Snow is starting to fall outside Lincoln Financial Field and Philadelphia Eagles fans are talking about Christmas.
They refer to the game in December 1968, when a fan dressed as Santa Claus was pelted with snowballs. It was the day, these fans say, that the notoriety of Eagles fans was born. It's a reputation that has been maintained for almost six decades.
Last week, Ryan Caldwell was filmed abusing a Packers fan in a video that went viral. He called her an 'ugly, dumb whore', lost her job and was banned from returning to this stadium.
It was the latest controversy involving Eagles fans and cemented the notion, at least in the eyes of their rivals, that these fans are aggressive, nasty and even violent.
But in the parking lots outside Lincoln Financial Field, fans want to paint a different picture.
“We didn't claim that guy,” Harrison says. “We're definitely a big fan base, but what he did went too far. And most fans would agree with that.”
Joe, an Eagles fan, wears a T-shirt that says, “It's a Philly Thing.” Nobody likes us, we don't care
Disgraced Philadelphia fan Ryan Caldwell went viral for abusing a Green Bay Packers fan
Eagles fans huddle around a campfire in the frigid Sunday morning temperatures.
“He was being a jerk,” adds another fan. 'You have a very vocal minority of Eagles fans who are morons like that. Most of them are good people, great fans… what sums us up? Passion.'
Harrison adds: “Philadelphia people are definitely very outspoken. We'll let you know how we feel about it. But don't take it seriously… (there is) no real enmity, no hatred towards other fans. “It's just love for our teams.”
Joe, whose shirt says “It's a Philadelphia Thing.” “Nobody likes us, we don’t care,” echoes the thoughts of many fans when asked what Eagles fans are really like.
“I don't think it's violence, it's passion,” he says. 'People shouldn't talk like that guy did in the video, of course. But people get a little intense and passionate about their team… that's what it all comes down to.”
He adds: “To be honest, there are people like that in every stadium.” We sure have a bad reputation. But most people are not like that.
From time to time, Joe hears about violence at Lincoln Financial Field. But he insists: “You also hear about this in many different stadiums.”
“It just doesn't blow up as much as when it happens here.”
That sense of unfair treatment is shared by Stephen – “other cities are definitely a lot worse than us” – and Vinny, who interrupts their game of cornhole to say, “TThere are some people here who give us a bad reputation… (but) for some reason, every time we have a case, it seems like everyone attacks us.'
He adds: “It's easy to hang on to the reputation or perception of the Eagles fans… you have a national media outlet based in New York, which is one of our biggest rivals.”
Philadelphia fans spoke to DailyMail.com about their reputation for aggression and violence.
Caldwell's foul-mouthed rant took place as the Eagles cruised to a 22-10 victory over the Packers.
'So we have all these talking heads coming at us when these incidents happen – and they should – but it's not the same when it happens elsewhere… (there are) fights, stabbings, murders.
'What that guy said was terrible. But we're not going to kill anyone here… we have to do an apology tour: there are 70,000 people here, one person made an idiotic move and now everyone has to apologize for it every time. I don't know why that is, but it's annoying, I can tell you that.'
He points out that Steelers fans were filmed fighting with each other last week. He is also quick to condemn Caldwell, but Vinny believes Packers fans came looking for trouble.
'That guy shouldn't have said what he said, obviously. However, this guy came in with a YouTube channel and a GoFundMe, looking to make something happen.”