PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Kenny Justice, known as "Kenny from the Dirty 30" from his frequent calls on WIP, has been a Philadelphia sports fan for almost half a century. His nickname comes from the WIP Morning Show 1999 radio promotion when Kenny was among a group of 30 Eagles fans who booed when the franchise selected Donovan McNabb with the second overall pick in the draft.
But while Kenny considers himself a “booer,” in the end it all comes from support and wanting his teams to do well. Kenny's fandom has brought him joyous and agonizing moments throughout his life, but has also introduced him to a lot of people as well as create memories with his family.
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Dave Uram: What makes you, Kenny Justice, Kenny from the Dirty 30, such a big Philadelphia sports fan?
Kenny Justice: When I was a kid, my next-door neighbor who was my best friend, his father had season tickets to the Eagles since Franklin Field. And he would take us to Eagles games at the Vet. This is the early 70s. And I immediately fell in love with the Eagles from going to those games.
And then my dad and mom took me to a Phillies game. I'll never forget this. Danny Ozark comes walking out to do a pitching change and everybody starts booing him. I didn't know. I started booing, because that's what everybody did. And I still remember to the day. It was April of 1974. It was my first boo. So I was indoctrinated.
I learned how to curse during Eagles games. I learned how to behave - when you have some beers - going to Eagles game because I watched how the adults, supposed adults, were doing it.
But it just became ingrained in me to just love the Philadelphia sports community. This was my childhood growing up, and it just as I got older and started getting my own money, then I was able to afford my own season tickets. I'm just addicted to going to pro sporting events. And it's been my life. And I love it.
Because of that, I ended up getting nominated into the Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association at the Hall of Fame. That was a great honor, and through that I've met the Hall of Fame fans in all these other cities. And now no matter where I go, I'm hosted and when they're brave enough to come to Philly, I host them. We have instant friends, and tailgates and tickets and access to field passes through all this, and that's been a lot of fun. So getting to know fans from other teams and players from other teams. It's been a hoot.
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How important is it for you to get your kids and your family involved in your fandom?
My kids, especially. They just love coming to all the sporting events. And my son, especially, he's way crazier and wilder than I ever was. And when he comes to games, all the regulars that sit around me, he puts on a show. I just sit back and let him go.
There's a famous story. It was an Eagles-Dallas game. I found a concourse at halftime and left my son in the seats because I know everybody who sits around me, so they stay and keep an eye on him.
Some random guy in a Cowboys shirt comes and sits down in my seat. Well, I come walking back out and everyone's clapping and laughing. I'm like, "What happened?" They said, "Your son ripped this guy a new one, up one side and down another," and I was never more proud of him.
The other story I love telling [is] I took both my kids [to a minor league game] when they were younger. I think my daughter was seven and my son was five. I took them to a Reading [Fightin’ Phils] game one random summer night, and [a] guy on Richmond hits a three-run home run and the stadium is dead quiet.
As the guy's crossing home plate my daughter, 7 years old [at the time], stands up on the top of her chair and yells, "Screw you!" And everybody turns and looks, and half the people are laughing and the other half are looking at me like I'm a bad parent.
I looked at her and I said, "Where did you hear that word?" She goes, "Oh, Angelo [Cataldi from WIP] says it." [My] kids all listen to it all the time because I always listened to it and they're just chips off the old block, and they've gotten a good start.
Matter of fact, my son, the only time he's allowed to say the word "sucks" is if Dallas is in front of it.
Does that make you proud?
I love it. He's been ingrained to hate the Cowboys and that, to me, is good parenting.
Are you a booer? Why or why not?
Absolutely. Absolutely. Listen, people don't understand the boo in Philadelphia is not like a boo anywhere else.
When we boo, it's not because we hate you or disrespect you. We just don't like what you're doing at that moment. Alright? It's like if your brothers and sisters tease you, you know, they still love you, but they're gonna give you crap.
But now, let an outsider come in and mess with your brother and sister, and it's mash time. We will defend our teams to the end. But doesn't mean that if you're playing like crap, you're not going to hear it from us.
And as far as I'm concerned -- as long as these teams feel the need to charge us what they charge us to go to a game, then we have the right to boo. That's how I look at it. I mean, doesn't mean I don't love the team. Because I mean, heck, I'm there. And I'm sure if you ask players, they'd rather have a full stadium even if they're not cheering all the time, than an empty stadium.
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Rapid Fire Q-A
- Favorite Player: Former Eagles running back Wilbert Montgomery
- Least Favorite Player: Former Sixers forward-center Derrick Coleman
- Favorite Coach: Villanova men's basketball head coach Jay Wright
- Least Favorite Coach: "There's so many," but most recent is former Eagles head coach Chip Kelly
- Most Disliked Opponent: Tom Brady
- Most Disliked Team: "Tom Brady"
- Favorite Venue: The Legendary Blue Horizon
- Least Favorite Venue: Lincoln Financial Field
- Favorite Piece of Memorabilia: Phillies hat signed by Whitey Ashburn
- Favorite Philadelphia Team That Didn't Win a Championship: 1993 Phillies
- Least Favorite Moment: 2002-03 NFC Championship Game vs Tampa Bay
- Favorite Moment: Kris Jenkins' national championship-winning buzzer beater
Editor’s note: Tom Brady is not a team, but yeah, we get where Kenny’s coming from.
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