It is at this point in my 34-year-old life that I realize I'm now old, because I'm about to start a comment with the phrase, "back in the old days."

When the Caps and Flyers were both good in the mid- to late-80s, fights in the stands when the teams played at Cap Centre weren't unusual. I remember one Flyer fan harrassing a handicapped Caps fan, then getting one-punch-KO'ed by another Cap fan (for which he got a standing ovation that I started). In another instance, a fight spilled out into the parking lot and onto a coach bus.

Back then, the deal was, if a fight started, the Flyer fan started it, and was kicked out. The Cap fan was politely told by the hulking usher in the suit, "Go back to your seat now, sir."

Last year's games were much more tame, because neither team was any good. The one I went to this year didn't seem to have any problems. Maybe it's the new arena - or maybe it's that beer costs so much now that no one can get drunk enough to fight.

Or, maybe, everyone got old.

Even as a native Philadelphian, and a fan of Phila. sports teams until I moved to DC in the late 70s, I've always been shocked by the behavior of some Phila. fans. My worst memory comes from when I attended Game 4 of the 1987 Stanley Cup finals, between the Flyers and Edmonton. Toward the end of the game, with the Flyers far behind, I watched as Ron Hextall reared back and swung his stick like a baseball back across the back of the legs of Edmonton's Kent Nilsson. Hextall was apparently peeved by Edmonton's incursions into his crease during the game. As Nilsson was being helped off, the fans chanted "Hit him again, hit him again." There's just no excuse for that.

Those Philly chicks are REALLY FUGLY.

Dan, Eddie C is right. I'm also 34 and I remember the brawls at Cap Centre all too well. Ask an "old-time" Caps fan what his most hated opponent is and he won't say Pittsburgh, he'll say the Flyers. I know I will.

I will agree that philthy fans are the worst. My dad stopped taking my brother and I to philthy games because there were too many fights. He'd take us to ANY game we wanted to see but philthy. Now that we're older, he's dying to go back to the old Caps Centre to see those fights. He just didnt want to put us in harms way.

I attended a Caps-Flyers playoff game at the Spectrum wearing the Red, White & Blue back in the late 80s.

Let's just say I'm pleasantly suprised that I am around to share this experience with the Bog today.

I'm 32 and I'd say my most hated opponent is the Isles. I hate the Flyers and I hate the Pens but the Isles just really annoyed me in the 80's.

@Eddie C

I have similar recollections, and would add that the Cap Centre had roving bands of large dudes in their yellow "Event Staff" jackets that were supposed to break-up the fights, but often threw a sneaky punch at the Philly fans while attempting to do so.

Ahhh memories... crap, I'm old.

Ah, yes, the yellow-jacketed crowd control guys--I remember them well. They came to break up a fight that broke out right behind me one night during a Caps-Flyers game at the Cap Centre. Two guys were actually trying to gouge each other's eyes out.

"Ah, yes, the yellow-jacketed crowd control guys--I remember them well."

Head to a United match, they're still there.

Now, if all the fans were like Dancing Guy, there probably wouldn't be any fights - just laughs.

That video also solves the mystery regarding whatever happened to The Great Pumpkin.

I remember when I was a kid, going to Caps games at the Cap Center, the Philly games were always the most fun... at the Cap Center the seats behind the goals were actually temporary bleachers, and guys would stomp on them with their boots while chanting "let's go Caps" which made the whole place shake. I remember one guy in the bleachers jumping down at least five rows to try to beat up a Flyers fan, beer flying out of his cup. I have always hated Ron Hextall and the Flyers. Go Caps.

http://www.phillysucks.com/

I just wish they would stay in their disgusting, sewer like crap hole of a town from birth until death.

Quality stuff here. Philly fans are sooooo bad. Remember when they threw snowballs at Santa? Hey at least they go to the games: Capitals attendance in 2008: 26th in the NHL; Flyers attendance in 2007 (worst season in team history): 7th, in 2008: 4th. Steinberg you are so much better than this.

Maybe this week will rekindle the old fires. The last few Philly games I've been to at the V Center were all fairly tame. The Buffalo fans have bene faaaar worse of late.

bobby clarke ain't walkin thru the door. the bullies are the buffies. they won't find seats this time, but we will in filly. the hard part is sitting around women that look like a mass audition for the Wicked Witch of the West tryout, but when you see all the beer belly belchers its no wonder why all their good looking women moved to DC to find real men and fans. Caps sweep using filly womens brooms they flew in on

Any city and any fan base can get excited about their team in the playoffs but the true fans are at the arena even when the team sucks. It's nice to see D.C. get excited about the Caps for thier short playoff run but where have you been the rest of the year?

you hsould really give proper credit to an quotes taken from a poster of another site.
journalism 101 states that. if not, your a plagerizer.

"I just wish they would stay in their disgusting, sewer like crap hole of a town from birth until death"

Funny... I feel the same way about DC folk.

I grew up in the '70s playing youth hockey in the Philly area. The only Flyers tickets my parents could afford were at the Caps Center. We'd watch from the cheap nosebleed seats. I never saw any fights around us because there weren't any Caps fans up there. It wasn't till I went to college in New York that I learned you could be kicked out of an arena for defending yourself from the home team fans.

As a person who has lived part of my adult life in both D.C. and Philly I have to say that Caps fans (all 27 of you) need some new material. I will concede that Philly is a pretty dirty city, but I saw things in D.C. that made me think I was in the third world. Once you get out of NW, the place looks like a demilitarized zone.
As far as fans go, Flyers fans are much more dedicated and loyal than Caps fans. You think they could fill up the Verizon Center, being the it is pretty much the most accesible arena in any city. The only thing that gets a rise out of D.C. fans is Joe Gibbs (for reasons I still do not understand, I have come to the conclusion every sports fan in washington thinks it is still 1993) The Caps should make him an honorary coach, then the can fill that arena.

