Giants star Saquon Barkley gave Eagles fans exactly the type of praise they crave at an NFL 100 event in New York City on Wednesday, calling them the wildest fans he encountered over the course of his rookie year.
Barkley’s Giants went 0-2 against the Eagles in 2018, but the rookie running back was excellent in the two losses, racking up 231 rushing yards, 143 receiving yards and three touchdowns.
Barkley recalled what it was like to take the field in Philadelphia, and said he hopes to meet a young fan who had some choice words for him last year.
“I think Eli [Manning] came out and said something about it earlier in the year. When you go out there, you don’t just see grown men yelling at you, you see little kids yelling at you.
When he said that quote, I remember just flashing back to my first time running out there. I remember just looking up and I’m seeing this one little kid. One day I hope I find out his name. He was saying some things that an 11 or 12-year-old shouldn’t be really saying.”
Barkley said that in his first game at Lincoln Financial Field last season, his father was accosted by an Eagles fan for wearing a Barkley jersey. Fortunately, Barkley’s mother was able to defuse the situation.
“My dad actually came to the game and had my jersey on. Some guy tried to come up to my dad and tried to tell him that he shouldn’t have that jersey on. A Philly fan. My dad wasn’t having that too much. Thank God my mom was there and was able to stop anything from happening.”
