit in the cheap seats at any stadium, they are there. But as a former season ticket holder for the Eagles, i have also seen a regular stream of visiting fans LOOKING for a fight as well. Not by wearing visiting colors. Looking to start a fight to say they kicked some a$$ at an Eagles game. The seats in front of ours were owned by a ticket agency, so we had visiting fans sitting in front of us every week.

    Its the NFL, and it brings out the jockstrap in everyone.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.