They worship their Chiefs here, but it's a little more like the affection fans feel for Old State U. than the love-hate relationship Northeasterners have with their teams.
Sure, they can be tough here. This season alone, fans formed a "Save Our Chiefs" movement and asked its followers to wear black to games to protest the direction of the franchise.
Save Our Chiefs even gathered enough money to fly banners over Arrowhead Stadium demanding that general manager Scott Pioli be fired. But this was after five seasons of dreadful football and nearly 20 years without a playoff victory. If the Eagles had gone 25-55 in the last five years as opposed to 42-37-1, the flyovers would have started much earlier.
So it was no surprise that when Reid landed here Friday afternoon with his wife, Tammy, they were treated like royalty. Helicopters tracked Chiefs owner Clark Hunt's black SUV as it spun about town.
The top story on local newscasts was Reid's hiring. One station caught Hunt's vehicle stopping for several Chiefs fans so that Reid could autograph a few items.
Not long after he was hired by the Eagles in 1999, Reid went to a McDonald's on Broad Street after an all-nighter of watching tape before a Dallas game. As he waited in line to order a breakfast burrito, a little old lady recognized him and told him what she wished he would do to the Cowboys.
"Hey, you better kick their . . .," he recalled her saying.
It was the same story he often told when asked to talk about the city's fervor for its Eagles or its hatred of the Cowboys. Maybe he had other examples, but Reid kept a dispassionate distance from fans, unlike Dick Vermeil, who wore his emotions on his sleeve.
Despite what Jeffrey Lurie may want fans to believe, the Eagles had Reid's final day as coach planned for some time. Part of the schedule included a news conference. The team encouraged him to meet with the press. However, it was later relayed that he would not answer questions.
Maybe he was too emotional. Maybe he feared what he might say, unencumbered by the code he hung onto so dearly of never throwing anyone from the organization under the bus. Maybe he felt he didn't owe it to a media corps he often sparred with.
When the news broke that Reid had signed with the Chiefs, I immediately booked a flight expecting that an introductory news conference would be held sooner rather than later. The Chiefs chose later and will not formally introduce their new coach until Monday.
That gave me two days to get Reid. The first day didn't go so well. I texted him twice about meeting for a brief chat, fully aware that he had much on his plate. I told him that this could be his opportunity to say goodbye to Eagles fans.
Perhaps Reid will respond sometime before Monday. Perhaps another reporter would have fared better. I covered Reid for only four of his 14 seasons with the Eagles. I don't profess to really know the man or have any great insight into what makes him tick. I don't think any of the reporters who were around him on a daily basis would say otherwise.
But on the few occasions that I was able to spend time with him in casual settings he displayed a personality that can only be described as gregarious.
Last summer, when his Los Angeles high school inducted him into its hall of fame, I met a number of his friends and they could only laugh about his relationship with Eagles fans and the media. "I wish Philly knew the Andy that I know," one said.
When Reid's son died in August I wanted to express my condolences, so I walked through the receiving line before the funeral. As I neared the coach he said, "Come here," took me in his arms, and gave me a bear hug.
It was a little awkward, like his relationship with Philadelphia, but it was heartfelt.
Contact Jeff McLane at jmclane@phillynews.com. Follow on Twitter @Jeff_McLane.
