As a Philadelphia native, Joe Judge understands full-well the type of reception he's in for when his New York Giants face off against the division rival Eagles on Thursday night.
"I'll probably buy a helmet too because my in-laws are already buying batteries," Judge quipped, via NJ.com. "To be honest with you, it's not my first time going back to Philly as an opposing coach. It's a great city. It has great, passionate fans. It's an excellent team. It's obviously a great rivalry. I grew up watching these games. They were always tough games, blue-collar type games, when the Eagles and the Giants were playing when I was growing up watching the games. Again, you're so focused on the opponent, the emotion doesn't really get tied into it. We just know we have a heck of a team we have to match up against."
Luckily for Judge, it won't be a packed house Thursday night due to COVID-19 restrictions.
The battery-throwing, Santa-booing clichés when describing Philly fans are a well-worn trope at this point, and frankly low-hanging fruit. But since Judge grew up in the City of Brotherly Love, he's allowed to espouse such eye-rolling comments.
Judge brings his 1-5 Giants to Philly after earning his first win as a head coach on Sunday against Washington. The Eagles sit at 1-4-1. A Giants win would put them a half-game behind Dallas for the NFC East lead. A Philadelphia win would give it a half-game lead in the down-trodden division.
The New York Giants and Philadelphia Eagles will kick off Thursday from Lincoln Financial Field at 8:20 p.m. ET, airing on NFL Network and FOX and streaming exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.