Some people make it so easy.
There is little to be done here but reprint the first few paragraphs of the column T.J. Simers wrote for Thursday's editions of the Los Angeles Times and then re-check the press box seating chart when I get to the ballpark to make sure I'm not sitting next to him. I'm only doing that because I listened and learned well as a young sportswriter when Eagles coach Buddy Ryan told the story about the game when, as an assistant coach with the New York Jets, he was faced with a similar problem when quarterback Joe Namath received a death threat.
His solution? Ryan said, "Really, it was simple. Just don't stand next to Namath."
So, don't sit next to T.J.
And enjoy:
Phillies fans: 10,000 reasons to be bitter
ANGRYVILLE -- You spend any time in this dingy city and around these folks, and pit bulls running wild come to mind.
Fine when leashed, but set them free, put a beer in their grubby paws and it's only a matter of time before they're going to go on the attack -- both the home team and its opponent feeling the bite.
It's an angry place, all right, everything old here in Philadelphia, crumbling and in ruin. Even the city's main attraction has a crack in it.
Here's the rest.
With that, my work is done.
Posted by Rich Hofmann @ 10:53 PM
Permalink |
83 comments
It's getting better, People. Now this hack is saying that Philadelphia should step aside,and let the Dodgers win for better tv ratings!
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-simers10-2008oct10,0,7211102.column
That's such lazy journalism. He has written this before. Probably just changes the date on the file. Better to be emotional and loud than to come late and leave early like they do in Los Angeles. The Liberty Bell has a crack. No kidding, Simers. Think of an original angle and write something. I have socks older than Los Angeles.
Aaaghhhhhhhhhhhh! Let the idiot go!
He was formerly the professional football writer for The San Diego Union, the Denver Broncos beat writer for the Rocky Mountain News; a college football beat writer for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis, Tenn.; sports editor for the Morristown (N.J.) Daily Record, the Beloit (Wis.) Daily News and the Coeur d'Alene (Idaho) Press, and assistant sports editor for the DeKalb (Illinois) Chronicle.
He attended Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Ill.
No Class! No Class whatsoever!
email this FREAK! tjsimes@latimes.com He has a MySpace page also. hasn't been visited since may of 2006.
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=74823039
yeah phillyfunk! wear it for all of us!!!
This guy is unbelievable! While he scoffs at our city and its fans and their supposed nastiness, I can promise you he has NO IDEA what he is in store for tonight. These "rabid pit bulls" will definitely be off their leashes tonight. They will make Chicago look like a seniors bridge game and one can only hope he is recognized by a number of fans. Maybe put his title and picture on the Jumbotron with a couple of excerpts from his article?
Yo TJ...F*ck You!!
See LJL's post at 11:38pm - classic, and painfully accurate. Poor Simers...
I hope the Phillies see this. Bulletin board material at its best. What a jerk! and I thought our writers were a bunch of opiniated homers. I initially wanted to email him and tell him what I thought, but that is what he wants. He is not worth our time.
People are never going to stop putting down our city, our sports teams or our fans. We're used to it - this is the fuel that feeds our fire. Phillies in 5!
Didn't this Simers clown do the same thing in 2001 when the Sixers played the Lakers? He's just trying to make himself seem relevant by saying "10,000 angry Philly fans e-mailed me". Don't fall for it.
Good grief. Are we all really going to fall for this AGAIN???? Two journalists write some stupid stuff and we're supposed to get all fired up? I guess it's working so why change?
Angry? This guy is writing from the city who's traffic enrages people to the point of homocide. There's a reason they call it LaLa land. Come back down to earth Mr. Simers.
ahaha LJL that was good... eff LA. and this ignorant garbarge of a writer. how clever of a joke "(the liberty bell) has a crack in it." you effin self righteous LA trash can be unpatriotic all you want. no one likes you and no one is jealous. if this earthquake happened on the california border and sent california into the ocean, would we miss it? i know i wouldnt. the whole place, gone. as a matter of fact i think it would be better to rid ourselves of you pompous jerks.
