Philadelphia vs. the PhilliesPhilly fans finally have a winning baseball team. Now they just need to stop hating themselves.
Posted Wednesday, Oct. 22, 2008, at 4:12 PM ET
Of the many dubious achievements that Philadelphia sports fans have notched over the years—throwing snowballs at Santa Claus, batteries at J.D. Drew, etc., etc.—perhaps the most telling is that they once forced Mike Schmidt to trot onto the field wearing sunglasses and a wig. Schmidt was one of the many Philadelphia athletes who never forged a good working relationship with the city's fans. His frustration culminated in 1985 when he described the Philly crowd to the Montreal Gazette as "a mob scene" that was "beyond help." Only the stunt with the wig—which Schmidt borrowed from Larry Andersen, who apparently kept a wig on hand in the clubhouse for such occasions—could save him from the torrential booing that awaited in Veterans Stadium. It's to the credit of the Philly faithful that they saw the humor in the wig stunt, cheering the third baseman for his ingenuity.
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StumbleUponLike many Phillies fans, I have a certain regard for the fans' eagerness to boo their own guys—it's a visceral response to a team that has disappointed the city for more than 100 years. While other teams obsess over curses and rivalries, Philly fans know they have only their own guys to blame. For years, I dismissed Red Sox fans the way a lot of Democrats dismiss Republicans—as a group that requires a villain to define itself. The GOP has welfare queens, teachers' unions, and the media elite. The Red Sox have the Yankees. But now, as the Phils enter the World Series after posting their sixth straight winning season, I'm realizing that a genuine rivalry isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign that, after decades of futility, you've finally stopped losing.
For most of the franchise's history, the Phillies have lacked a go-to villain. The few rivalries the Phils have managed to incite have been as much characterized by geography and mutual badness as by genuine competition. "Long ago, the Dodgers, when they were in Brooklyn, were a pretty good rival," notes Rich Westcott, a baseball writer who has penned six books about the Phillies. The teams became competitive around the same time, and the antagonism peaked in 1950, when Philadelphia's "Whiz Kids" edged out Brooklyn for the pennant on the last day of the season. But the Phillies petered out shortly afterward while the Dodgers won four World Series and another four league titles over the next 15 years. (Many argue that Philadelphia's reluctance to bring in black players was central to the dissolution of that promising 1950 team.)
The Phillies and the Pittsburgh Pirates had a decent rivalry in the 1970s, including a stretch from 1974-1980 during which they traded division titles and split their games against each other 63-63. Both teams soon sunk into their typical irrelevance, though, and whatever vestiges of enmity that remained were quashed when the Pirates moved to the NL Central in 1994. By then, Atlanta seemed poised to become a rival, particularly after joining the NL East that same year. But the Phillies just couldn't keep up as Atlanta lorded it over the division for the next decade.
I submit that in the last 50 years, the Philadelphia Phillies' only bona fide rival has been the Philadelphia Phillies. Philadelphia's brand of sports navel-gazing—or rather, navel-scowling—is punishing to players across all the city's franchises. (See Donovan McNabb.) Nothing is more frustrating than watching a promising young player fail to click with the fans, get all dyspeptic about it, and leave the team—only to launch a phenomenal career elsewhere. Scott Rolen comes to mind. The third baseman was drafted by the Phillies in 1993 and won the Rookie of the Year award four years later. As his numbers flagged over four losing seasons in the majors, his once enthusiastic fans soured, and after the 2001 season, he declined to sign a long-term contract with the team. He was traded to the Cardinals in 2002, where he won a championship ring in 2006. For the duration of his time with the Cards, he was enthusiastically booed in Philadelphia.
Every team has these disappointments. The Phillies seem to breed them.
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What's being overlooked here is the one-sided nature of fandom in professional sports: these athletes go out and play a GAME for millions of dollars. And if they don't do their job, fall into a rut, don't practice, run out a hit to first, throw balls, and the like we're supposed to cheer them? The rest of the world needs to catch up to Philadelphia. I'm paying how much for one ticket? And if a player isn't going to run out his hit, I'm gonna boo him. Hustle dammit.
