PHILADELPHIA — It was hard not to feel good for Philadelphia sports fans this weekend.

Thousands of fans rushed the court when the Villanova Wildcats beat the Jayhawks on Saturday.

As the fans left the court, amidst the cursing and yammering directed at the pack of Kansas fans behind the student section, my crimson-clad colleagues said they were surprised by the good behavior of the infamous Philly fanatics.

There was taunting and a constant stream of choice words and gestures, but no shoving, hat-snatching or beer-spilling from the fans who had enjoyed the Wachovia Center’s happy hour leading up to tip-off.

Several fans were more worried about the impending NFC Championship game hosted by their beloved Eagles.

Kansas fans in Philadelphia, just like those in the Midwest, were flummoxed and furious at the Jayhawks’ inability to rebound or string together more than two consecutive baskets.

Most of the Jayhawks’ 22 turnovers came at the worst possible times, much to the delight of the snowed-in crowd.

“Villanova exposed us,” Kansas coach Bill Self said bluntly after the game.

Given the team’s performance, Kansas fans at the game braced for the worst.

After all, Philly fans have pelted Santa Claus with snowballs during an Eagles game and cheered when an opposing player suffered a neck injury.

But we sat in our seats, watched the fans leave, deflected “Kansas sucks” and other thoughtful comments and exited, at least physically, unscathed. One fan even congratulated us on the Jayhawks’ recent success.

Perhaps the fans were subdued by the recent successes of their other local sports teams.

“Villanova today, the Eagles tomorrow,” one fan yelled as he left the court.

And he was right. After three consecutive losses in the conference championship game, the Eagles will play in the second Super Bowl in franchise history on Feb. 6.

“The city needed this. We were due,” said Ken Michaels, Philadelphia sports fan since the 1960s.

Eight major cities in the United States have professional sports teams in all four major sports: baseball, basketball, football and hockey. Philly is the only city without a championship in the last 11 years. The city’s last major championship, a Flyers’ Stanley Cup victory, came 18 years ago.

So try to be happy for the country’s most championship-starved major market.

After all, it was just a nonconference game.

Cross is a Kansas City, Mo., senior in journalism. He is the Kansan's sports editor.