Glasshouses...stones... not throw?....A 1/4 of LA is comprised of illegal aliens. As far as fans booing and the connection to an old dirty miserable city? B.S.. The fans that do boo at the stadiums probably live in nicer communities than this pathetic hack.Fans boo for these reasons-The Phillies ownership financial non commitment to winning a a championship. Jeffrey Lurie's 50,000 seat season ticket waiting list, buying $15 M Main Line mansions, and then pocketing first round money in 2 consecutive years.Back to LA. You would think LA is this fantastic area/region but you would be mistaken. Its a borderline third world city. SF imports jobs and ideas, LA imports poverty.
I think the LA Times just goes to their archives and pulls out the same "Philly is Dirty" column to run every time we play one of their teams in a meaningful game. Its ironic given they live in a city with a giant smog cloud that hangs over it all the time.
I second the "yawn." So he is trying to rile Philly fans and says dumb things. Eh. Like 'Moyer sucks,' I guess, at 16-7? OK, dude.
BTW, tose sissies don't even have an NFL franchise.
This is the same kind of article he wrote when the Sixers played the Lakers a few years back. He is a small time writer trying to make a name for himself by getting people to react to him and bring his name up. He really should do an article that is directed to Dodgers fans telling them that baseball games start in the 1st inning and end in the 9th. Not start in the 4th and end in the 7th.
Ra, ra, ra...this guy obviosly has no clue. I understand you want to be a ra ra guy in your own tow, but please give our pitchers some respect. They do deserve it. Anybody can look at a stat sheet, but being a journalist, like you say you are, you should write the whole story.
LJL -- Great shot! Someone should airmail it back to that little nut case. PHILLIES IN SIX!
for you, TJ...
http://www.writer-writer.com/2008/02/09/how-to-get-published-fiction-writing-mistakes/
Ive been to Los Angeles, its no jewel either.
I just heard a quote from Randy Pausch (google him if you want an uplifting message...) He said something along the lines that if you fail and no one complains about it, that is a bad thing. It means that no one cares about you. Don't worry Phillies. If we constantly complain about you, it's because we care.
Better an angry pitbull than a pampered, snooty, toy poodle. And at least our citizens don't riot every 20 years.
Wow, someone's bashing Philadelphia? That's original! Yawn. Go Phils and go Philadelphia for that matter!
"Even the city's main attraction has a crack in it."
Really? Low2behold is right.. Without Philly, there'd be no L.A. He's a tool.
Isn't this the same exact article J.A. Adande wrote about Philly when the Sixers played the Lakers in the 2001 Finals?! It's just jealousy!!!
When if ever was this knuckle head in Philadelphia. Maybe back in the day Philly did look that bad, but today this is a beautiful city with a lot of pride.
I was gonna say, isn't LA, like Detroit with palm trees?
Why not ask Reginald Denny which city is more angry? L.A , now that's a city of savages!!
"everything old here in Philadelphia, crumbling and in ruin"
HAS HE EVER BEEN HERE?
Maybe Bill Conlon can get a job at the L A Times....working in the cafeteria.
Ah LA...breathe in that smog. Can you see the Hollywood sign? Neither can we. Got a screen play? join the club. Want to get lost in America's muck? come west my friend come west.
I think a more accurate name for the LA Times would be either the "LA Waste-of-Times" or the "LA Slimes"
AT LEAST WE AREN'T A CITY OF FAKES AND FRAUDS LIKE LA! Some may consider us angry, but I prefer to think it's passion. Is it really so wrong to be emotionally attached to our teams? At least we aren't completely indifferent to our sports teams like they are in LA - what kind of city lets the Raiders move back to Oakland? LA columnists shouldn't talk tough - especially when it's directed at us. That city, their writers, and their sports fans are spineless. The Dodgers are soft - Phils in 5.
