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Will Eagles' fans behave?

As the team's supporters flock to Florida, they try to play down their rowdy reputation.

JACKSONVILLE - So what if Philadelphia Eagles fans once pelted Santa Claus with snowballs at old Veterans Stadium? So what if the city outfitted that rat-infested edifice with its own jail because of the regularity with which the team's drunk and disorderly supporters got arrested at the games?

So what if these are the folks who jeered Dallas Cowboys receiver Michael Irvin as he lay on the field after suffering a career-ending neck injury?

Eagles fans who have flocked to Jacksonville by plane, train, RV and automobile for Sunday's Super Bowl XXXIX insist they are a kinder, gentler bunch than the boisterous, alcohol-soaked crazies who used to abuse opposing fans in the old stadium.

"I think we're getting a bad rap," said Andy Johnston, 47, a sales manager from suburban Philadelphia who arrived in an RV with a bunch of buddies Friday morning. "A few bad apples, and people pick us out and say we're all bad. . . . They love to blow it out of proportion because we're from the City of Brotherly Love."

Johnston and his gang arrived without tickets and are content to just hang around and soak up the Super Bowl atmosphere. "We want to be here with our team," he said.

"But if Santa Claus shows up, we'll snowball him again," Johnston joked. His friend, Scott Lakernick, 43, added: "Only if he's wearing a Patriots jersey."

Judging from the colors being displayed at the crowded Jacksonville Landing, the downtown mall that is the epicenter of the city's Super Bowl festivities, visiting Eagles fans outnumber New England Patriots fans by a good margin.

Eagles fan Murray Milner, 56, figured that's why he was having such a hard time finding another pair of tickets for family members who drove down with him from Philadelphia. He was willing to pay more than $2,000 each.

He agreed that many of the stories about nasty Eagles fans are more urban legend than truth.

"Our reputation precedes us, as they say," said Milner. "We're a very passionate sports town."

Dennis Brandau Jr., 18, and his father, Dennis Brandau Sr., 55, moved to Orlando from Philadelphia three years ago and drove over Friday just to be in Jacksonville with their team. The younger Brandau said Eagles fans are just fine, "as long as you don't say the wrong thing to the wrong people."

Norman Gray III, a Wrentham, Mass., firefighter and Patriots season-ticket holder, said New England fans are every bit as passionate, but economics might have kept many away from the Super Bowl this year.

"People in Boston have spent extensive amounts of money (going to two Super Bowls in 2002 and 2004), and you have to re-evaluate your priorities," said Gray.

[Last modified February 6, 2005, 00:21:17]