Comedian Tony Casillas Did Something No One Should Do in Philly: He Said He Was a Cowboys Fan

There are endless arguments on social media and cable news about what's acceptable on stage when it comes to comedy. No matter where you stand on the many debates around censorship and/or decency, we can all agree there are some things best left unsaid — at least when it comes to sports.

For comedians, one of the most suicidal, absolute no-nos is saying anything even remotely positive about the Dallas Cowboys anywhere in Philadelphia. The rivalry between the Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles is long, deep and seething. It makes the Joan Crawford-Bette Davis feud look like a "Yo momma" battle between Tom Hanks and Mister Rogers.

So you can probably imagine the reaction a sold-out crowd in Philadelphia might have to a Dallas comedian even mentioning that he roots for the Cowboys. Several people tried to warn Tony Casillas just that before he stepped on stage at The Fillmore last Friday to open for comedian Trevor Wallace.

"That was my first time ever in enemy territory," Casillas says. "The staff and the stagehands, they were like, 'I would not do it if I were you.'"

Casillas had a 30-minute set to do before Wallace took the mic. The first 20-25 minutes worked pretty well until he decided to bring up his NFL fan affiliation. He originally hoped to get a group of fans to yell "Fuck the Eagles!" while he taped the set to freak out two of his Eagle-loving friends back home, both named Joey, which already sounds like the perfect marketing scheme for an Eagles ad campaign. The crowd made sure Casillas never got to that part.
"Literally when I just said, 'Hey, I'm a Dallas ... ' and before I even got to 'Cowboys,' the boos just started rolling," Casillas says. "Instantly, I was like, 'Oh man, I only have three minutes left in my set.' If it was my show, I would've doubled down and had more fun. Instantly, I was like 'I gotta get these people back on my side because I don't wanna ruin the show for Trevor and cause a riot.'"

The Philly crowd shot a steady, baritone "Booooooo" at Casillas for 30 seconds as he flipped off the crowd. He then let out a steady stream of "Hear me out! Hear me out!" as he tried to defuse the anger.

"You guys won a Super Bowl with a second string quarterback," Casillas said to the audience, referring to Eagles QB Nick Foles. "You guys won a Super Bowl with a guy who's probably waiting until marriage and he fucked us twice that year."

The crowd cheered and Casillas went on to (rightfully) roast his own team's last 10 years of doing anything it can to slowly lose the "America's team" title.

"I meant all of it," Casillas says looking back at his set. "It's not being easy being a Cowboys fan, getting blue-balled for 27 years. It's a hard time. We either go 8-8 or get kicked out of the first round."

Casillas managed to win the crowd back and kept the Philly fans' collective anger from destroying Wallace's set. He also says he didn't get his head kicked in by strangers during the meet and greet after the show. Instead they shared stories about the depths of their fandom, like how one woman talked about "throwing batteries at a Santa Claus" and another showing him a video of himself "pouring a beer on a kid." All in the name of football.

"They were pretty friendly after the show," Casillas says. "I was a little worried [wondering] will there be some crazy people. They were very funny. I think me shitting on the Cowboys and all that helped soften the blow."

The heated Cowboys Eagles rivalry fueled by the teams and their respective fans is one of the longest burning fan-fueled hate fests in the history of the NFL. The rivalry started in 1962 when Dallas joined Philadelphia in the NFC East conference and the two franchises duked it out as both went through ups and downs from season to season, starting with the Cowboys' five Super Bowl wins up until the momentum switch when Philly won again on the Super Bowl LII.

Both team's coaches have gotten into heated discussions about everything from running up scores to putting injury bounties on opposing players. It really didn't help in 2004 when loudmouth star receiver Terrell Owens suffered a broken angle during a Cowboys game that kept him out of the season up until Super Bowl XXXIX only to suit up as a Cowboy two years later when his big mouth caused him to lose his spot on the team.

"I love the people that were there," Casillas says of the crowd that booed him. "They were nice but it's the craziness of a sport. My thing is, like, you're cheering for athletes who make millions of dollars. You don't have to act the fool like that. At the end of the day, you're still working your shitty job at the mall. Honestly, I felt like if I went up and there and said, 'Women shouldn't be able to vote anymore,' I would've gotten less hate if I said, 'You know what? I'm a Cowboys fan.' It's crazy, dude. Legitimately crazy."