Relax on the Phils, Fans Feed their Rep, etc.
Since philly.com’s Sports Fans Blog Roll feed posts my link every time I update my blog template, I feel like I should start posting something on sports at least once a week. Otherwise, I kind of look like a dope when the title beside my blog title is "Phillies Return; Villanova Looks to Win It All" almost a week after ‘Nova came up short against North Carolina.
I tried this a while back under my old sports blog title, Philly Sports Review, in Week-in-Review style posts. I eventually got bored with the purely sports angle, because there’s not always something in Philadelphia sports to have a strong opinion on – despite what plenty of media members will say. But the philly.com link is one of my main sources of hits, so while it might not always be purely sports (or weekly), here’s my first post in the second attempt at my weekly, quick hits look at the events of the last week or so:
--Can we exhale now? The Phillies won their first game. The football mentality some fans – and media members – bring to the first game or two of the baseball season is ridiculous. I’ll be the first to say that it would be nice to see them team get out of the gate fast, especially considering the fact that this team has eked its way into the playoffs the last two seasons. But give it a series or two. I especially can’t stand the sportscasters who go on the air minutes after the game acting as if they have already heard from thousands of fans going crazy. Even in the world of instant feedback, most of these people are just assuming fans are in a panic.
--I hate the nationwide reputation Philly fans have been labeled with, but when we have idiots who are going to boo Adam Eaton at the Phillies ring ceremony the rest of us are pretty much stuck with it. Yes, he stunk up the joint, and the fact that he even showed up along with his reaction to the booing – waving to the crowd – shows he’s a jerk. But if anybody thinks the national media is going to do anything but the typical “there go those Philly fans” stories, they’re kidding themselves. Now, if you truly don’t care about the reputation of the Philly fans, boo away. Just don’t complain later.
--On the flip side of that, anyone involved with the Daily News headline that read “17-Minute Honeymoon” (or something close to it) after the opener can stop saying the local media doesn’t fan the flames of the negative perception of Philly fans. That headline was pathetic. They clearly had some scrub sitting around watching the clock to see when the first boo was heard. So some guy, likely with at least a few beers in him, screams out “boo” to be the cool guy whose the first to boo the world champs and the Daily News bites on it. Maybe this is why they’re in bankruptcy.
--Was Pat Gillick really crying yesterday? That was just icky.
--I can’t believe anybody has a problem with Pat Burrell being at the ring ceremony. The guy was here forever, took an unbelievably amount of flak, and went out on top. He didn’t even miss a game for his new team, the Rays. Let it go.
--It is unbelievable the percentage of hits to this blog from people looking for the ratings comparisons between 610 WIP and 950 ESPN. Based on the searches that bring people to that post, it seems like people are rooting for ESPN to beat WIP. I would love to hear from anybody in the comments section who has come here looking for that information.
--The more the Sixers play, the more I’d like to know why Maurice Cheeks was fired. They clinch a playoff spot and take the next two games off, and Tony DiLeo is some great coach?
--Reports are that the Eagles are interested in Chad Johnson. It would be nice if they did something of note this off-season.
I tried this a while back under my old sports blog title, Philly Sports Review, in Week-in-Review style posts. I eventually got bored with the purely sports angle, because there’s not always something in Philadelphia sports to have a strong opinion on – despite what plenty of media members will say. But the philly.com link is one of my main sources of hits, so while it might not always be purely sports (or weekly), here’s my first post in the second attempt at my weekly, quick hits look at the events of the last week or so:
--Can we exhale now? The Phillies won their first game. The football mentality some fans – and media members – bring to the first game or two of the baseball season is ridiculous. I’ll be the first to say that it would be nice to see them team get out of the gate fast, especially considering the fact that this team has eked its way into the playoffs the last two seasons. But give it a series or two. I especially can’t stand the sportscasters who go on the air minutes after the game acting as if they have already heard from thousands of fans going crazy. Even in the world of instant feedback, most of these people are just assuming fans are in a panic.
--I hate the nationwide reputation Philly fans have been labeled with, but when we have idiots who are going to boo Adam Eaton at the Phillies ring ceremony the rest of us are pretty much stuck with it. Yes, he stunk up the joint, and the fact that he even showed up along with his reaction to the booing – waving to the crowd – shows he’s a jerk. But if anybody thinks the national media is going to do anything but the typical “there go those Philly fans” stories, they’re kidding themselves. Now, if you truly don’t care about the reputation of the Philly fans, boo away. Just don’t complain later.
--On the flip side of that, anyone involved with the Daily News headline that read “17-Minute Honeymoon” (or something close to it) after the opener can stop saying the local media doesn’t fan the flames of the negative perception of Philly fans. That headline was pathetic. They clearly had some scrub sitting around watching the clock to see when the first boo was heard. So some guy, likely with at least a few beers in him, screams out “boo” to be the cool guy whose the first to boo the world champs and the Daily News bites on it. Maybe this is why they’re in bankruptcy.
--Was Pat Gillick really crying yesterday? That was just icky.
--I can’t believe anybody has a problem with Pat Burrell being at the ring ceremony. The guy was here forever, took an unbelievably amount of flak, and went out on top. He didn’t even miss a game for his new team, the Rays. Let it go.
--It is unbelievable the percentage of hits to this blog from people looking for the ratings comparisons between 610 WIP and 950 ESPN. Based on the searches that bring people to that post, it seems like people are rooting for ESPN to beat WIP. I would love to hear from anybody in the comments section who has come here looking for that information.
--The more the Sixers play, the more I’d like to know why Maurice Cheeks was fired. They clinch a playoff spot and take the next two games off, and Tony DiLeo is some great coach?
--Reports are that the Eagles are interested in Chad Johnson. It would be nice if they did something of note this off-season.
Comments
Eaton should not have shown up. It was not just that he was horrible (he certainly was) but that he had an extremely bad attitude to boot.
Look at Burrell as an example of someone who struggled but maintained fan support. The national press is flat out lazy. Give me a break with the Santa story that is now 40 years old. Does anyone remember the riots when Detriot won the WS? No, because the national media never brings it up. How about the unruly behavior of the Boston fans a few years back in the playoffs? No, because the national media never brings it up.
All in all, I would rather have the Philly fans boo than act like animals.
Jay,
I still can't believe that Harry is gone. It feels like a bad dream.