Take the pledge: No booing Phils all season?

One of those years when the Phillies were lollygagging around in last place, I had an idea for a special Phillies promotion:

Boo Day.

Why not poke some fun at a Philly tradition?

Fans would compete on the field, to see who's the loudest, most obnoxious boo bird.

The winner's prize is ... he gets booed!

(Maybe gets empty beer cups thrown at him, too.)

I proposed this to the Phillies events staff once.

They looked at me funny.

Kind of the way my wife often does.

Times have changed.

No, people still look at me funny, but the Phillies have gotten good.

So good, two local sports-talkers suggest, fans take a pledge:

No booing the Phillies till next Halloween!

Glen Macnow and Anthony Gargano of WIP (610-AM) proffered the idea a week or so ago, and about half the fans were in favor.

Others had this reaction:

Booooo!

Times haven't changed that much.

"We're not saying you can't criticize the players or the manager," Macnow said this morning. "We're not saying you need to show fealty. But, given that this group won a World Series for the first time in 28 years, we suggested a 365-day moratorium on booing the home team."

"If that's the ultimate, then shouldn't the thanks be boo-free?" said Gargano, who came up with the "edict."

These aren't two rah-rah members of the please-and-thank-you police.

They cowrote The Great Philadelphia Fan Book, which defends the much-maligned Philly faithful, including the legendary throwing of snowballs at a poor impersonator of Santa.

So if first baseman Ryan Howard gets off to another bad start, we should politely applaud or bellow encouraging bravos?

"I'm not telling anybody to do the golf clap," Macnow said. "But I didn't think he deserved to be booed last year. He had been an MVP for this team."

What if someone dogs it, like shortstop Jimmy Rollins did before he got benched last year?

"That's the tough one. That's the one where we're asking for a little bit of a leap of faith," the former Inquirer sports reporter said.

Make one exception, though, and where do you stop? Soon somebody's getting booed for a forgiveable mistake, he suggested.

"Does not include visiting players or the other local teams," Gargano said. "The other teams did not win a championship and break a 25-year drought."

The strongest disagreement came from callers who believe booing's beneficial.

"They need us to boo them to inspire them. They need our tough love" was the argument, the midday cohost said.

Macnow's not buying excuses, like it goes against a Philly fan's nature to bite one's tongue.

"It's really not in the nature of Philadelphia teams to win a World Series, too," he said. "One inspires the other."

The scheme might improve Philadelphia's national reputation, perhaps?

"A) I don't think it would, and B) I couldn't care less," he said. "I gave up on that a long time ago."

So, fans, we put it to you:

To boo or not to boo? That is the question.

Vote in the accompanying poll, or share your comments below.