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Mag pegs Philly as 3rd-rudest city - piss off!

Philadelphia has been named America's third-rudest city in a "Travel+Leisure Magazine" readers' poll so, naturally, having worked here for nearly 30 years, this Daily News reporter's first impulse was to call the rag and growl, "WTF? I got your rude right here for youse, mook!"

Juan Lopez has raised his son Jonathan in the Philly diehard way: Love your teams and be rude to your enemies. But outside the ballpark in real life, they're both very polite guys.
Juan Lopez has raised his son Jonathan in the Philly diehard way: Love your teams and be rude to your enemies. But outside the ballpark in real life, they're both very polite guys.Read more

Philadelphia has been named America's third-rudest city in a "Travel+Leisure Magazine" readers' poll so, naturally, having worked here for nearly 30 years, this Daily News reporter's first impulse was to call the rag and growl, "WTF? I got your rude right here for youse, mook!"

But Travel+Leisure.com executive editor Rich Beattie answered the phone and quickly said, "It's not a scientific survey," and, "People can vote multiple times," and, "I love Philadelphia," and, "My brother-in-law is from Philly," and, "Really nice people there," so it was hard to get my "Mook!" on.

But Juan Lopez, a die-hard Philly sports fan who owned JT's Lounge in Hunting Park for 18 years before moving to Burlington Township, N.J., was unapologetic, even defiant, about Philly's rep for rude-rage - especially in the stadium area.

"Eagles fans are some of the rudest in the nation," Lopez said. "I don't consider myself an extremely rude fan. I consider myself borderline."

He defined "borderline."

"We were tailgating before an Eagles/Giants game," Lopez reminisced. "We had two cars and saved the parking space between them for our tailgating stuff. A Giants fan drove up in a little convertible - a Fiat or something - and asked if he could park there.

"We had a couple of beers in us, and we said, 'Sure.' We moved our stuff, let him park, and wished him, 'Good luck, have fun,' as he walked into the stadium. Then we picked up his car and dropped it in the middle of the lot. Whether it got towed or not, who knows? Who cares?"

Lopez has passed on his core values to his sons Jonathan, 21, and Nicholas, 13. "My boss is from Pittsburgh and is a Penguins fan," Lopez said. "Whenever Nicholas sees him, he tells him, 'Pittsburgh sucks!' Jonathan sees a Dallas fan at an Eagles game, he goes, 'Dallas sucks!' Great kids."

City Councilman Jim Kenney said that away from their beloved sports teams, Philadelphians are sweethearts.

"If anything, we're too chatty, too nice," Kenney said. "Strangers ask for directions and we'll tell them our life stories. I've seen people standing with map in hand at 13th and Market, and Philadelphians walk up to offer help. I've seen people hold doors open for strangers at Macy's. I've seen people on the Broad Street Subway get up and give their seats to senior citizens. Third-rudest city in the country? I don't buy it."

Meryl Levitz, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation, seconded that.

"We've been ranked in the top 10 as bike-friendly, pet-friendly, gay-friendly, vegetarian-friendly, kid-friendly, pedestrian-friendly and eco-friendly," she said. "I think that's pretty friendly."

Levitz said there were 36 million visitors to the Philadelphia region last year and 40 percent were repeat visitors. "I guess somebody in Philadelphia is treating people right," she said.

Los Angeles and New York were ranked first and second on the list, respectively.