Before the Eagles won the NFC Championship game, workers in Philadelphia greased street poles with Crisco in an attempt to prevent fans from climbing them during what they figured would be a chaotic celebratory scene if the Eagles won. Well, the Eagles won and then their pole-climbing fans defeated the Crisco.
So, with the Eagles in Super Bowl LII against the Patiots, Philadelphia police have upgraded from Crisco to hydraulic fluid. On Sunday morning, they -- the "Pole Patrol -- went to work.
ATTENTION: The #CriscoCops are back to work and they have now changed their names! #FlyEaglesFlypic.twitter.com/aXXKE3Wu1u
— Alex Holley (@AlexHolleyFOX29) February 4, 2018
Despite rumors they are greasing the poles in Center City. Not with Crisco this time but hydraulic fluid. #Eaglespic.twitter.com/uU8tQ8gCCQ
— David Cohen (@explorionary) February 4, 2018
Philadelphia pole climbers: meet your match tonight. As predicted, no Crisco on the poles. Instead, police are using hydraulic fluid. And it's water resistant, too, they said, so this afternoon's rain won't make it any easier for you to climb. pic.twitter.com/5GvI9BRhaQ
— Caitlin McCabe (@mccabe_caitlin) February 4, 2018
As Caitlin McCabe of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported, they covered roughly 100 street poles from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. And they're not done.
By the time I found these guys around 1 p.m., they had already greased around 100 street poles since 9 a.m., starting at Broad and Lombard Streets, making their way up toward City Hall.
— Caitlin McCabe (@mccabe_caitlin) February 4, 2018
Other preventive measures are also being prepared:
Preemptive crowd control measures on Broad St pic.twitter.com/TwrnKiyV7J
— Samantha Melamed (@samanthamelamed) February 4, 2018
Hopefully, Philadelphia police have better luck than the last time a local team won a championship. According to Philly.com, police made 76 arrests the night the Phillies won the World Series back in 2008. The Eagles have never won a Super Bowl, so the city will erupt if the Eagles find a way to upset the Patriots, who defeated them in their most recent trip to the Super Bowl in February 2005.
Nobody should expect Eagles fans to give up on the idea of climbing poles. After the NFC title game, they successfully defeated the Crisco.
The grease didn’t work. pic.twitter.com/it0XDv4Nvs
— Matt Gelb (@MattGelb) January 22, 2018
As Eagles running backs coach Duce Staley noted in the week leading up to the Super Bowl, the preventive measures being taken are more likely to serve as an invitation rather than a deterrent.
Duce Staley on Philly officials greasing lamp poles: "You’re actually inviting fans when you say, 'You can’t do it.' Because our fans, the way they think, if you tell them you can't go up there it just makes them think, ‘OK, how can we get up there.’ They’ll find a way to do it."
— Reuben Frank (@RoobNBCS) January 31, 2018
At this point, Tom Brady appears to be the only thing that can prevent Eagles fans from climbing poles and causing havoc in Philadelphia on Sunday night.
