May 15 (Bloomberg) -- Philadelphia Flyers fan Jason Lawn is on Rocky patrol this week.

His mission: Protect the iconic statue of the boxer portrayed by Sylvester Stallone in the ``Rocky'' movies from further desecration by supporters of the cross-state Pittsburgh Penguins, who are playing the Flyers in the National Hockey League's Eastern Conference playoffs.

Last week, someone draped Rocky, who stands on the grounds of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, in a black T-shirt bearing the number ``87'' of Penguins star Sidney ``The Kid'' Crosby. Culprits posted a photograph of the unwitting turncoat on a Web site before security guards were able to remove the offending garment.

Anyone trying a similar stunt will have him to contend with, said Lawn, 34, who reviews legal agreements for a pharmaceutical research company. ``I will probably approach them and show them the errors of their ways,'' he said.

Lawn is a foot soldier in the razzing contest between fans in Pennsylvania's two largest cities as their teams meet for the first time in the conference finals. Radio station WIP-AM recruited him and other Flyers faithful to guard duty after the assault on the 9-foot (3-meter) bronze landmark, a magnet for tourists on the city's Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The Penguins won the first three games of the best-of-seven series for the right to play for the NHL's Stanley Cup championship. The fourth game will be in Philadelphia tonight.

Revenge on Clemente

Flyers fans may be plotting their revenge, said Chris Young, 23, a native of the Philadelphia suburbs who now works in Pittsburgh. One possibility is putting an orange-and-black Flyers jersey on the statue of Roberto Clemente, the late Hall of Fame outfielder for Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, he said.

Fans on Internet sites have picked up the call, and are urging Flyers boosters in western Pennsylvania to mount an all- out jersey assault on the Clemente statue, which stands in front of the Pirates' PNC Bank Park.

Young said he won't participate in the high jinks himself because of Penguin fans' reputation. It's safer to watch the playoffs at home than in a bar, he said.

``I don't have the courage to go and watch with all those belligerent Penguins fans,'' Young said.

The Penguins, whose owners include former Pittsburgh Hall- of-Famer Mario Lemieux and billionaire investor Ron Burkle, last won the cup in 1992.

The championship drought has been longer for the Flyers, owned by Comcast Corp., the biggest U.S. cable-television operator, and team founder Ed Snider. Their last victory was in 1975.

Teasing Dad

Even parents of Flyers players are targets if they have the misfortune to live on the wrong side of the in-state hockey divide, said Rick Umberger, whose son R.J. Umberger is a Flyers center.

``If I wear my Flyers jacket into work, they'll say, `Hey, I found this old orange jacket on the floor,''' said Umberger, a building contractor who lives in a Pittsburgh suburb.

Some Penguins fans invent more devious ways of expressing their distaste for the opposition.

Steve Andreassi, 43, a manager at a Hoboken, New Jersey- based telecommunications firm who backs the Penguins, acknowledged going beyond trash talk with his sister's husband, a Flyers fan.

A Penguins logo mysteriously replaced the screensaver image on the couple's computer while Andreassi was visiting.

If the Flyers lose, the couple can expect to see their wedding portrait Photoshopped into a Penguins team picture.

``That will be my present to them,'' he wrote in an e-mail.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jef Feeley in Wilmington, Delaware at jfeeley@bloomberg.net; Dawn McCarty in Wilmington at dmccarty@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: May 15, 2008 10:33 EDT