Landing of Philadelphia Eagles fans in Minneapolis-St. Paul not received well by locals
The arrival of Philadelphia Eagles fans in Minneapolis-St. Paul, where their team will compete in Super Bowl LII against the New England Patriots on February 4th, has not been the best according to local residents.
After the Eagles eliminated the Minnesota Vikings in the National Football Conference (NFC) Championship, their fans do not view the Philadelphia franchise favorably and have made it their goal to make their stay as unpleasant as possible.
In what can only be interpreted as revenge for their team's defeat and the negative experiences that several Vikings fans had in Philadelphia, restaurants in the Super Bowl LII host area started denying reservations to Eagles players for the days leading up to the big game.
That's at least how safety Chris Maragos of the Eagles described it in a tweet, expressing his surprise at not finding a restaurant to dine at during his stay in Minneapolis.
"I've called three restaurants in Minneapolis to make a reservation for me and my teammates and 'cannot' get one. Well done, Minnesota fans. Well done."
The Vikings entered the NFC Championship game in Philadelphia with the possibility of becoming the first team in NFL history to play the Super Bowl in their own stadium, the new U.S. Bank Stadium, but lost convincingly to the Eagles with a score of 38-7.
The new "war" established between residents of both cities began when, before the game between the Eagles and Vikings, several videos circulated on social media showing Philadelphia fans throwing objects at visiting fans.
In response, now that the Eagles will be competing for the NFL title in Minneapolis, city residents proposed revenge by launching a campaign inviting people to use Uber exclusively during Super Bowl week in order to not take Eagles fans to their destinations and drive them elsewhere.
"Who wants to join me with Uber ONLY for the Super Bowl to be able to drop off Eagles fans in places completely far away from their destinations?" reads one Twitter message.
According to NESN.com, a message was posted on Facebook and later removed, inviting Minneapolis-St. Paul fans to throw objects at Eagles fans.
The National Football League (NFL) has not yet commented on the matter, but sources close to the Super Bowl LII organizing committee consider these actions unacceptable, regardless of the experiences Vikings fans had in Philadelphia.
On the other hand, local authorities in Minneapolis-St. Paul, who expect over 70,000 people to participate in all activities related to the Super Bowl and witness the game, claim that these are isolated incidents and will be investigated.
The current mayor of Minneapolis, the 36-year-old Democrat Jacob Frey, has been an advocate for making the city one of the most inclusive and open in the United States.
The same goes for Melvin Carter, another young politician, who became the first African-American to hold the position of mayor in St. Paul, the second largest city in the state of Minnesota, located next to Minneapolis and separated only by the Mississippi River, hence their nickname "the Twins".
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