Philadelphia offers another shining example of sports-related idiocy

Don’t ever change, Philadelphia. Your fans, your radio hosts, even your former disgraced sports columnist.

There are legitimate reasons why all three have the worst reputations in the sports world.

This week, as we prepare for the Eagles-Cowboys matchup Sunday night at AT&T Stadium, we have another example of Philly fanaticism run amok. No batteries were thrown, to my knowledge, but a disrespectful bomb was thrown on Twitter that caught the eye of Dallas Cowboys receiver Cole Beasley.

Eagles’ sideline reporter and Fox 29 television personality Howard Eskin posted a tweet Sunday evening attempting to sum up the Cowboys’ problems during their loss to the Falcons. Beasley saw the tweet in his feed, which is an important distinction. He wasn’t just randomly seeking out commentary.

“Without RB Zeke Elliott QB Dak Prescott is not that special,” Eskin wrote, which is what specifically irked Beasley, who responded.

Beasley replied to the tweet with “This is the dumbest s*** I’ve ever heard,” he wrote. “Dak is that dude.”

So far, none of this is out of bounds. Even Eskin’s comments, while seemingly knee-jerk over one performance, and appear generally misinformed about Prescott’s abilities, are well within his prerogative.

Beasley quickly followed up with a clarification and further support for Prescott.

“I didn’t know the dude was from philly. Don’t care honestly. Nobody is about to discredit my quarterback who has done nothin but ball since he stepped through the door,” Beasley posted.

Still, nothing out of line.

But then Eskin showed his true ‘Brotherly Love’ colors. In response to a relatively benign post by presumably a Cowboys fan, he tried the broad brush attack.

“This tweet is gold. I think the world of [Carson] wentz and am a cowboys fan ... but this tweet about Prescott is so unbelievably biased and speaks to no facts of what happened in the game,” replied the fan, who goes by Sam.

Eskin’s measured, professional response?

“The #cowboys fans are a pathetic bunch,” he quote tweeted.

Classy, Howard.

Later, in another response to an Eagles’ fan, who was concerned Eskin was offering the Cowboys with “bulletin board material,” Eskin decided to take a shot at Beasley.

“If the #cowboys need me for locker room bulletin board material they are worse than I ever imagined,” he wrote. “And nobody would know who Cole Beasley is if he played for anybody other than Dallas.”

What a buffoon. Perhaps Beasley can run a route where he winds up on the Eagles sideline and offering Eskin a quick one-on-one in-game interview?

Obviously, fame is very important to Eskin. Who else would have his own website which seems solely dedicated to showing off his hair and outlandish autograph? Is he a sportscaster or a Rogaine model?

This story was originally published November 16, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Philadelphia offers another shining example of sports-related idiocy."