Eagles fans just got vindication as the best fan base in the most glorious way

Every great relationship is built on two key components: love and honesty.

It may be a complicated relationship between the Philadelphia Eagles and their fan base, but there's no denying that the feelings are mutual, even when it doesn't look like it on the outside. Other NFL fan bases hate Eagles fans because they can be vulgar and seem to complain about the team even when they are winning.

That's because the city of Philadelphia understands football better than most people do, which makes it harder for "football analysts" to talk down to Eagles fans as if they don't know what's going on. No one can truly understand or appreciate what Eagles fans go through to show their support for their team, even if no one gets it.

Eagles fans named the best because they will always tell it like it is

FanSided just named the city of Philadelphia as the Fandom of the Year for its passion and dedication to its teams, including the Eagles, 76ers, Flyers, and Phillies. Writer Jake Beckman had a perfect description of Eagles fans in his excerpt.

"Eagles fans are smart because they have to be. When a team is tied into your core being, you don’t have any other choice but to know ball. We know what changes they make and what’s staying the same. We know the weaknesses and the strengths. We know who this team is and what they’re capable of. We know the Philadelphia Eagles because they’re not just a part of our lives, they are our lives."

On a personal note, I have been an Eagles fan since 1999, when I watched a then-rookie quarterback, Donovan McNabb, navigate the NFL waters with a rookie head coach, Andy Reid. Growing up watching those two take the Eagles to five NFC Championships and one Super Bowl, I know how spoiled I was, but I was also tortured by the pain of losing in the conference title and the Super Bowl.

My first experience at a game was watching McNabb, Terrell Owens, Brian Westbrook, and Brian Dawkins dominate Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers 47-17 in 2004 and watching Favre get benched for maybe the only time in my life. That game at Lincoln Financial Field was the one moment I felt like I was with my people, screaming and cheering the Birds on in the way we should expect from them.

Eagles fans are never afraid to tell it like it is. It doesn't mean we hate the person on a personal level, but we do expect the team to perform well because that's the standard this city has set for its football team.

No Eagles fan agreed with what happened with offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo's house getting egged, as that was wrong. No one deserves that kind of treatment. With that being said, Eagles fans are going to hold him accountable for the mistakes he's made on the field and the offense's struggles because we have eyes and know what we see, even if others will tell us otherwise.

The foundation of a good relationship is honesty at all times. Eagles fans are blunt and let you know when they are mad. They will never coddle with a team, the players, or the coaches. We will let you know when they hurt us.

Philly's problem isn't that we're too mean or just straight up awful. It's that we care too much. We want to succeed the way this team did in the late 40's through the early 60's when they won titles.

This city went 58 years without a championship, and most of us (including me) never thought we would win one. That moment when Doug Pederson and Nick Foles hoisted that Lombardi Trophy for the first time in 2018 was surreal, and it made Eagles fans want it more. We continue the path of making sure we let the team know what we need to do to win it again.

Read more: Nick Sirianni sent clear message to Eagles after convincing win over Raiders

Sure, this city could at times be too passionate or intense about the Eagles, but we love our team enough to be honest and hold them accountable. Eagles fans love this team because we're the person in the relationship who will always be honest and upfront. Don't mistake that for hatred; that's true love, and no other fan base understands the passion and dedication for their team like Eagles fans.