San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle recently shared memories of the extreme lengths Philadelphia Eagles fans go to in an effort to rattle opposing teams. Those experiences, Kittle noted, have ranged from verbal taunts and crude gestures to fans mooning the team bus on the way to the stadium.
Kittle even recalled an incident from his rookie season in which several 10-year-old children held up a seven-foot-tall papier-mâché hand designed to extend the middle finger. While unusual, it's an atmosphere Kittle has admitted he actually enjoys.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan, however, could have done without one particular encounter in Philadelphia. The coach recounted an incident in which he was jolted awake while riding the team bus to Lincoln Financial Field before his time with the 49ers.
"I go earlier than the buses, but I used to not get my own ride there before I was a head coach," Shanahan told reporters on Friday. "So, I do remember going there—maybe the first time—because my head was asleep on the bus window, and then I thought it got shot.
"But it was an egg hitting the window. And it actually shattered it (the window) somehow with an egg. Maybe it was hard-boiled."
With the 49ers set to face the Eagles in Philadelphia once again, Shanahan made it clear that players unfamiliar with the environment should brace themselves for what awaits both inside and outside Lincoln Financial Field.
"But yes," Shanahan said, "be ready."