Villanova’s Street Poles Are Getting Greased Up Ahead of the National Championship Game

Another big Philly sporting event, another chance to climb some poles.

In what’s becoming a bit of a Philadelphia tradition, the street poles around the Villanova campus are getting a fresh coat of grease ahead of Monday night’s national championship game. 

Cops in Philly tried the same thing downtown during the NFL playoffs, first with Crisco and later with gear oil, but a few enterprising Eagles fans were still able to scale the poles. Officers in suburban Radnor Township, where the Villanova campus is located, are hoping for a better result this year.

“I don’t know what they’re using but some poor guy from Villanova has to smear it all over the place,” Lt. Chris Flanagan of the Radnor Police Department told the Philadelphia Inquirer. “We just don’t want anybody falling, that’s the biggest problem.”

Crisco is back! Traffic poles at entrance of Villanova campus have been greased up to deter fans from a celebratory climb should ‘Nova win. pic.twitter.com/fV5JwTpPQL

— Tim McManus (@Tim_McManus) April 2, 2018

While the Eagles’ first ever Super Bowl win produced widespread mayhem in the city, Villanova’s 2016 championship produced just 20 arrests, Flanagan told the paper. Most of those were for disorderly conduct but four people were arrested for assaulting police horses, a less enjoyable Philly tradition.