Philadelphia is different. If you grew up there, or even if you’ve just spent a weekend near Broad Street during a playoff run, you get it. It’s a city that wears its heart, its rage, and its weirdness on its sleeve. But even for a fan base known for throwing snowballs at Santa Claus or greasing light poles to keep people from climbing them, one specific moment during the Super Bowl LII celebrations changed the bar forever. We’re talking about the time an Eagles fan eats horse poop on camera, right in the middle of a jubilant, chaotic crowd.
It was 2018. The underdog "Hungry Dogs" had finally done it. Nick Foles outdueled Tom Brady, the Philly Special became a legend, and the city absolutely exploded. It wasn't just a win; it was a release of fifty-two years of frustration. In the middle of that pure, unadulterated mayhem, a young man in a Derek Barnett jersey decided to do the unthinkable. He saw a police horse. He saw what the horse left behind. And he went for it.
The Viral Reality of the 2018 Celebration
People like to think things are "fake news" or staged for clout these days. Not this. This was raw, disgusting, and very real. The video shows a crowd of hundreds surrounding the fan, cheering him on like he was about to hit a walk-off home run. He picks it up. He puts it in his mouth. The crowd roars. It’s one of those videos that makes your stomach turn while simultaneously making you wonder about the sheer psychological state of a person in that moment of victory.
Honestly, the guy's name eventually came out—Matthew Ganzelli. He wasn't some career criminal or a guy looking to burn the world down. He was just a twenty-something who got caught up in the most intense civic high Philadelphia had seen in half a century. When the Eagles won that Super Bowl, the rules of polite society basically evaporated for about 48 hours. People were climbing gates at City Hall. They were jumping off the Ritz-Carlton awning.
Why do it? Ganzelli later mentioned in various interviews and snippets that it was a dare. A simple, stupid, drunken dare. Someone offered him money, or maybe they didn't—accounts vary on the exact "prize"—but in the heat of the victory parade atmosphere, he went through with it. It’s the kind of decision you make when your blood is 90% adrenaline and 10% cheap beer.
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Understanding the "Philly Thing" and Fan Extremism
To understand why an Eagles fan eats horse poop, you have to understand the specific brand of martyrdom Philly sports fans embrace. They want to be the villains. They lean into the "nobody likes us, we don't care" mantra. This wasn't just about the act itself; it was a bizarre, gross-out badge of honor. It signaled to the rest of the world that Eagles fans are willing to do literally anything—even things that defy basic biological survival instincts—to celebrate their team.
Psychologically, this is what researchers call "identity fusion." It’s when your personal identity becomes so blurred with a group identity (like a sports team) that the group's success feels like your own personal peak. When the Eagles won, the fans didn't just feel happy. They felt invincible. That invincibility often leads to a complete lack of inhibition.
- It starts with shouting.
- Then it moves to reckless climbing.
- Sometimes, it ends with eating equine waste on a public street.
The repercussions were real, though. Ganzelli was eventually identified and faced consequences, including losing his job at the time. It serves as a permanent digital footprint. You Google his name, and that video is the first thing that pops up. It's a heavy price to pay for a five-second stunt during a parade.
The Health Risks Most People Ignore
We can laugh at the absurdity, but from a medical standpoint, what that Eagles fan eats horse poop moment represents is a massive gamble with zoonotic diseases. Horses aren't like dogs; they are hindgut fermenters. Their waste is packed with bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli, and Campylobacter.
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If you’re lucky, you just get a really bad case of "Philly Flu" (which is actually just severe food poisoning). If you're unlucky, you end up in the ICU with a systemic infection. The human gut isn't designed to process raw vegetation that has already been processed by a 1,200-pound beast. Most doctors will tell you that the sheer acidity of the human stomach might kill off some of the pathogens, but you’re essentially playing Russian Roulette with your gallbladder.
How the Media Fueled the Fire
The news cycle loved it. National outlets from ESPN to Fox News picked up the clip. It became the shorthand for "Philadelphia is crazy." It overshadowed some of the more beautiful moments of that week—like the way the win actually brought a divided city together. Instead of talking about the charity work of Chris Long or Malcolm Jenkins, the national conversation kept pivoting back to the guy on the street.
It's a classic case of the "outlier" defining the group. Most Eagles fans were just hugging their dads and crying because they finally saw a trophy. But the internet doesn't care about tears of joy; it cares about the grotesque. The video became a meme, a GIF, and a permanent part of the NFL’s "weirdest moments" archives.
Lessons From the Horse Poop Incident
What can we actually learn from this? First, the internet never forgets. If you do something for a "dare" in a crowd of five hundred people, someone is filming it in 4K. Second, sports fandom is a hell of a drug. It can make rational adults behave in ways that defy all logic.
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If you find yourself in a championship parade, here are some actual, actionable ways to celebrate without becoming a permanent punchline:
- Stick to the Greased Poles: If you absolutely must climb something, the light poles are a Philly tradition. Just know the police put hydraulic fluid on them for a reason.
- Document the Team, Not Your Crimes: Take photos of the players and the trophies. Avoid being the subject of a viral video that involves the health department.
- Hydrate with Water: Most of these "extreme" fan moments are fueled by dehydration and too much alcohol. If you want to remember the parade, maybe skip the tenth round.
- Respect the Mounted Unit: The horses are there for crowd control. They are working animals. Leave them—and anything they drop—alone.
The legacy of the 2018 Super Bowl will always be the "Philly Special" and the underdog masks. But for a certain segment of the internet, it will always be the day the Eagles fan eats horse poop. It’s a gritty, disgusting, and strangely fitting footnote in the history of a city that prides itself on being tougher, weirder, and louder than everyone else.
Ultimately, the guy survived, the Eagles have a ring, and the video remains a cautionary tale about what happens when "Eagles Fever" hits a fever pitch. If the Birds ever win another one, let's just hope the celebrations stay on the sidewalks and off the menus. It’s probably best for everyone’s digestive system—and the city's reputation—if we leave the street cleaning to the professionals next time around. Success is sweet enough on its own; it doesn't need any... earthy accompaniments.