Philly Sports Fans Deserve Better

In today’s Inky sports page, Marc Narducci bends over backwards to find something negative to say about fans of the Philadelphia Union. It’s a difficult task for sure, since the area’s newest professional team immediately developed a large and loyal following from a sports-crazy town that, apparently, couldn’t wait to add soccer to its stable of teams. 

But Narducci did his best to find something, anything, to criticize in that eye-rolling, condescending tone local fans have come to expect from many Philly sportswriters.

But, hey—we’re used to it. To be a Philly sports fan is to be a magnet for criticism. Some is deserved, and some isn’t, but it’s always especially galling when it’s delivered by the local press.

Too many local sports columnists, instead of defending the hometown crowds, or setting the record straight about ancient incidents, prefer to pile on. It’s the sports corollary to “red meat” in politics—easy and cheap.

The Philadelphia sports fan has been unfairly maligned and demonized for years.  I think it’s time to put the lie to the yarn that Philly fans are any worse than the rest.

When players wear a Philadelphia uniform, they quickly learn that we expect maximum effort. Do Philly fans boo? Of course they do, just like the fans in almost every other city in the country. Listen to the sound of the crowd at the end of the first half of any NFL game when the home team is playing below expectations. Last fall, the hometown New Orleans fans lustily booed the Super Bowl champion Saints after a weak first half performance. That same week saw Brett Favre was booed in Green Freakin’ Bay, the Valhalla of the gridiron. Cliff Lee’s wife get booed and  harassed in Yankee stadium.

Sure, Philly fans boo more than most. But the boo is a sign of passion, and I’d argue that it is really the only option a fan attending a game has to show displeasure of any kind. Take away the boo, and what else does he have on game day?

When a baby is cold, sick or hungry, it cries.  That’s all it can do. When the team is underperforming, the fan can’t fire the coach, sign new talent, or bench an athlete. The only way a fan can show displeasure is to boo.

That boo can mean “you stink,” and it sometimes does. But is also means, “Michael Irvin, we don’t like that you shove the ball in our face with every touchdown.” It could mean, “Donovan McNabb, we’d prefer you not throw every fourth pass at the dirt.” ... “Andy Reid, when you only run the ball eight times in the course of a game, you’re going to lose.” ... “Ed Snyder, maybe it’s time to let someone else take over.” The boo could mean any number of things.

Philly fans are tough on opposing fans in their stadium, too. So are New York fans and Boston fans. If you wear your colors into their house, they let you know they are not happy about it.  I’ve been in stadiums from Boston to D.C., and none of these East Coast cities give you a free pass. Try wearing an Eagles Jersey in the Meadowlands sometime, and you’ll see what I mean.

Ask Cliff Lee’s wife, who was harassed and showered with curses, beer and other objects in Yankee Stadium. (Thanks for that, by the way!) Cliff shrugged it off, acknowledging that you can’t control 50,000 fans, and that there is bound to be a couple of morons. Too bad the national press can’t or won’t see that reasoning when an idiot barfs near a little girl in Philly.

So why are Philly fans singled out as bad examples, as the worst? Lemmings from all over the country who have never set foot in Philadelphia will tell you that's the case. Why? Because that’s what they’ve heard, and because pinning that title on Philadelphia makes them feel a little bit better about the misbehavior of their own fans. Oh sure, Dick Allen had to wear a batting helmet in left field at Wrigley Field, but hey,  did you hear about the day JD Drew played in Philly?

Yes, there was a courtside brawl in the middle of a Pistons game, but did you know someone threw a snowball at a shabbily dressed, half-drunk guy in a Santa suit in Philadelphia 40 years ago? Now that’s news!

The vast majority—99.9 percent—of fans in any stadium will refrain from throwing objects. The few idiots who don’t know better are an embarrassment. But is Philly the capital for thrown objects? Ask the Oakland Raiders players who were on the sidelines at Mile High Stadium in Denver, when batteries were packed in snowballs aimed at their helmetless heads.

What would John Rocker say about his treatment by both Mets and Yankees fans, where he dodged quarters, beers and batteries? Albert Belle can tell you about one Father’s Day when fans chucked three baseballs and a miniature bat at him in Yankee Stadium (another hallowed venue), almost forfeiting the game for the home team.  How about the Pirates fans who threw batteries at Dave Parker, or the Diamondback fans who showered the field with bottles during a playoff game against the Rockies?

For the national press, I think it comes down to laziness. It’s easier to drag out the “Santa Claus” story than to come up with new ideas or research the facts, and it’s convenient to point to Philly when your own fans act up. 

I only wish the local writers would consistently set the record straight instead of making it worse. Some of them have done just that, on occasion. But too often, it’s almost as if, instead of stroking a solid base hit, they’d rather hit a weak ground ball to short—and then jog to first.

Boo.