Pittsburgh fans cursed out the Flyers at the NFL draft — but the Eagles actually got the last laugh
The Battle for Pennsylvania is heating up as the Eagles and Steelers enter the fray.
Hey Pittsburgh, we good?
Fans in the Steel City have witnessed their Penguins fall into an 0-3 hole vs. the upstart Flyers in the Battle for Pennsylvania, which led to a profane chant at the NFL draft that included words we can’t publish here.
And that was before the Eagles stole Makai Lemon out from under them.
After a trade with the Cowboys, the Eagles leapfrogged Pittsburgh, the NFL draft’s host city, to select wideout Makai Lemon 20th overall. The USC slot receiver was already on the phone with the Steelers when Eagles general manager Howie Roseman came calling.
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Meanwhile, with Lemon off the board, the Steelers ended up selecting Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor, who was given a second-round grade by ESPN before the draft.
Between the Flyers on the verge of a sweep and the Eagles swooping in to steal their team’s pick, let’s just say Pittsburgh fans are feeling a certain type of way about Philly right now.
Philadelphia fans — as they do best — fought back, and looked to rub some salt in Pittsburgh’s wound.
On Wednesday, before the Flyers’ 5-2 win over the Pens, The Inquirer challenged Philadelphia fans to say something nice about their Keystone State rivals. It went about as well as you would expect …
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“Pittsburgh is far enough away that you can’t drive there easily. That’s the best thing I can say about Pittsburgh,” said Al Ferrari, a fan from Bellmawr.
The newly revived beef between Pennsylvania’s largest two cities has also inspired a slew of memes from both sides.
Even the Eagles social media manager got in on the fun, flexing over the Flyers’ series lead over the Penguins.
And of course, two of Philadelphia’s mascots linked up to troll Pittsburgh. It appears Gritty, who committed some bird crimes of his own Wednesday, sent Swoop a Flyers jersey to sport while the bald eagle will be nesting in the Steel City for two more days of the draft.
The Flyers will look to close out the series this Saturday in South Philly while the Eagles have four draft picks remaining over the next two days.