Despite a valiant effort on the part of Philadelphia Police to render the city’s lightposts unclimbable with slippery vegetable shortening, a few football fans still managed to scale the poles while celebrating the hometown Eagles’ big win Sunday night.
Photos and video posted on social media late Sunday show a fan standing atop a lightpost overlooking a sea of revellers on Philadelphia’s Broad Street, following the Eagles’ Super Bowl berth-clinching win over the Minnesota Vikings.
broad street pic.twitter.com/7kxbYiQmTE
— tonyp (@groovyytonyy) January 22, 2018
The #Crisco can’t hold us! #FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/UyzE7DPPy9
— Sarah △⃒⃘ (@lumpyspacederp) January 22, 2018
It’s exactly what local police feared earlier in the day when they sent out teams to coat the lightposts in Crisco. Several images shared on social media show individuals brushing lightposts down with cans of the slippery substance, prompting many to dub them the “Crisco Cops.”
Good morning from Philly where crews from the city are greasing the light poles with Crisco to prevent #Eagles fans from climbing after the #NFCChampionshipGame tonight. #Vikings pregame coverage starts at 3 on FOX9. They call themselves the #CriscoCops pic.twitter.com/w1ZkYWZhYG
— FOX 9 Sports (@Fox9Sports) January 21, 2018
Police cautioned fans about the slippery poles at the conclusion of the game, tweeting: “We must warn everyone about the dangers of Saturated Fats. Cheers for #Foles! Jeers for #Poles! It’s a long way down, baby. Celebrate responsibly!”
The tweet included a photo of a can of Crisco.
Now comes the time in the night where we must warn everyone about the dangers of Saturated Fats. Cheers for #Foles! Jeers for #Poles! It's a long way down, baby. Celebrate responsibly! pic.twitter.com/mES5MpPTY4
— Philadelphia Police (@PhillyPolice) January 22, 2018
Fans seemed to view police efforts as a challenge more than a deterrent, with many tweeting their intentions to climb the greased-up poles after the game.
Me climbing the Crisco covered poles in Philly after the game pic.twitter.com/paXXFZzpBB
— #1 Eaglea Fan (@jonny_is_good) January 21, 2018
Guess I'm rooting for the Eagles but only because I want to see idiots in Philly trying to climb Crisco'ed telephone poles tonight.
— Jeff B. (@EsotericCD) January 22, 2018
THERE ISN’T ENOUGH CRISCO ON THE PLANET TO STOP THIS CITY TONIGHT. https://t.co/RPRYxpv0ar
— Dan Campbell (@headabovewater) January 22, 2018
Yo the Crisco didn’t work on this jawn! @FOX29philly pic.twitter.com/seZKRC8x9w
— Iain Page (@IainPageFox29) January 22, 2018
Police had also cautioned business owners near the stadium to close up shop and switch on their security cameras during the game, to avoid potential property damage that might occur afterward.