Philadelphia Phillies: Understanding Their Fans

OK, I'm officially sick of it.  This week I read an "article" by Ken Garcia of the San Francisco Examiner, which bashed us Philly fans once again.  Is it me, or is this just a recycled article written every year by lazy sportswriters in all of our opponents' cities? 

It seems like every other sports town in the country is continually keeping score every time there's an incident relating to Philly fans getting out of control.  The snowballed Santa incident at the Eagles game in 1968 is constantly brought up.  The newest fuel to their fire is a fan being tasered when he ran on the field during a Phillies game. 

They mention players like Scott Rolen, Donovan McNabb, Allen Iverson and most recently Pat Burrell as classy players that got a bad rap in Philly, saying they're booed unjustly when returning to Philly wearing different jerseys.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that thinks this, but I would never mention Pat Burrell and "class" in the same sentence.  He was a great Phillie who had an amazing bat who got a standing ovation last week when returning to Philly wearing a San Francisco uniform.  But calling Pat Burrell classy?  Anyone who's ever run into Pat at a bar in Center City knows what I'm referring to.

Being a Philly fan, I've NEVER held anything one of our players did in their personal lives against them.  I think true Philly fans agree.  We weren't mad at Iverson for throwing his wife out nude in the cold, just as we weren't mad when Lenny Dykstra and "Dutch" Dalton wrapped a Benz around a tree boozed up after John Kruk's bachelor party.

The point is this:  Philly fans are understanding.  We understand that our players are real people.  We understand people mess up and we accept it.  What we don't accept is the players that don't give 110% ever game and we let them know it.  Is there something wrong with that? 

It's no coincidence that the same players we supposedly boo wind up returning to Philly to finish out their careers.  It's the Simon Gagnes that almost cry because they're so touched when we show our love upon their returns wearing a different jersey.  It's the Donovan McNabbs, the Brian Dawkins, and the Rod Brindamours of the sports world that we adore and cheer for even after their Philadelphia tenures.  It's about time we get the respect that we deserve. 

I've had enough of hack writers trashing our sports fans every chance they get.  It's amateurs writers like the San Francisco Examiner's Ken Garcia that write the same recycled article each year talking about our trashy history. 

I'm a Philly fan.  I wouldn't have it any other way.  Being born and growing up in Philly or around Philly is a blessing to any sports fan.  We've had our ups and downs.  We've seen some miserable teams and some amazing teams.  We've won it all and have finished dead last.  We always have and always will stick by our teams.

Together, we are Philly fans.

*Here is a link to Ken Garcia's article entitled: "Phillies fans take the low road in city of sports highs."

This article was also published here: Philly Sports God Blog