Quotable: Brashear on Flyers and Caps Fans

For the five people who still think the Caps have better fans than our fair Flyers, maybe you should ask Donald Brashear, who stopped just short of calling the DC crowd "fair-weather fans" on the air with Angelo & Co. Tuesday morning. Brashear, who filled the enforcer role for the Flyers for several seasons and now plays for the Capitals, pointed to the fans as the primary difference between playing in Philly and Washington. Donny was characteristically diplomatic in his wording, and he doesn't seem to bothered by the casual support, but we're not going to let that stop a little playoff trash talking.

In related news, Brashear has a blog, and he's started an NHL playoffs challenge with a case prize.

I have a great Flyers memory from a few seasons ago, when I was watching a Flyers game on TV. A Flyer scored a goal, and the entire crowd in the frame behind the net jumped up with hands raised to celebrate. For a moment, I'd forgotten that the game was in Washington.

Comments

[George]

I'm in DC and I don't know how many of you might have been down for a Flyers/Caps game in the past, but let's just say I've always had a lot of friends in the crowd. I wouldn't really call the folks down here Caps "fans" at all.

[jd]

i was at a few games down here as well. cheap tickets were easy to get, and you really didn't have to pay attention to your seating assignment.

i usually bought nosebleeds, and found a pack of flyers fans near center ice.

however-the one thing that the caps have on us is "caps on tap".

[A Hardwick]

How's y'alls luck geting "nosebleed" tickets for this series. I think Brash got his mind changed the last 20 games. Too bad "fans" don't don't settle hockey games! As for being physcial, winner of Richard, Hart and any other trophies NHL is handing out this year finished 11th in hits. Caps win in 5 or 6.

[Kevin Sweet]

First thing's first "JD." Don't ever refer to us Philly fans as y'all!

And second thing, I'll be at the game Friday night - was able to buy the ticket a day after the series was in place. FAH-Q and your caps fans!

[BK]

Kevin Sweet

You are GAY

[Cap Fan]

A Hardwick, wow you were able to buy a ticket for the game the day after the series was announced? impressive. right now on ebay there are 168 pairs of tickets for the flyers games in philly. keep thinking it will be nothing but flyer fans on friday...

[Jim Boy]

A goon like Brashear WOULD identify with low class slobs like Flyers fans, right?

[j]

Of course Brashear is going notice the difference in the fanbase... The Flyers were good when he played for them and the Capitals have been terrible until the latter part of this season.

In his three seasons with the Flyers (from 01-04) they won 2 Atlantic Division titles and made they playoffs each year. The Flyers never had less than 40 wins in each season and had less than 100 pts just once (97).

In his only season, before this year, with the Capitals his team had all of 28 wins.

[CP]

Jim Boy: Please, the Flyers were worse than terrible last year, and we STILL managed to finish in the top 10 in attendance. Caps fans: get real, you all couldn't have cared less about the Caps until two weeks ago. Now get ready for your a*s whooping tomorrow night...

[Leo]

Caps fans shut the fuck up... You were never a real franchise for the past 10 years. You're lucky that you have a good owner, otherwise your team would have been sold.

[OV>]

cry cry cry. so I may lick your tears

[Sid The Kid]

whenever this bitch fight ends between you supposedly hardcore fans you'll be more then welcome to play the penguins so we'll have an easy ticket to the Habs in the conference finals.............GO PENGUINS

[Matt P.]

"more then [sic] welcome" huh? is that why you guys threw the final game, because you were so eager to play the flyers in a 7-game series?

[Sid The Kid]

When your pathetic as Bryan Murray you'll say anything. As a Philly fan you should be well aware of how he operates.

[GHJansom]

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[Ryan Mitchell]

Oh Mike, I absolutely love the underhanded slight at the end of your somewhat veiled blog reportage (veiled because it appeared in this lower=than=your=standard forum). Ah there it is, I've given you an underhanded compliment, though it is not quite worthy of the levels of exacting satire that you so eloquently divulged during the Flyers Caps series. I must admit that what saddens me most is not your tone, or your unabashed insensitivity, or your demanding of unnecessary and largely irrelevant self=referential attention. What saddens me is not your capitalization on a series that was going largely ignored in media circles (blame ESPN for this, after all, since the strike they have abandoned virtually all hockey coverage since they turned to NCAA basketball, NBA basketball and NASCAR, to fill the void), a capitalization on a silent forum. What saddens me is not that you start a fight without any just provocation (boredom perhaps? stress?too much time?). What saddens me is not that you are painfully obvious in wanting this reaction. What saddens me is not any of this. What saddens me is, you guessed, you're right about just about everything you say. The Megadeath statement, well that aside (and some of your inadequate hockey knowledge as well), almost all that you said was utterly, refreshingly, down right satirical. The key to the satire was its precision. I understand and relish in the detail that you employ to this end. Unfortunately, when you start a fight like this, you must seek to prepare for the immediate retaliation of your foe. The Flyers and their fans will of course take offense to your offensive remark (after all, the Megadeath comment was just flat out classist), because everything you said prior to it was ramping them up to respond actively to it. Your detail was fabulous and the writing was vibrant, though I suspect written under some foreboding spell or journalist mood of deadline frustration. Or perhaps you had more time to write this article than normal, a full day perhaps (there is usually at least one off day between every playoff game). Either way, it's clear that some creative impulse, be it time, stress, or too much time and not enough stress, enabled you to strike a startling satirical chord among your readers and naturally, your Philadelphian foes. I applaud your effort and only regret that you made your minor Megadeath disaster (I can't stress enough how amazed I am that you actually carry such sway as a journalist to get away with this, that is, not be fired for your undeniably classist, satirical Megadeath reference)...you must actually retain some say at the Post. I must say, some insensitivity is unavoidable, but c'mon Mike, this was egregious. Though I must admit, I never would have known your name had you not made the slip up. So hmmm, what does this say about the nature of our business? Well it says, if nothing else, that you've gotten the hang of it. Congrats Mike, you're on the top of your game. Let's see how long you can stay in the center of the art museum steps, a surprising gem of a purportedly literary sports columnist. God forbid you get offset from your new found perch some day like Bob Ryan recently did, it's tough to get centered again. Your Megadeath comment is loaded, but nevertheless, one step below the thin line, the ever=tenuous boundary that separates your payraise from your resignation letter. Don't step out of bounds any further Mike, it will probably cost you your job. And I for one couldn't stand for this, because higher journalism like yours deserves a place on everyman's coffee table and indeed, a spot on the bit of skin atop my father's bare and prickly thighs to serve as a delightful surface for the sweltering toilet=top reading of Mike Wise's latest lament during early morning sessions in America's next best reading room, the water closet, the bathroom. Don't stop stinking up my reading room Mike, I just couldn't breathe right without you.