What is the Murder rate in PHILLY? Who is killing who?? Latest City State Dem Politician in Jail...Indicted? union thugs lifting Iron to beat up a Republican.. What a City!
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Hey Rich, would this be considered journalism? I mean honestly what a waste of space. There is nothing of substance or meaning in that entire meandering stream of consciousness. He tries to correlate fan loyalty with player efficacy. This is why I have a hard time with most sports journalism.
I'm a Philly fan living in So Cal and TJ Simers is probably the worst columnist in sports. His knowledge of sports is pretty weak and he thinks he's funny and witty but he's not. Bowa is totally right about LA fans and it's the same out here for any sport. They show up fashionably late in the 3rd inning of baseball games and start leaving in the 7th inning to beat traffic even if it's a close game. LA fans are soft. Having been a Philly sports fan for the last 28 years but never having lived in the Philly area, my impression of many (not all) Philly sports fans is that are neurotic and a little bitter when it comes to their teams. But there was really no reason for this Simers moron to trash the city and people of Philadelphia. Of course, he doesn't really know much about sports so I guess he had nothing related to baseball that he could write in his column.
Well I live in Arizona and I've been to LA many times and we Philly phans maybe angry but at least we know whats going on. LA fans lose interest by the fifth inning of any game win or lose. True story
LJL's comment is perfect
come on guys email this guy his email is at the end of the article. let our voice be heard. he insulted us!!
At least he got to re-use that Sixers column. Yawn for me, too.
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If anyone has ever heard the Tommy Lasorda expletive rant Tommy goes off on TJ. He's right, center city is a slum compared to downtown Los Angeles and the Miracle Mile. Phillies fan's however don't show up at the game after the third inning which is why Chavez Ravine looks empty at the start of the game. No one is angry in Los Angeles which why they are the only major city without an NFL team. Their great USC team plays in the Coliseum which not only is a toilet but uses cattle
trough's for men's urinals. AtLeast it did when I was there in late eighties. TJ was a big a fan of those for reasons I can't disclose otherwise this post won't be printed.
Let 'em talk, let 'em talk. Whatever he says has 0 cred in my book. Go Phils!
the only thing that gets me mad about this article is the way hes stereotyping pit bulls.
If Philly is Angryville what is LA then?How about Illegal-alienville? Just read an article last week on the problem of illegal aliens in LA. They have nearly 1 M illegal aliens living in LA, more than a 1/4 of the city has no official documentation claiming they are citizens of the usa,no record or verification of who they are once they inevitably cause crime, paying no taxes in the process. That is absolutely unbelievable. On top of that, a brutal 7.9% metro unemployment rate. Most overrated city on the planet.
The irony of an L.A. journalist pointing out our town's warts in a manner that only conjures up the warts of theirs - namely, that L.A. is supercilious and melodramatic - is absolutely delicious, and I recommend it with a hearty Pinot noir. As sports fans, Philadelphia can always say that, no matter how dour our legacy, at least it wasn't imported from someone else.
And besides, look how that town treats baseball teams. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim? How embarrassing. Who but L.A. gives a team a name that translates as 'The The Angels Angels of Anaheim'?
And LA isn't full of angry people?
Some suggestions for LA: Apathytown, Botoxburg, Shallowville, Bandwaggonton.
BTW LA, a baseball game is 9 innings long.
How many race riots burning down half the city, how many organized crazy street gangs, crips and bloods, hells angels and on and on? We do not have half of the street warfare that they have.
Tiny Junior Slimer lives in the past when he talks about 10,000 losses and meaningful NY baseball. Unfortunately for him, he and Fox don't get to vote on the World Series matchup, so this last east-west series of the season will have to do. Tiny Junior should not belittle cracks. Even he has one. But I'm sure he knows that. I wouldn't think that a man who goes by TJ would care too much for Philly.
