NBC’s Cris Collinsworth knows what Eagles fans think. It’s one of the reasons he loves Philly.

Eagles fans are a complex group. Most have huge hearts and step up when needed, such as donating money to fire victims more than 2,700 miles away. A small number behave badly, which the city witnessed last week.

If there’s one common thread among most Eagles fans, it’s this: They don’t have much fondness for Cris Collinsworth. But it’s the very thing that makes the NBC announcer love Philadelphia and its outspoken fans.

“It’s part of the reason I love coming here,” Collinsworth said ahead of Sunday’s divisional round playoff game against the Los Angeles Rams, which he’ll be calling alongside Mike Tirico. “The great thing about Eagles fans is they believe that they’re unique in not being happy with things that I’ve done over the years.”

If you ask an Eagles fans if they dislike Collinsworth, they’ll say yes. But most can’t articulate why, exactly. The same goes for ESPN announcer Joe Buck, who traced most of the disdain to when he used to call MLB games on Fox. Instead of hearing Harry Kalas or Tom McCarthy calling a Phillies game, suddenly it’s Buck dropping in and enthusiastically calling home runs for the opposing team.

For Collinsworth, a former Cincinnati Bengals receiver finishing up his 16th season on NBC’s Sunday Night Football, the disdain in Philadelphia dates back to Super Bowl LII. During the game, Collinsworth thought two Eagles touchdown catches — one by running back Corey Clement and one by tight end Zach Ertz — should be overturned by officials, though he later said Ertz’s game-winning touchdown grab late in the fourth quarter was the correct call, telling The Inquirer, “I wish I’d never said that.”

Collinsworth obviously wasn’t siding with the Patriots. If you watch the call again, it’s obvious he was frustrated by the NFL’s complicated and ever-changing rules on what constitutes a catch. Now he and Tirico have former NFL referee Terry McAulay in the booth with them to help navigate these thorny issues.

Still, the commentary rubbed Eagles fans the wrong way, and they appear to have held a grudge all these years later.

“I’ve listened to talk radio in Philadelphia,” said Collinsworth, who was once a sports talker himself in Cincinnati. “It’s okay for them to criticize their team, but don’t come in and criticize my family from outside. ”

» READ MORE: NBC’s Mike Tirico talks Eagles-Rams, recovering from a serious injury, and avoiding the Joe Buck treatment

Despite how many Eagles fans feel, Collinsworth said whenever he travels to Philly to call a game, he always makes a point to speak to anyone he can about the Eagles. He actually enjoys the give and take — “If you’re mad at me, that’s all right. Everybody gets mad at me sometimes” — and always comes away learning something new about the Birds.

“The people that work at the local restaurant, they’ve seen every Eagles game for the past 40 years. So yeah, I’m going to lean on their perspective of what they think is happening with the team,” Collinsworth said. “It also gives you a feel for what their worries are about, because Eagles fans are pretty good at that, too.”

The truth is Eagles fans aren’t unique. While fans in Philly thought he was siding with the Patriots during that Super Bowl, ask fans in New England what they think of Collinsworth and they’ll bring up his mention of “Deflategate” late in Super Bowl XLIX. Fans in Buffalo will bring up his vocal admiration of Patrick Mahomes, and Chiefs fans will do the same about Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

“The number one question I get in every town I go to, including Cincinnati, is ‘Why do you hate the fill-in-the-blank of whatever team it is?’” Collinsworth said. “That’s the reality of my job. No matter where I go, people think I hate their team and only their team.”