Ad Disclosure
I Was Prepared to Hate This New Delco Sign – But It’s a Damn Good Sign
By Matt Schultz
Published:
Apparently June 10th is Delco Day. I just learned this. The reason it’s celebrated on June 10th is because the Delco area code is 610, and Wednesday’s date was 6/10. If I can be honest here for a moment, my initial reaction to learning this was: That’s lame as hell. I do not like that. Area code-ass holiday…. But I know myself. I’m self-aware enough to understand that these aren’t isolated feelings. My flippant, snide reaction isn’t even about Delco Day — not really. I know that I’m bringing my baggage to the table. I know that I’ve long had complicated feelings about Delaware County…
Truth be told, I’ve never liked it. Just not a Delco fan. Not that I don’t love my family and friends from Delco, or the food there, or the culture, or anything like that – all that stuff is great. I have no problem with anything in Delco. My problem is with the idea of the place – specifically, its widespread reputation as the Philly suburb. Delco has way too much visibility. Its brand is too strong. Delco’s national recognition outweighs its actual cultural contributions by a million. They don’t deserve a fraction of all the shine they get, but they get it anyway, while the other suburban Philadelphia counties get overlooked. Why does Delco have multiple HBO shows set there (Mare of Easttown, Task)? A Comedy Central show (Delco Proper)? A pretty good movie (Silver Linings Playbook, bet there are a thousand more, don’t have time to Google it right now)? Why are Philly accents always incorrectly described as Delco accents? Why is there so much Delco merch sold on the boardwalk? How did Delco become this famous?
It’s not right… And as a Lower Bucks native, it pisses me right off…
So when I heard that yesterday was Delco Day, my first thought was: “Of course it was… They’ll do anything for more attention… Probably shut down the Blue Route for the occasion to film an Abbott Elementary episode or some shit…” And when I read they revealed a new Delco sign in Pilgrim Gardens for the made-up holiday, I couldn’t wait to hate on it. I knew it would be terrible. An eyesore. Corny as hell. Delco’s version of that Detroit Hollywoood sign that everyone roasted, and that one rapper did a diss track about:
Then I saw the Delco sign, and to my dismay… it is a very cool, good sign:
Bunch of cool stuff painted on this sign. Soft pretzels. The 476 sign. The 2008 World Series banner. A hoagie. A 41-33 scoreboard. The 69th Street sign in Upper Darby. The Media Theater. It all looks really good. I was wrong. I own that. Jealousy got the better of me. Plus, it’s not a competition. We’re all on the same team. Maybe Bucks County can learn a thing or two from Delco. Maybe Bucks County can build its own sign… Maybe it’ll be cooler than Delco’s… Maybe we will finally be number one. Yes…
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…) email: M.Schultz@sportradar.com