Yesterday, we received reports about a Dodgers fan (or a man wearing a Dodgers jersey) being fatally stabbed near AT&T park. It almost turns my stomach to know that someone can consider a rivalry so important that taking the life of an opposing fan is justified. While that act constitutes an article in itself, the inspiration for writing this one came from the twitter, yahoo, and ESPN comment sections. There were plenty of comments chastising the heinous act. HOWEVER, there were plenty more claiming that it is minuscule compared to fans in Philly. Naturally, I took my troll hammer and started bashing every comment I could see. By the time that my wrist was inflamed from the typing, i realized that the proverbial dent I made in the comment section is microscopic compared to the smear job that the media does every now and then. So, I figured I would rant a little bit about a Philly fan’s perspective. Not just on the stabbing, but on…well…everything. Keep in mind that I am only 23 years old, and there are many events in Philly sports history that may have happened that I have zero knowledge on outside of a simple report or fable.
Firstly, I always hear about Santa Claus, Santa Claus, Santa Claus. Pretty much anyone who talks about fan bases bring up how we booed Mr. Kringle and pelted him with snowballs. In fact, a few years back, I remember watching an ESPN exclusive about the man who dressed up as Saint Nick on that fateful day. Yes, it happened, and you cannot erase the past. HOWEVER, how is this worse than killing a man based on his fan affiliation? If anything, throwing snowballs can be called an act of “douchebagery” (Yeah, I may have made that word up). Basically, it’s something that jerks do, and everyone has their moments. Heckling is fine, you may even be crossing the line by throwing a few fists. But stabbing? trust me, a very small percentage of people stab someone without the intent to kill. If anything, this should be considered a hate crime. But where is the coverage? I’m watching ESPN right now yet I haven’t heard any relevant mention of it today. Now, let me take you a few years back to when one really stupid fan decided to run onto the field at citizens Bank Park, and go for a little run. BOOM! He gets tazed by a stun gun, and falls right over (like in an episode of COPS), and ESPN shows footage of it the entire next day calling the shock “excessive”. Clearly, the media loves to paint us as if we are maniacal and barbaric. I will say, that there are plenty of moments where this rains true. But let’s not act like fans from the rest of the country wear halos on the top of their heads. I mean, have we ever thrown bananas at Adam Jones because of the color of his skin? No. Did we throw syringes at Barry Bonds when he was caught using steroids? No (at least i don’t think so). So who’s really barbaric here?
My problem with this, is that it all came in the wake of former Eagles coach Andy Reid, and quarter back Donovan McNabb returned to Philly last Monday night. Both were greeted with applause in honor of everything they have done for the franchise. They didn’t get us the Super Bowl that we so desperately wanted, but it wasn’t for a lack of effort. Could a barbaric fan base really be that grateful? You should ask Lebron James the next time he plays the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Other than acts committed by fans with other fans, we get a bad rep for booing our players. I just want to say that EVERY TEAM BOOS THEIR PLAYERS. We tend to let ours know far in advance when they are screwing up. Looking at other big cities such as New York, LA, or Chicago, Philly is definitely lacking in the championship department. Every year, we take on the championship or bust mentality even if we know that the team isn’t good enough (In fact, Cleveland’s fan base should be more like us considering their lack of just one). So I guess what i am trying to say is, I’m sorry that you feel this way about us, but we’re not sorry for being this way.
Tags: Andy Reid, but not sorry, Dodgers stabbing, Donovan McNabb, fan behavior, Jeremy Bonnette, Philly Snowballs, Sorry, TalkSportsPhilly, taser
You must be logged in to post a comment.