The three most fascinating
structures of Philadelphia to me personally are Citizens Bank Park, Lincoln
Financial Field, and the Wells Fargo Center. Philadelphia is a city which
revolves around sports and the three largest sports arena’s here represent the
true Philadelphian. These stadiums witness the most bipolar fanatics in the
entire United States. Fans have been known to ‘boo’ excessively when their team
is losing and cheer extremely loud when their team is winning.
Examples of Philadelphia fans showing their passion are
the famous incidents of Eagles fans throwing snowballs at Santa Clause, a fan fighting
a professional hockey player, taunting J.D. Drew, and booing Donovan McNabb in
the 1999 draft (Rosen).
Philadelphia sports fans are crazy and that is why I
am choosing to glorify these stadiums because sports are everything in this
city.
Citizens
Bank Park was designed by Stanley Cole who was an American architect and
principal of the Ewing Cole architectural firm. “The bank” as many people call
it is located in the south part of Philadelphia. Specifically, the address is 1
Citizens Bank Way, Philadelphia, PA 19148. The architecture of this stadium
differed tremendously from the previous Phillies Park, Veterans Stadium. Instead
of a bowl shaped, Citizens Bank Park was designed for openness and more
entertainment. Real grass was installed instead of AstroTurf, which was the selected
surface for Veterans Stadium. The park’s architecture has an old feel with
modern technology. The purpose of Citizens Bank Park is for fans to watch
Phillies games comfortably and for entertainment. Citizens Bank was completed
in early April of 2004, which from then on Philadelphia has enjoyed many celebrated
moments there.
Lincoln
Financial Field is one of the nicest stadiums in the National Football League. The
stadium opened on August 3, 2003, after two years of construction that began on
May 7, 2001 and replaced Veterans Stadium as the Eagles' home stadium. While
its total capacity barely changed, the new stadium contains double the number
of luxury and wheelchair-accessible seats, along with more modern services. Dan
Meis is the lead architect who built Lincoln Financial Field. The address is 1020
Pattison Avenue Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19148. The architecture of the
stadium is well thought out. It has many LED screens and new technology that
make it a stadium for pure entertainment. Also the design of it permits for an
immense capacity, which allows more fans to attend games. The purpose of
Lincoln Financial Field is to hold as many people comfortably as possible and
for the fans to enjoy the games played there.
Wells
Fargo Center, previously known as the Core States Center, First Union Center,
and Wachovia Center, serves as a multi team sports arena, which includes the
Flyers and the Seventy Sixers. The original complex was designed by Elerbe Becket. Located at 3601 South Broad Street Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania 19148, Wells Fargo Center is in the heart of South Philadelphia
just like Citizens Bank Park and Lincoln Financial Field. The architectural
style is essentially basic and not very unique, but most the National
Basketball Association and the National Hockey League do not typically have dazzling
arenas. But the Wells Fargo Center is spacious and is quite fan friendly. August
of 1996 was when the stadium was finished and ready to be opened. The purpose
of the Wells Fargo Center is to serve the people of Philadelphia and entertain
them through either hockey or basketball.
In
my potential movie screening scenario I would definitely lionize these stadiums
as they are almost considered pieces of art to the average Philadelphia sports
fan, which is primarily every Philadelphian citizen. People in Philadelphia,
including myself, are extremely passionate about their teams, which is another
reason why the stadiums would be a well representation of Philadelphia in a
film.
“Now The Cheese Steak, a
satirical Philadelphia news website, has only rubbed salt in the wound with a
sports-themed spoof of Sarah Mclachlan's ad for the ASPCA’s anti-animal cruelty campaign.
As McLachlan’s song “Angel” plays in the background, a representative from a
fake charity called the “Philadelphia Sports Fan Relief Association” informs
viewers that for only 60 cents a day, they can “help refund the thousands lost
by season ticket-holders” and receive a picture of a nearby fan — or Phanatic.” –Charlie Campbell
“I
remember I got beat up in a fight at the Spectrum and they booed me”-Craig
Berube
Passion
is the key word to Philadelphia fans and quite frankly I am surprised that no
film directors have used these stadiums to use. I would even go as far as the
stadiums represent Philadelphia better than any other structure or building in
the city. The reason I chose these stadiums are because of the insanely zealous
sports fans of Philadelphia and the complexes signify these sports teams, which
embodies the average Philadelphian. The representation of these stadiums
expresses the love/hate personality of Philadelphia. The stadiums would represent
my main character and society as a whole because every Philadelphian has two
sides of their heart, love and hate, and both are expressed in all of these
venues. The leading character of the film would constantly go through love/hate
feelings with a specific woman, which both are Philadelphia sports fans, and they
realize that they are in love at an Eagles game. The realization of this is
because of the constant bipolar attitudes throughout the game. Both characters
realize that love will conquer all and that their passion for one another is
what keeps the relationship going even in a losing season. The metaphor I am
presenting in accordance to the stadiums and the character relationship shows
the true fire and passion of Philadelphians. The arenas suggest themes we have
discussed in class, which are what a film director can do with certain
structures and how they are presented in the screening to connect with the
movie’s connotation.
Works Cited:
Callahan, Kevin. "Philly's Faithful Sports Fans Aren't Afraid to Let You Know How They Feel." Courier-Post.
N.p., 13 Apr. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
<http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20130413/SPORTS01/304130031/Philly-s-faithful-sports-fans-aren-t-afraid-let-you-know-how-they-feel>.
Campbell, Charlie. "WATCH: Sarah McLachlan Parody Ad Attempts to Console Downtrodden Philly Sports Fans." NewsFeed WATCH Sarah McLachlan Parody Ad Attempts to Console Downtrodden Philly Sports Fans Comments.
N.p., 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
<http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/03/26/watch-philadelphia-sports-fans-relief-association-consoles-area-sports-lovers/>.
Rosen, Adam. "Multiple Sports." Bleacher Report.
N.p., 05 May 2010. Web. 30 Apr. 2013.
<http://bleacherreport.com/articles/388192-10-worst-philadelphia-sports-fans-moments/page/5>.
http://articles.philly.com/2013-03-16/news/37747592_1_ewingcole-architect-phillies-charities
http://www.meisarchitects.com/#mi=1&pt=0&pi=2&p=-1&a=0&at=0
http://www.ellerbebecket.com/expertise/portfolio/2/Sports_Venue.html
