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I’m Proud to Announce That the PGA Championship at Aronimink Has Flipped My Stance on Eagles Chants
By Matt Schultz
Published:
EEEEEEE
We’ve all heard it…
AAAAAAAA
At an Eagles game…
GGGGGGGG
At a Phillies, Sixers, or Flyers game…
LLLLLLLLL
At a bar… The park… A birthday party… A grocery store… A funeral… A job interview…
EEEEEEEEEE
Anywhere, everywhere, anytime, all the time…
SSSSSSSS
Over and over and over…
EEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGLLLLLLLLEEEEEEESSSSSS
The inescapable Eagles chant. A staggering number of Philadelphians like to do it. They can’t help themselves. They feel a silence and they need to fill it with a big long “E,” no matter the event – and the PGA Championship at Aronimink was no exception:
Of course, for those of us living in the Delaware Valley, this is nothing new. The Eagles chant is simply a part of life here. Truthfully, I don’t even register them anymore, like the planes cruising over my house every few minutes in Oaklyn, or the PATCO train rumbling by. I’m too accustomed to hear it. It’s one of those high-pitched dog whistles. It is nothing.
But during the nationally televised PGA Championship over the weekend, the Eagles chants were put under the national spotlight, and a whole bunch of people online found it annoying:
Then there was the backlash from Philly fans:
Now to get to the question that is on the minds of millions: What does Schultz think of the Eagles chant? The writer of this blog must have an opinion. What could it be…
I’ll shoot you guys straight: Historically, I’ve never really liked this chant – but I’m a reasonable guy. I’m tolerant. Everybody knows that about me. So when Philly fans do the chant, I don’t make a fuss. I just quietly and politely wait for the yelling to pass. I understand people like to do it. They get excited. It’s a sort of communal moment for folks, and I think that’s nice for them. I wish them the best. But personally, the chant is just not for me – for a few reasons:
-It’s a boring-sounding chant. Too monotone.
-It’s spelling-based. Feel like maybe it’d be more interesting if it wasn’t spelling-based.
-It’s too Eagles-forward. I’d like the other teams to be included chant-wise.
-Too loud. The Eagles chant is the human-mouth version of a Harley Davidson roaring by as you’re in the middle of a sentence, and you have to weirdly wait until the sound dies out to finish your thought. Irritating stuff.
-Finally, my biggest note: In my experience, the people who start the chant – for the most part – are not great. I have never turned to see who started the Eagles chant and thought to myself, “Wow, how about that. A person I really respect and admire got that chant going. Cool.” It’s always been the exact opposite. I turn to find a blacked out, flushed face, Barstool-looking guy who just sprayed yelling-spittle all over the backs of the necks in front of him, and think to myself, “This guy… This is not my kind of guy.”
However… that opinion is no more. I have gone through a change. I have grown into a whole new guy… The Aronimink experience and discourse around the chant has turned me into an Eagles chant lover, and here’s why: Something I dislike way more than the Eagles chant is being told what to do. I simply don’t like it. Can’t help but want to do the opposite, and I got a hunch that just about every Philadelphian would agree. I think this tweet summed it up nicely:
So here I am: A born-again obnoxious guy. I love the Eagles chant. I’ll never go back to the other side. I’ve been screaming it over and over the whole time I’ve been writing this blog, and will continue to do it for every blog I ever write, forever… EEEEEEEEEeeeee… Yes…. Everybody will join in…
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)