...Opposing players will shed few tears for the passing of the Vet, the place where Philadelphia fans earned their reputation as some of the toughest in sports.
Consider:
•In 1999, fans jeered Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin as he lay on the field for 20 minutes, suffering from a neck injury that ended his career.
•That same year, fans threw D batteries at St. Louis Cardinals outfielder J.D. Drew, who held out for a year after the Phillies drafted him and eventually signed with the Cards instead.
•Matthew Scott, the only person in the United States to have received a hand transplant, was asked by the Phillies to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at the team's home opener in 1999. The pitch, from his transplanted hand, dribbled over the plate. The fans booed.
•Eagles fans famously blasted Santa Claus with a shower of snowballs at halftime of a game as St. Nick circled helplessly around the field before stadium officials rescued him.
The place was considered so rough that the city opened up a jail — complete with a court and a judge — inside the stadium after a particularly nasty bout of drunkenness and fighting at a Monday night game between the Eagles and 49ers in 1997.
http://www.nestofdeath.com/press/washTimes.html
