Philadelphia is arguably the most passionate sports town in America, and it doesn't matter if you're at a Flyers game, or if the Eagles, Phillies, or 76ers are the home team. Their fans are some of the loudest in sports, and even during lean seasons, they still show up in droves.
Back in 2018, Bill Matz listed "8 Reasons Philadelphia Flyers Fans Are the Most Intense," over at Bleacher Report. It's tough to come up with even three reasons why that's the case in so many cities across America, where it's common to see fans interested only when their team is winning.
When you have a fanbase that's going to show up even when they're angry, it won't be a pleasant experience for the opposing team even if they're skating away from the Wells Fargo Center with wins. But, maybe you might find all of this speculative, or even biased, since you can make similar cases for other fanbases, I'm sure.
But here's the kicker: The Flyers have won 1,288 games in their own barn, as opposed to 660 regular season losses, and 193 overtime losses. Yeah, that's an impressive record, and even if the Flyers are a bad team in 2025-26, chances are, they'll snag their 1,300th home regular season win this year.
What made it so tough for opponents to play the Flyers in Philadelphia?
While Philadelphia's always been a tough town to play in, the then-expansion Flyers were quick to establish the hard-hitting Broad Street Bullies, a group of intimidating, high-energy players who surely riled up the fans during those early years when the Expansion Six just needed to find ways to grow a fanbase and keep them interested.
You can also credit the historical rivalries between the City of Philadelphia and nearby cities that include New York, Pittsburgh, and Newark. I mean, sports fans in Philadelphia and New York had seen their teams going at it forever in the NFL before the Flyers arrived. Surely, that rivalry carried over into the NHL with the New York Rangers and, later, the Islanders.
Ditto for Pittsburgh, where the Eagles and Steelers were fierce rivals, for the most part, between 1933 and 1970 before the Steelers bailed for the AFC to start a new rivalry with the Bengals while continuing their existing one with the Browns.
Still, the Eagles and Steelers were in the twilight of their fierce rivalry during the early days of the Flyers and Penguins joining the league. Naturally, the bad blood the Eagles and Steelers shared needed a "spiritual successor," and the two hockey teams delivered.
But, because of so many intense geographic rivalries flooding the Flyers schedule, coupled with the fanbase's historical intensity, it's no wonder why teams have such a rough time playing in the Birthplace of America.
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