News

Dear Eagles Fans: Say Goodbye to Tailgating

The city is cutting off access to some South Philly streets and enforcing a strict no-tailgating policy at FDR Park.


eagles fans tailgating in Philadelphia, something they won't be allowed to do this season

Eagles fans tailgating last November in South Philadelphia. That won’t be happening this year. (Getty Images)

A roundup of news from the Philadelphia area.

Philly Just Ruined Your Eagles Tailgating Plans

By now, you are probably over the fact that the Washington Football Team made a complete and utter embarrassment of the Eagles during Sunday’s game. And you’re probably looking forward to watching the home opener this Sunday. (We play the Rams. The game is at 1 p.m. on Fox 29. You’re welcome.) But if you were hoping to meet your friends in South Philly for some good old fashioned, pre-COVID era tailgating, I’ve got some bad news for you.

On Wednesday, the city announced plans to destroy every last bit of fun you have in your life prevent you from doing any Eagles tailgating in South Philly. These measures will be in place from 6 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Sunday.

The city is prohibiting any vehicular access near the Linc, from 7th Street to Broad Street and from Packer Avenue to I-95. This includes the complete closure of 11th Street from Pattison Avenue to Terminal Avenue as well as of Pattison Avenue from Broad Street to 7th Street. It also includes a prohibition on all southbound traffic on 10th Street from Packer Avenue to Hartranft Street and on Darien Street from Packer Avenue to Pattison Avenue.

More of a map person? Here:

a map of the road closures in South Philadelphia that are being put in place to prevent Eagles fans from tailgating.

A map of the road closures in South Philadelphia that are being put in place to prevent Eagles fans from tailgating. (City of Philadelphia)

So that sucks. But maybe you’re thinking that you can just head over to FDR Park, where people love to tailgate for Eagles games. Just like these gals did in 2018:

eagles fans tailgating at FDR Park in Philadelphia

Eagles fans tailgating at FDR Park in 2018 (Getty Images)

Well, friend, 2020 is no 2018. The city says that the Philadelphia Police Department and members of the Philadelphia Parks and Recreation Department will be down at FDR Park enforcing the tailgating ban.

“For the safety of our residents and due to COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings, tailgating will not be permitted until further notice,” Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. “There are still many ways to enjoy the game safely, and we encourage fans to watch at home with family.”

Restrictions will apply to all Eagles home games in the foreseeable future.

Philly Women Are Much Better Mask-Wearers Than Philly Men

That’s one of the key takeaways from a new mask study that the Philadelphia Department of Health just released.

In August, researchers observed about 4,600 people outdoors in Philadelphia to see who was wearing a mask, who wasn’t, and whether those wearing masks were wearing them properly. Locations included commercial streets, neighborhood parks and playgrounds, and the city broke them down by each of the City Council districts.

Some 51 percent of the women observed were wearing masks, while only 37 percent of men wore masks. C’mon guys! According to the researchers, white people tended to wear masks more often than did Black or LatinX people. But all of those groups were trounced by those classified as Asian in the study, who wore masks 63 percent of the time. By comparison, white people wore masks 47 percent of the time and Black and LatinX people wore masks about 30 percent of the time.

In terms of neighborhoods, among the worst performing City Council districts were six and ten. I’m looking at you, Northeast Philly. The biggest winner, if there are really any winners in 2020, would be district one, which includes South Philadelphia, Center City, Chinatown, Northern Liberties, Fishtown, Kensington and Port Richmond.

Take a look at the full report for yourself:

Mask Study Philadelphia Report by Victor Fiorillo on Scribd

The Night That Donald Trump Came to Philly

In case you missed it, Donald Trump was at the Constitution Center on Tuesday night. The event was a televised Town Hall on 6 ABC hosted by George Stephanopoulos. As expected, some people think Trump did amazingly well. Others who watched said he failed miserably. I kind of fall in between. To me, it was just Trump being Trump and nothing that was said is going to get anybody who was planning to vote for him to do otherwise, nor is it going to convert any Bidenites to Trumpers. As for undecided voters, which this was supposedly geared towards, what are you waiting for?

Anyway, here are some interesting fact-checks of Trump’s visit to Philly from ABC, CNN and the New York Times.

Here’s Trump telling a Black man what he knows about racial inequality in the United States:

Oh, and I like this woman, who wouldn’t let Trump interrupt her:

Enjoy.

And Briefly Noted…