Packers fans harassed by Eagles fan speak out – NBC10 Philadelphia

Two Green Bay Packers fans from Pennsylvania speak out after a viral video of those who were harassed by a vicious Eagles fan during Sunday’s wild card game sparked outrage across the country.

Alex Basara and his fiancee Ally Keller, both of Chester County, told NBC10 they attended the Eagles-Packers game at Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday. The couple said they first met with a couple of friends who are Eagles fans before the game and engaged in some fun banter.

“Ninety-nine percent of Eagles fans were playful pranksters,” Basara said. “The normal. I’ve been to more than 20 stadiums and it’s normal. The Eagles are a little rougher sometimes, but it’s all fun. They say things to you, but then they shake your hand. They’ll say, ‘Hey, have fun at the stadium’.”

Basara and Keller said the environment was friendly at first. That was until an Eagles fan sitting behind them started making comments during the game.

“He would start with playful jabs at the beginning or just say things to us right when we sat down,” Basara said. “I talked to him a little bit. But then he just kept saying some of the same things. Continued throughout the game. It got worse and worse as the game went on. We were surrounded by Eagles fans. We got all the attention .”

Basara and Keller said the fan became nastier and more condescending as the Eagles’ lead over the Packers grew. When the fan asked Basara if he was feeling well, Basara told him “not too well.” That’s when the fan told the couple they had “terrible attitudes,” according to Keller.

“He went on to say that when he was in third grade, his teacher taught him to have a good attitude. And he just kept going on and on,” Keller said. “He wanted something out of us. So I turned around because I’d had enough of it at this point and I said, ‘Well, maybe you should go back to third grade then, because it looks like you’re the one with the bad attitude. And it seems like all the fans around us are the ones with the bad attitudes.’

Keller said the fan didn’t seem to hear her at first. Then he insulted her.

“And then he just said, ‘Actually, you don’t even look good enough to talk to me,'” Keller told NBC10. “And then I said, you know, ‘What does that mean?’ And he said, ‘You know what that means.’ And then I said: ‘Have you looked yourself in the mirror?’ And he said, ‘Yes, but I’m a man. I’m allowed to be ugly. You’re a woman.’

Keller and Basara said the fan’s harassment continued. Basara then spoke to a man he believed to be the fan’s brother and asked if he could get him under control. Basara said he also offered to switch places with Keller, but she wouldn’t.

“We both paid for tickets. We should both be able to enjoy the game. It was kind of like pride,” Keller said. “Where it was, no, I will stand by my side. He could say these words to me and be mean to me, but I will not give him the satisfaction of changing my place for him. And in retrospect, maybe I should have.”

A Philadelphia Eagles fan caught on viral video harassing and insulting two Green Bay Packers fans during Sunday’s wild card game has been banned from Lincoln Financial Field, NBC10 has confirmed. NBC10’s Johnny Archer spoke with the two Packers fans in the video, who are both from Chester County, Pennsylvania.

Basara began to pick up the tab as the insults continued. In a video that went viral after Basara posted it on his X account, the fan could be heard calling Keller a “dips—” and a “c—.”

The couple said they felt the environment was becoming hostile.

“He made personal jabs at me,” Keller said. “It’s one thing if he goes ‘F the Packers’ or whatever. But he talks about my looks all the time. So it got personal at that point.”

Despite her anger, Keller told NBC10 she was hesitant to lash out too much.

“There’s no women. There’s no one defending me. There’s every Eagles fan that’s allowing this to happen,” she said. “So I didn’t want to turn around and yell at this guy and then get my fiancé to be jumped into the crowd. So I guess I tried to stay calm but I was pretty fuming at the time and just hoping another fan would tell this guy to stop. And everybody kind of stood around and I guess he was allowed to call me that name.”

Basara also said that he was trying to stay calm to keep them both safe.

“Everybody else around you is an Eagles fan,” Basara said. “And for the people around us who didn’t hear it because it’s a loud environment, if it turned into an argument or something physical, all they see is me messing with an Eagles fan and then being I the target. And what happens to my fiancé at that point? It’s a dangerous situation.”

Basara said his recording of the ventilator was ultimately what helped de-escalate the situation.

“His friend realized he was being recorded and tapped him and he stopped,” Basara said. “It was my way of de-escalating the situation and making sure we both got out safely. Which we did. We both got out to safety and later in the match we moved to the end of the row because by then a lot of fans were gone because the match was essentially over and we also made sure to go before that group of people so they weren’t behind us going down the stairs.”

Basara said they left without contacting security because they didn’t realize there was a QR code with a security switch on their seats. They later spoke with the Eagles on Monday, and the team apologized for the fan’s behavior. Despite reports that the team would give them free Packers gear, Basara and Keller said they have yet to receive that word from the team.

“I’ve seen posts that they’re going to send me Packers gear, but they haven’t personally reached out to say that,” Keller said. “So I don’t know if it’s just people saying that.”

After their experience, Basara and Keller said the only Eagles games they will attend in the future will be in Green Bay.

“In Lambeau, of course. I don’t think we’ll go to Philly again, just because at this rate I don’t know if it’s necessarily worth it,” Basara said. “And I know not all fans are like that, and I hope really, that no one should endure it. And that was kind of my point in posting that video. Hopefully this will make people understand that it’s not okay. It’s not the right thing to do.”

An Eagles spokesperson told NBC10 that the incident has been addressed and that the fan who harassed Basara and Keller will not be allowed to attend future events at Lincoln Financial Field.

NBC10 has also made several attempts to reach out to the Eagles fan in the video. We have not yet heard from him.