Schmidt did just fine and so do the rest of the Phillies. And we'll cheer them on. Why? They're doing their job. But if they don't do their job, it ain't the managers' and owners' yelling they have to worry about. I'm paying the damn salary. Wake up fans.
--Pachomius
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Philly fans are like this in every sense. Ever seen a bad concert here? It's a tough crowd when you don't seem to put in an effort. If you do, their loyalty is canine and they will wear your shirts to bed and work. If not, you get the boot, and people take pleasure in booing your face if you show it. I mean, it's not called The City of Brotherly Love for nothing, right? Brothers are like that. They love you, but you had better stand up to the plate or you will be reminded at breakfast that you suck. No one hates that about themselves here, or regrets it. It's fun and it's family, just a really loud and opinionated one with great food, and amazing beer. Sometimes maybe too much beer (santa). But I heard he recovered nicely, eventually.
--cheesesteakswit
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Having lived for long stretches in New York and St. Louis -- both places with serious sports fans -- nothing compares to Philly, where I currently live. As brutal as the fans may be (to their own players and opposing fans), no place offers the sort of support for its teams as does Philly. The whole city is in to it. It doesn't matter who you are -- a little old lady or a two year old kid -- you probably have a Phillies hat or shirt (and an Eagles hat or shirt, and a Sixers hat or shirt), and since the middle of September you certainly have been greeting people on the street, in the elevator, etc. with a "Go Phillies!". As a transplant to this city, I can't really get behind the booing of our own players. But I already appreciate that when it comes to sports, at least in Philly, we're all in it together.
--stunts74
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You disappoint me Chris. The obnoxious Philly fan is a myth perpetrated by the out of town media. You should know better. Booing Santa . . . come on. It was 40 years ago and the young idiot playing Santa was obviously loaded and making a terrible embarrassment of himself. Booing that guy was, if anything, a defense of the spirit of Christmas.
Philly fans behave the same way as all northeast cities' fans do, passionate and knowledgeable, they know when and how to both cheer and boo. I suspect that the players appreciate it over performing in front of cow bell ringing know-nothings and LA fans out to enjoy a sunny day.
As for Rollins, what you didn't print was that he called the fans "frontrunners," a label not fitting a group that packs the arenas for all four pro teams despite more than 120 combined seasons without a championship. Most surprising was that Rollins was rarely, if ever, booed before that comment. After the fan trashing on national TV, Rollins was afforded dozens of opportunities to explain his remark or limit it to only those fans who do misbehave. He never did. […]
I think it fair to cite the positive responses by Philly fans. Notable among the displays of kindness is the fans' reaction to Mitch Williams after surrendering the Joe Carter home run in '93. Williams was traded within weeks. Upon his return to Philly as a visitor the next year, he was welcomed with a warm ovation. Presently Mitch is an analyst for the local Comcast network and is easily the most well-liked sports analyst in the city.
Another example is the response to Pat Burrell's struggles. After signing a $15 million a year contract, Pat went through 4 terrible years of .225 averages, bad swings, and crappy defense. Yet for the first two of those years the fans continued to applaud any sign of effort. Pat didn't get booed until his third year of the contract and that treatment stopped after one year. How about a bit of recognition for those displays of support? Displays that you would not likely have seen in Boston or NY, and possibly not even in the white picket fence baseball heaven that is St. Louis.
--Frank TJ Mackey
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"But now, as the Phils enter the World Series after posting their sixth straight winning season, I'm realizing that a genuine rivalry isn't a sign of weakness. It's a sign that, after decades of futility, you've finally stopped losing."
The thing about that is- it may apply to the Phils, but what about the Eagles for example? Gigantic rivalries with the Redskins and Dallas for years.
The problem isn't needing a rivalry- the problem is the inevitable implosion. Philly doesn't get "beaten" in championships- we implode. The "self loathing" is because the losses are generally due, not to our opponents, but to philly not being able to close the deal. we get close- we're above average most of the time across all the teams- but we never seem to be able to go that extra inch that wins the big game.
--jms81
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(10/28)