Every time the subject of Philly fan behavior comes up, someone goes and mentions that booing Santa Claus thing. And to be honest I’m with the Philly folks in thinking that to be stupid and unfair. I mean, it was over 40 years ago and at some point you gotta let go, ya know?
But their legitimate indignation at being tarred with the Santa Claus thing has led to a curious phenomenon: every time some fan does something stupid there, Philly fans get upset when anyone points it out, even if it happened yesterday. “Yeah, sure, go ahead and say that Philly fans are obnoxious. Feel free to stereotype us. How original,” they huff, rolling their eyes. We saw this when the guy puked on that girl earlier this year. We saw it when the guy got tased. We saw it the very next night when the copycat guy jumped on the field. Point out some dumb Philly fan behavior and other Philly fans immediately play the “we’re being persecuted” card.
But you know what? Even if they don’t deserve the reputation for being awful that so many have applied to them, there is a certain brand of Philly fan that is obnoxious. Not all, of course, and not even a large number. But a subset that is unique to Philly in their poor taste and boorishness. And hey, here are some of them now!
I don’t object to taunting the occasional player, but that stuff isn’t funny or clever. Or even warranted. I get going after Scott Rolen or someone with a history, but Burrell? Sure, he had his ups and downs in Philly, but he was a big part of the 2008 championship. And he wanted to stay in Philly after that season, but the team never seriously negotiated. And Lincecum? How do you have any ill feelings for that guy? “Fix your teeth?” Really?
That stuff is just totally bush league. And I would hope that rather than spending all of their energy getting all defensive at once again having some of their own being called out for poor behavior, right-thinking Philly fans acknowledge that those dudes with the signs were pathetic.
UPDATE: Even more class!
