Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb recently had to play defense at his offseason home in Chandler.
Two Arizona Cardinals fans hung their team's flag in a tree and burned "Go Cards," "Go Kurt," and "I heart AZ" in McNabb's yard with diesel, Chandler police Sgt. Joe Favazzo said on Tuesday.
Favazzo said the fans hung the flag on Thursday, and McNabb laughed it off and even left it hanging.
Then the fans returned on Saturday and left a cardboard box in the driveway with "Go Cards" written on one side and "Beat Philly" on the other. McNabb laughed that off, too, when he discovered it at about midnight, Favazzo said.
But McNabb stopped laughing when he went outside on Saturday morning, smelled diesel and realized someone had burned Cardinals slogans into his lawn, causing about $2,000 in damage.
Favazzo said officers found an address label on the box that had been left, and it led to Chandler resident Rex Perkins, 37, who later admitted to the pranks.
His co-worker, Ryan Hanlon, 28, also admitted to the pranks.
Perkins and Hanlon were fingerprinted, photographed and cited for misdemeanor criminal damage.
"When they decided to get diesel fuel out and start damaging the yard, they crossed the line," Favazzo said.
The Cardinals beat the Eagles on Sunday in the NFC Championship game to advance to the Feb. 1 Super Bowl in Tampa, Florida.