Why doesn't T.J. Simers come visit Philly and hear some of that good ol' fashioned Philly brotherly love - you know, the Philly cheer.
The Phillies need to thank Mr. Simers for firing up the team even more, as if they needed the motivation in the first place.
Having grown up in Philly, have been to LA more than the usual non-resident of the City I can honestly say that you could not pay me enough to live in the City of Angels or for that matter anywhere in the entire State of California. I live in Nevada out in the Desert but if it were not for the modern day elected officials I would be back home. Miss watching the Philly Teams and the Ninth Street area. Consider the source in LA
This writer is mentally deficient.He's probably sitting in a hotel room in Market East and thinks the 5,000 sq mile Philadlephia area looks just like that. The vast majority of the fans who go to the games and boo are from the economically sound and aesthetically pleasant suburbs. They are not angry becasue they live in a dingy city they are angry because Philadlephia sports ownership pretty much blows(save Ed Snider)The Unemployment rate in metro LA as of Aug 2008 was 7.9%,metro Philly 5.6%. Per Capita income 2007. Metro Philly $45,460,metro LA $41,670. For the record overall Center City Philly absolutely blows the headlights off of downtown LA. Again this dude is probably stuck on 10th + Market or 12th + Market which the city really does need to address and perhaps national articles like this will stop surfacing.
Simmers always rips on Philly. Possibly still bitter he got kicked off Around the Horn and the fact his city can't keep an NFL team. And they had to get a Philly import to win NBA championships in Kobe.
whoa, whoa, whoa...Palin's dropping the puck at a Flyers game? Did they build a Boo-Meter and are looking to test it out?
PS- Beat LA
L.A. has nothing else BUT the Dodgers. Their games are always sold out and their fans are committed. But our fans should BE COMMITTED! We need to win a World Series for this city NOW. Don't care how, just do it NOW. This will be an interesting series. And the Phillies should come out on top. We're a better team, and we have better fans. Even if we are angry.
This hack is trying to get a rise out of everyone, plain and simple. He took his cue from announcers that get on the air and talk about how Philadelphia booed Santa Claus when they have nothing else to say; it's obvious Mr. Simers decided to give this column a Derrick Coleman-like effort and mail it in. I'm surprised he forget to mention our former mayor bombed our own citizens and we booed Michael Irvin when he got hurt; geez, we've never heard those before. I'm also glad he didn't let the facts get in the way of his arguments- the Dodger lineup that will, according to him "feast" on Blanton and Moyer came in here six weeks ago and get swept by the Phils. Blanton's line: 6 IP, 1 earned run. Moyer didn't pitch against the Dodgers in that series but Kyle Kendrick, who didn't shut anyone else down the last month of the season, did and got a win, pitching six strong innings. If you go to the game tomorrow don't bother with Mr. Simers; his column wouldn't get a passing grade in a community college journalism class and isn't worth wasting a "boo" on-save them for Manny. GO PHILS!!!
On second thought, tokar really hit the nail on the head. If Simers had written this on, say, a national website that Philadelphians were actually likely to read, then you might have been able to call his column "provocative". But he wrote it in the hometown paper. There's nothing provocative about it at all, he's just bootlicking and telling people what they want to hear. What a brave journalist, huh? Way to speak truth to power. It's like some stupid cheerleading piece that you might read in some high school newspaper. "San Dimas High School Football Rules!"
Thing is, and anyone who's ever heard of Simers understands this, is the man is a crank. He is tired and spiteful. He wishes he was Oscar Madison but lacks the charm.
When you're a fascist, I guess everything looks "leftist." Anyway, people, can't you see Simers is just trying to have fun with you and rile you up? He does that in his column every week. You're not supposed to take him seriously. The "facts" that his column is based on clearly have no relationship to reality.
My feeling on this column was: "Eh." The whole "tweak the opposing city" column is just so tired and so transparent. But T.J. Simers only ever writes for himself as an audience anyway, so it's not surprising.
