SIX THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
ABOUT BEING A PHILLY COP

Sunday, October 26th featured an Eagles game and then a Phillies World Series game across the street later in the day. What's it like being Philly's finest then? Glad ya asked.

Getty Images

Being a cop in Philly used to be all fun and games. Now, with multiple teams contending, it's serious business. Ah, whatever. We just love this pic.

[Ed's note: Magazine editor Matt Meyers was in Philly yesterday for a historic sporting day. The Eagles won a home game over the Falcons at 1pm and at 8pm, the Phillies took a 3-1 lead in the World Series by dismantling the Rays, 10-2. Checking out both games, Meyers decided to ask a Philly cop what it's like working the beat with so much going on. Here's what he found out.]

IT PAYS: "The city won't allow their on-duty officers to be here, so the Phillies have to pay extra for city cops to cover the games. That means overtime, which means time and half. As far as I know, it's like that in most cities."

IT'S BETTER TO BE LUCKY THAN GOOD: "It's obviously a pretty coveted gig, and all you have to do is put your name into the pool of candidates and they choose randomly."

DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE: "Ever since the Vet was demolished, Philly fans no longer live up to their nasty reputation. Because the tickets at (Lincoln Financial Field) and (Citizen's Bank Park) are so expensive, the riff-raff has been priced out. We used to have night court in the basement at the Vet, we don't have that or need it at the new stadiums. When they killed the Vet, they killed the really bad fans."

BASEBALL'S A BREEZE: "I was working the Eagles game earlier today on plainclothes duty, trying to bust guys selling counterfeit t-shirts, as well as these guys who sell hits of nitrous oxide outside the stadium [Ed's Note: Seems like not all the bad fans are gone]. That's a little bit more work than being here, which is basically just sitting in the Rays dugout and watching the game."

CHASE IS JUST FOR UTLEY: "Our main job is to prevent fans from running onto the field, which isn't too bad except for last night when we had to stand out on the field during the rain delay to prevent anyone from sliding on the tarp. But if a fan manages to make it onto the field during the game, we don't have to chase them; that's the job of stadium security. I appreciate that because I don't want to have to be the guy looking like an idiot as I try and track down some drunk guy aimlessly running around the outfield."

PARADES AREN'T FUN FOR EVERYONE: "The only reason I wouldn't want the Phillies to win is because of the parade we would have to staff on Broad Street. The amount of manpower needed for that would be ridiculous, and let's just say it wouldn't be an easy day for us."

Print Article . Email Article. Subscribe to The Magazine