Poor Picked On Philly Sports Fans

If you have tuned in to the Philadelphia news or national sports information outlets since Wednesday, you have undoubtedly heard the story of the scumbag (I refuse to give the idiot attention by typing his name) Phillies fan who purposely vomited on fellow fans who took umbrage with his friends' drunken behavior at a game that night. The disgusting nature of the act in and of itself made it newsworthy. The fact that this chucklehead (allegedly) did this to family group which included children adds to the vitriol. Naturally, this has become a national story, one with the typical "Philly fans are the worst in the country" theme.

There is a growing trend in the Philadelphia media, whether it is sportswriters or sports radio talk show hosts, where it has become chic to take on the role of defender of the poor, picked-on Philadelphia sports fan. Our collective reputation as violent drunken fair-weather louts is apparently completely undeserved. We are victims not of a well-documented history of ugly fan incidents, but a conspiracy of injustice perpetuated by derisive lazy journalism by the national media. Wow.

This morning I read the John Gonzalez' piece in the Philadelphia Inquirer and I threw up a little bit in my mouth. Gonzo, as he is known, makes the case that Philly fans are being treated unfairly and provides a laundry list a of ugly incidents that have gone down in other towns as if to say that it's okay for Philly fans to act like idiots, you know, since other people do it too! I am usually a fan of Gonzo's work, but enough already! I have had it with local media types making excuses for boorish behavior at Philadelphia sporting events.

Gonzo writes "Once it became news, we all knew the national media would pounce and pound the city". Why? Because this stuff happens here more than anywhere else in the country! The truth is that binge drinking has become commonplace before Phillies games. I have noticed it a lot in recent seasons. Phillies games have become an event, and a larger number of Philly fans, especially young adults, are tailgating before games. Eagles games have long been known to have an element of booze, as football tailgating is a time-honored tradition. Phillies games have now reached a similar level of pregame boozing. I have attended a handful of games in recent years, most on weeknights. I remember commenting to a friend last year how it bothered me that we saw three kids in a state of total drunkenness on the concourse, all slumped against the wall outside the bathroom. Another guy from their group was throwing up into a sink. This scene played out during the third inning.


I am no prude. I do not see myself as any better than any other fan. I have tailgated. I have behaved badly at sporting events. I have said nasty things to visiting players that were rude and downright wrong (though I am told they were usually pretty funny). I do not sit here in judgment. However, to argue that Philly fans do not deserve the scrutiny we receive is ridiculous. For media types to cry in their columns and on their shows about how we are misrepresented is a joke. Gonzo lists a handful of serious fan misbehavior from other cities. Do we have a monopoly on serious fan incidents? No. Is the national media quick to jump on Philly fans for a quick "they are evil!" story? Yes. But are we innocent? No! Philly has way more than our fair share of nasty incidents. No other city comes close. To be honest, I used to revel in the bad-fan reputation. I was proud of it. Maybe I am just getting old.

Gonzo further weakens his argument by stupidly claiming that the mad puker shouldn't be added to the Philadelphia fan bad behavior tab because he is from Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Really, John? Cherry Hill, as any Philadelphian knows, is as much of a part of the Philly fan base as any city neighborhood. I actually can't believe he would write something like that, and I hope that it was an attempt to be funny that I just didn't get. As I said, I am a fan of Gonzo's work, but the Cherry Hill thing was just dumb.

All I am saying is that local media types need to cut out the excuse making and whoa-is-me rhetoric that is an obvious attempt at pandering to the local fan base. The culture in Philly, whether you like it or not, is one of extreme alcohol intake before Eagles and Phillies games. Is it everyone? No! But it's ENOUGH people that the "one bad apple spoils the whole bunch" argument is preposterous. Why do so many Philadelphians feel it necessary to liquor up before a sporting event? I don't know. Again, I am no prude and have done and will do my fair share of tailgating. However, I won't sit and whine because the national media continues to lump Philadelphia sports fans into the bad seed bucket. The truth is, we continue to put ourselves there.