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Thursday, October 2, 2008
A television photographer gets Phillies fans to cheer on camera. (Jerry Lodriguss / Staff Photographer)

This one won't put to rest the image of the raging Philadelphia fan once and for all, but it does leave a warm fuzzy feeling....

My friend the season ticker holder called this morning to report trouble on the 100 level yesterday, around the third base line.

It was the eighth inning of the first game against the Milwaukee Brewers, and Cole Hamels was sailing along. About 15 feet away my friend spotted a disaster-in-waiting.

A nice young couple was wearing Brewers jerseys -- the guy in a Ryan Braun number, she in a Yovani Gallardo.

About three rows in front of them a Phillies fan was feeling no pain. He turned and gave the couple a piece of his mind. The Brewers fans ignored him 

My friend describes what happened next:

"The subjects had an unknown projectile thrown in their direction."

My friend is a lawyer. Forgive him. 

"I think it was a peanut. The guy in the Braun shirt didn't do anything. He was just being stoic. Kinda taking the lumps you might get if you go into enemy territory."

In the ninth, the game tightens up. So does the obnoxious Phillies fan, described as an ordinary-looking guy in his 30s. A clean, well-lighted cretin.

"Fielder is up, and we're all sitting there worried that he's gonna knock one out of the park, and that's when the Phillies fan starts acting up. You know when you toss a beer at someone, but hold onto the bottle so you just flick your wrist? He did that. He doused the guy with his beer. A full frontal, he gave. And the Brewers fan still didn't do anything.

But the section of Phillies fans that surrounded the couple did.

"A good half a dozen Phillies fans converged on this guy and just friggin gave it to him. He got no support for his antics. The whole section was pointing at him and berating him. They got him tossed out immediately."

Afterward, my friend reports, a lot of people approached the couple to apologize.

"I did, myself," my friend says. "I told them I hope they come back for today's game.  Just come with helmets and take the shirts off."

 



 

 

 

Posted by Daniel Rubin @ 12:11 PM  Permalink | 14 comments
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Comments
Posted by da_bone 01:23 PM, 10/02/2008
That's just pure stupidity. Describe youselves, Philadelphia fans, however you want (i.e. faithful, devoted, hardcore, etc.), however, the truth is Philadelphia fans are the dumbest in the country. This story just goes to show it. I would be embarrassed to wear any type of Philadelphia sports gear. You guys are complete and utter morons!
Posted by cupper 03:59 PM, 10/02/2008
We may have a reputation for being a mite rude but we are not dumb. Most professional pundants regard Philly fans as astute and informed. we also support our team through the hard times. you must be a Mets fan. Most of the fans came to the couples aid.. As far a being a moron goes you hide behind your computer an rant like a child. It's real easy being something you're not on line. I suspect you're wearing your mom's clothes as we speak Charlie....
Posted by cupper 03:59 PM, 10/02/2008
We may have a reputation for being a mite rude but we are not dumb. Most professional pundants regard Philly fans as astute and informed. we also support our team through the hard times. you must be a Mets fan. Most of the fans came to the couples aid.. As far a being a moron goes you hide behind your computer an rant like a child. It's real easy being something you're not on line. I suspect you're wearing your mom's clothes as we speak Charlie....
Posted by doorspj24 04:14 PM, 10/02/2008
da-bone: if we're dumb, you're illiterate. The story describes 1 moron and 20 good people.
Posted by MICKDONAHUE 04:16 PM, 10/02/2008
Loser - How can you waste a beer on a bunch of brewers fans?!?!?!
Posted by dlscholt 04:26 PM, 10/02/2008
Good example of how we keep our bad reputation. One idiot. And we can't get rid of the reputation as long as there's always an idiot. The media won't let it go away. Fans in other cities behave badly as well, but it doesn't get the press that Philly does. The 20 who came to the Brewer fans' aid are more typical of Philly fans (and fans everywhere, actually). And Mick's right - why waste the beer?
Posted by ilario 04:28 PM, 10/02/2008
as always, the media representation of all philly fans comes from the small minority- when you get 68,000 for the eagles, 40,000 for the Phillies, 5% will be idiots (mostly from jersey but thats another story). For whatever reason that 5% are always seen as the norm- probably since they are the group that keeps WIP in business. Heres an idea for the lazy philly sportswriters, focus on the other 95% and remember that the santa clause incident was 40 years ago- lets move on.
Comment removed.
Posted by Tactful 08:52 PM, 10/02/2008
Rubin used to be a Red Sox fan, but now he's a Phillies guy--he wrote it earlier this year--so he's allowed to write this now. And he's right, real Phillies fans are intense, but decent people, and they won't support some jerk who splashes beer on an out-of-town fan. And he's also right about Phillies cops--they're heroes, but they shouldn't park for free down at Citizens Bank Park.
Posted by 1tomato 10:24 PM, 10/02/2008
in '93 one of the "docile" bravo fans emptied his beer all over my back during game 4 of the nlcs. i was too happy with the "W" to pound him. this came just a couple innings after catching a foul ball and giving it to a little kid with a braves hat on. get over it, there are idiots in every stadium. ever consider the more the media brings it up, the more the idiots will think that's how they are supposed to behave?
Comment removed.
Posted by joeibt 10:56 AM, 10/04/2008
If you ever have a chance to visit the people in the midwest, you'll be a lot more embarrassed as Phillie fans. People are just different in this part of the country. Nice, polite, and welcoming. I'm happy to wear my Phillies gear when i'm there. When I do, the most I get is good natured ribbing. Mostly I hear about what a good team we are this year. I'm happy that some fans took the opportunity to try to improve our image. Admitting we have a problem is the first step.
Posted by ET 09:21 PM, 10/04/2008
I am sure an episode like this happens in every ball park across the nation on a daily basis. This pickle head, Rubin, has the temerity to point out, using a second hand story from a lawyer mind you to make all of us Philly fans feel embarrassed again. This guy probably throws a ball like a girl, no not a girl that would be too kind. He probably throws a ball like an effete wine sipping San Francisco boyfriend.
Posted by Blinq 01:04 AM, 10/05/2008
I guess you're not saying I throw a ball like that. You are cordially invited to watch the Pen and Pencil Club play softball any night, pal. But step back from the field a bit, I can get a little wild when I'm gunning one in from the outfield.
14 comments
About Daniel Rubin
Since joining The Inquirer as a staff writer in 1988, Daniel Rubin has reported from 27 countries, but most of them were small. He's a metro columnist and has been the European Correspondent for Knight Ridder Newspapers. For two years he sat at home and wrote Blinq, the paper's first daily blog. Now we make him come to work. Dan began newspaper work in Norfolk and Louisville, Ky., after getting his undergraduate and graduate degrees from Northwestern University. He has lived in all four commonwealths, most recently in Pennsylvania, with his wife, twin 20-year-old sons and a large, slobbering cowherd.

Email Blinq here. Visit Blinq 1.0 here. My day job - Inquirer metro columnist - is here.

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