Emmett Smith, Chris Christie,

Former Dallas Cowboys player and Hall of Famer Emmett Smith, left, greets New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, right, on the field as teams warm up an NFL football game between the Indianapolis Colts and Dallas Cowboys, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2014, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Brandon Wade)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's public support of the Dallas Cowboys apparently comes with private bashing of Eagles fans.

Michael Barbaro, a political reporter for the New York Times, published on Monday an interaction the governor had recently, during which Christie had some not-so-nice things to say about Eagles fans.

"These Philadelphia fans, they are the worst in America," Mr. Christie was overheard saying when he attended a game between the Cowboys and Eagles last month.

He recalled a different kind of reception when he joined Mr. Jones on the field for a Cowboys game against the New York Giants, who play their home games in New Jersey. “I didn't get booed," he said. “Giant fans waved, said hello, asked for autographs, didn't give me a hard time."

"But these guys?" he added of Eagles fans.

The private (at least until now) comments likely will not sit well the large population of Eagles' fans in South Jersey.

It has been a rough few days for Christie, who has been criticized for attending the Cowboys' playoff win over the Detroit Lions in Dallas on Sunday. The criticism grew so intense on social media that Christie's brother, Todd, felt compelled to defend his brother in a Facebook post.

"To all of those non Cowboy fans who have their panties in a ringer because the Governor of NJ is a Cowboys fan — GET A LIFE !!! The Gov has been a Cowboys fan for his entire life and ALL of you would sit with the owner of your favorite team in a heartbeat if given the chance. I'm a Giants fan — we are sitting home for the fourth straight year. Eagles fans — possibly you should worry more about the fact that your sorry ass team has never won a Super Bowl and less about who's rooting for which team. I mean crazy pathetic posts. And for every calorically challenged FB person who posts about the Gov's weight — forget the magic mirror and look at yourself. Weight posts—really?"

You can check out all of the backlash from Christie celebrating with his favorite team this weekend right here.

10 photos of Chris Christie at Cowboys games 11 Gallery: 10 photos of Chris Christie at Cowboys games

Eliot Shorr-Parks may be reached at eshorrpa@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @EliotShorrParks. Find NJ.com Sports on Facebook.