Even Ramona Africa could beat up Rodney King.
When it comes to burning the ghetto, at least our street people are smart enough to leave it to the police (Rodney King versus MOVE).
Having been to L.A this clown has no room to talk. L.A is old and broke. The infrastructure is falling apart and they have no money to fix it. Hell they want a bailout too. As far as angry goes who cares. We philly fans are just passionate and crave a winner.
Love You Constance ! ! !
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I was born and raised in Philly. I've lived in L.A. for the past ten years and am a consistent reader of the LA Times out here. I resent Simers comments but am used to the negativity out here about my beloved Phillies. Phillies in six!! Gotta get me a playoff ticket at Dodgers stadium wearing a J-Ro jersey!!
bottom line: without Philly there is no L.A. and there is no United States. This guy needs to show some respect.
What's wrong with being angry?
Some see "dingy", others see "time-worn"......Some see "old", others see "classic"....Some see "angry", others see "passionate and disappointed"....Some see "grubby", others see "rough-hewn from hard labor"....Some see T.J. Simers, others see a talentless hack with mommy issues and nightly dates with a jar of vas and old "Brady Bunch" episodes.
As a Philadelphian who lives in Los Angeles I know who T.J. Simers is...and he isn't much. I think he should look in his own backyard before criticizing Philadelphia. Los Angeles is gang infested, overrun with illegals,disfigured by atrocious graffiti and has the worst and most corrupt City Council and mayor. You can travel to certain parts of the city and not find one person that can speak English...and Simers has the audacity to pass judgment on another city. By the way the Los Angles Times is on their way out....people are pulling their subscriptions by the thousands...very leftist paper but then again so is yours. Go Phillies and Go McCain and I think it is great that Sarah Palin is putting the puck down in the Flyers opener.
Wow! What a jerk. Words cannot express how much that article angered me. And where does he get the nerve to say that they have a better team? 84 compared to 92? Or say that Jamie Moyer is a crappy pitcher who went 16-7. His picture shows that he's an older gentlemen but clearly he has not gotten much brains with age. Finally-a Dodgers sweep?? You must be kidding me.
Yeah, right. Want history in LA? Dump this guy in the Tar Pit.
LA is okay, but not particularly loveable or liveable.
I've lived in NYC, in Boston, and even in California, although not in LA. And for good reason.
The only think wrong with Philadelphians is that they don't have enough confidence in themselves and the city. Which, as it happens, is a lovely, liveable city with much to recommend it.
What happens in baseball happens. But the Phillies are at least as likely to win as the Dodgers. Whom, I might add as a former New Yorker, I have never forgiven.
Isn't this a reprint of an article this joker wrote a couple of weeks ago? He just changed the word Cubs to Phillies. Cleaver little sissy.
Yawn.
How do we spell T.J. Simers... D-O-U-C-H-E-B-A-G.
Maybe I have been reading Philadelphia papers too long, but I have never seen this kind of excessive optimism for one's own team regarding an upcoming playoff game/series. If I am compelled at some point, I'd like to go and search for all articles leading up to the two Eagles playoff games from 2004 and see if the Philly columnist lineup had as much optimism regarding those two games as this dope in LA has regarding this upcoming series. While TO was knocked out earlier in the season, the Eagles were definitely better than Minnesota and Atlanta, but I doubt the columnists were saying stuff like "well after the first quarter of the Atlanta game the Eagles should be up by 2 scores, 3 by halftime, and hell by the fourth quarter the game should be a sleeper."
Hell, even when the Sixers were clearly the best team in the Eastern Conference back in 2000-2001 I don't think the Philly columnists were chalking up victories before each series started. Its important to note that the Sixers lost the first game of both the Indiana and Toronto series.
I have no desire to read the rest of the article, but I am sure Los Angeles isn't living up to it's monikor as the "City of the Angels" either!
He's right!
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