Have to agree about caps fans needing new material. For instance, Chris wrote:
"Remember when they threw snowballs at Santa?"

That was 40 years ago, before the Caps even existed. And besides, it was nothing more than a drunken slob who wasn't supposed to be in the halftime show to begin with. But he does have a good point with attendance. I grew up in the Philly 'burbs but moved to Hershey, but I still go to multiple Flyers, Phils, Eagles, Sixers, and even Phantoms games every year. No matter how good or bad they are. I'm not saying there's no die-hard caps fans, just less of them show up when the team isn't good.

Just go to any Philly message board right now and read thread after thread of them whining about how rude Caps fans are. It's pretty hypocritical and funny.

I grew up in Maryland and have been a Caps fan since birth (1985, just young enough to not really remember the "good old days" but old enough to remember how much fun the mildly ghetto caps center was and how I thought I was going to die if I fell down those concrete stairs)and while I hate fair weather fans at least more people are watching hockey. I've gone through hell being a caps fan so I'm going to enjoy wins with or without bandwagoners.

As for philthy... totally hate them but right now living in NYC I hate the Rangers more, about 75% is due to the fact that Jagr still exists in the NHL and we are still helping pay for him.

And no matter what happens in these playoffs I am so proud of our team, no other team has made it to the playoffs from where we were and people have finally realized we are a force to be reckoned with!

LETS GO CAPS!

I'm a die hard Caps, Skins, Wizard, O's and now Nats fan. I attended a game at FedEx field between the Skins and Eagles on a Monday night back when Schottenheimer was coaching and two Redskin fans approached two obnoxious Eagle fans and asked what would happen if they were at Veterans Stadium acting the same way. The reply came that "You would get your @#$ kicked!" and so I broke up a near brawl telling my fellow Skin fans it isn't worth it. Unfortunately we lost badly that night, but it felt good to do the right thing. Can't we all just get along!? ;-)GO CAPS!!

we own your stadiums, if you hate us so much then y u sell us your tickets? hopefully goin to the game saturday....and as for fed ex. been there 3 times won all 3...been to rfk. wow what a joke, well over half phillies fans...y do you guys have 4 sports teams? cant even support one of them..

You caps fans are pathetic. If you were winning I highly doubt you'd be whining so much about our fans. Must be hard to see Ovechkin get shut down two games in a row but let's face it, when it comes to the playoffs one man can't carry his whole team. I gotta admit that I'm an AO fan and I had alot of respect for him until he took the most ridiculous "crosbyesque" dive in a desperate attempt to get a power play. We will boo when we see that and when we see our players getting cheap shots after the play. We don't approve of the "if you can't beat em, injure em" strategy. Expect a loud house tonight. Caps fans vs. Flyers fans is an insulting comparison. You can't stand up next to us. We were behind our team all last season when theye were the WORST team in the league and during their ten game slump this season, and we will most certainly give them the support that is obviously working through the playoffs. I think that you need to find something real to whine about, like the fact taht your team can't win again even when the refs give them a goal for free. So please do us a favor and don't ever try to compare us to you.

You're losing so bad that you sink to the level of insulting the looks of female fans. wow. I know it's been a tough series but come on, are we in high school?

LETS GO FLYERS!

SPELL NUCH, I MEAN, MUCH...DONKEY!!

@caps fans vs. flyers fans

THE DIVE THING,,,ITS CALLED HOCKEY 101 PUTZ..EVERYONE DIVES..EVERYONE
88 RING A BELL, PRE THE STEVENS ASSAULT ON HIS BRAIN.

I went to a flyers penguins game early in the season, the same night PSU played in philly against temple. There was a good amount of pens fans in the crowd left over from psu that must have bought tix at the same time. There were at least 5 fights...in the crowd. Flyers fans stick together and once a fight starts all of them will join in. I got hit by about 5 things cause there was a pens fan right behind me

I think the Capitals are just jealous of the sports fans in Philly i mean yea were old school, we dont a freaking horn to get our crowd going, we are all heart, unlike a 65 goal scoring cry-baby Russian.

and by the way in-case the Caps fans didnt stay up for the double-overtime, because they need get their "beauty" sleep they lost and now their trailing the series 3-1, Division Champs.. please...

Yo! This is hysterical. Let's play some more hockey and Let's Go Flyers! Bbb-uuurp!!

Caps fans flat out stink just like their teams. The sooner they face the facts that their team can't and won't win they will be better off.

Us Flyers Fans stand by our team and try our best to be the 6th man on the ice. In game three the Caps had 7 skaters on the ice to our 5 ( 5 caps + 2 referee's) and still couldn't win.

Face it, our 40 year tradition in Philly is something that comes from the heart and passion for our team and is not something you can just create overnight. Someday the Caps and their fans may overcome their loser status and be as lucky as us, until then...You are all still losers and your #8 poster child, still has a lot of learning to do before he can even think of winning a playoff game in Philly let alone a Stanley Cup with the Flyers blocking the road. Better luck next year, if your lucky you can watch the Flyers on VS's so you can see what a real team and fans is all about.

You guys are totally wrong on all accounts. Did you actually read what Brashear said? Admittedly, Flyers fans can be a little rowdy at times but thats because they actually care about their team year round. Did you see how many flyers fans showed up to the Virzon center? I didn't see any caps fans at the Wachovia center. Now that the caps have lost you guys don't care. The right team won

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