Whiner - Err...Winer - writes:
Blah, blah, blah. I have one word for GQ: "BOOOOOOOOO!!" Seriously. If I have to hear the "Philly booed Santa Claus" argument one more time, I'm going to puke on someone, myself. Since when is a drunk guy in a red suit not deserving of a little heckling? St. Nick is just a fairytale, after all. It's not like we're booing the Pope. Although, let's not put it past us.
"Over the years, Philadelphia fans have booed Santa Claus as well as their own star players. They've even booed a guy who just helped the city win a friggin' World Series title—while he was getting his ring. Boooo! Admittedly, there are some things fans have cheered. Like Michael Irvin's career-ending neck injury and a fan being tased on the outfield grass. Things reached their nadir last season, when Citizens Bank Park played host to arguably the most heinous incident in the history of sports: A drunken fan intentionally vomited on an 11-year-old girl. The truth is this: All told, Philadelphia stadiums house the most monstrous collection of humanity outside of the federal penal system. "Some of these people would boo the crack in the Liberty Bell," baseball legend Pete Rose once said. More likely, these savages would have thrown the battery that cracked it."
And consider for a minute, the Winer's side - We cheered when Michael Irvin went down. Wrong? Sure. Insensitive? Absolutely. No one wishes injury on anyone - but put a bunch of drunk people in a stadium, playing their arch nemesis, and seeing the opponent's star receiver get taken out? The cheers might just slip out. It's not like anyone knew the injury was career-ending for Irvin (who was known for smack talking and drug abuse, by the way). And if you want to talk about Pete Rose, let he who's without sin cast the first battery.
My point is this: Get a bunch of drunk people together, add in some passion, sprinkle it with a little stupidity, and you have a recipe for disaster. Philly isn't the only habitat that acts as a greenhouse for obnoxious fans. Maybe sometimes it seems like they're more concentrated here, maybe they just get more publicity, or maybe we feel a slight tug toward living up to the rep - but I have to say, these things don't JUST happen in Philly. I lived in Pittsburgh for years, and I've been abused by many a Yinzer. Don't let the blue collar Philly haters fool you. They sell "F*$% Philly" shirts at every Steeler/Eagle match-up at Heinz field. They also insist on hating the Green, regardless of the fact that we aren't in the same conference, and we share the same hatred for "America's Team."
Let's rewind to 1989. As a young Troiani, I was christened by fire. First live game: Veteran's Stadium, Eagles vs. Dallas, ice balls everywhere, referee down, Jimmy Johnson escorted off the field by policemen on horses - not to mention the bounty Buddy put on Zendejas. I learned quickly, "It's not easy being Green." I remember my dad telling me "Wait here. Don't talk to anyone," while he used the facilities. I also remember a guy with a blow up Dallas helmet, who went into the restroom behind him. I heard a scuffle, a couple of expletives, and a loud, "F@ggot!" The gent came hobbling out, with a deflated ego....and helmet.
So, yes. Philly fans are passionate. And we have some drunks. And we all know that passion and alcohol don't mix. Add in a little stupidity, and you're spelling trouble. No matter where you are. All I can say is, we love our teams. If you don't want to be heckled, don't come to our house, and disrespect us. I don't condone violence, but the world of sport isn't for the weak and weary. Show up in a Cowgirl jersey, and we'll punch you in the mouth. And we won't feel sorry about it. No, not at all. We're proud of our teams, we stand up for our teams, and when it's necessary, we give our teams some tough love. Our guys can take a boo or two - and that's what it means to be strong. We might ask a lot, but we're willing to bleed - and that's what it means to be a fan.
- - L.
as with every other one of your posts, I love this! The Buddy years were great. We were UNITED! How bad can that be?
ReplyDeleteLast time I checked, isn't Cleveland just as bad too? NY? Boston? etc etc etc. And I'll have to look up the full story of the booing of Santa Claus, I read it somewhere. The Eagles were down by, like, 40, the car carrying Santa got stuck in the mud on the field, and "Santa" was staggering like he was drunk, or something like that!