Merely picking the Dodgers to win this series brought all manner of Philly fan out of the woodwork to yell at me for disrespecting the champs. The Los Angeles Times’ T.J. Simers, takes things to an entirely new level:
As you know, Fox will be broadcasting the World Series and it likes to put the camera on the face of every single fan sitting in the stands, these fans as ugly as any in the country.
Nowhere in America are people more angry than those living here. During Game 3 they had their humorless furry mascot put on boxing gloves and take on someone who was supposed to be an L.A. fan, sunglasses, cellphone and all. The furry mascot punched him out, much to the delight of the folks here who love a dash of violence with their sports entertainment.
But this is considered entertainment here, the only bright spot if they draw the Yankees now, getting a look in the mirror at fans who might remind them of themselves.
Last week I questioned whether the Philly police were using their time and resources wisely when they drove Cole Hamels to the hospital for the birth of his son. Today, it seems, that they’ll be paying overtime to protect the life and limb of a Los Angeles sportswriter.
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- ernest becerril - Oct 20, 2009 at 9:54 AM
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to it may concern i am from california but live in philly night
life in LA is great but deadly over in this area its ok but
the people are more human and friendly than LA
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- MG - Oct 20, 2009 at 9:56 AM
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Wow. I followed the link to provide “feedback”, but I ended up just reading the entire column. He’s just as angry if not angrier than the fan base he’s trying to insult. He eviscerates the Dodgers in that piece. Harsh.
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- Steve Kusheloff - Oct 20, 2009 at 9:57 AM
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Re: “…their humorless furry mascot…” That’s the Philly Phanatic, T.J. He’s generally considered the best mascot in sports.
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- desertdog - Oct 20, 2009 at 9:59 AM
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Los Angeles sportswriter? Sounds like an oxymoron. Stick with games and leave the insults out it.
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- JJ - Oct 20, 2009 at 10:18 AM
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I read the whole article, and noticed that these three paragraphs have nothing to do with the rest of the piece. It’s like he randomly put this in the middle of his column because he hasn’t written his annual Philly-hate column yet.
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- ken, holland pa - Oct 20, 2009 at 10:25 AM
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shocker, a sportswriter using the tired old theme about philly fans. what, could not come up with an original idea? like the dodgers he covers, late to arrive and early to leave. the fact that someone actually pays this dope is a surprise. you could just pull the other 100 articles from the last 40 years and (“insert new situation here”).
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- PhillyPhan - Oct 20, 2009 at 10:38 AM
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The Fans in Philly are different from LA, but that is because we embrace our sports teams and the players.
Is it such a bad thing to be a fan and cheer your team on? Is the mascot so bad that he has surpassed the antics of the rude and nasty San Diego Chicken?
You sound bitter and possibly depressed that the LAD fan base is not as supporting to their team? The streets of Philly and the establishments be it retail or restaurants all have people behind and in front of the counters and tables wearing Phillies Red. The entire metropolitan area is a pep rally during the day for this team and shows its support.
I personally do not see it as disrespect, but smack talk about the series itself. It’s all fun and that is what the sport here in Philly is about when you are in a championship series. Having fun and wanting to win and express your team and city support.
We love baseball in Philly and always have. The look in the stands itself during the game shows the energy level amongst our fans and it is just a shame that LA does not show the same enthusiasm, but perhaps that is due to so many in the LA Metro area being transplants from other areas of the nation. I am sure the “Shack” in Santa Monica (Philly Bar) was rockin’ last night!!
I would not call us angry, but rather extremely passionate about our home town sports teams of which Philadelphia and New York have this common bond.
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- Debra Baker - Oct 20, 2009 at 10:40 AM
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Pissing because the police take Cole Hamels to the hospital for his son’s birth?
Whining about the Phanatic’s antics?
Is that the best you can do?
Go back to school, learn how to write articles, grow a backbone and please stop whining like a high school junior that just broke her nail.
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- FriendlyPhillyFan - Oct 20, 2009 at 10:45 AM
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Was it me, or weren’t the Dodger’s fans chanting “Phillies Suck” for what seemed like the majority of the two games in LA. Now who’s classless?
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- -Z- - Oct 20, 2009 at 11:00 AM
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Bingo!
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- alejandro gonzalez - Oct 20, 2009 at 11:03 AM
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philly fans have no winning teams and havent won anything for the last 20 plus years (except last yr) so they have the absolut right to yell and scream and let out thier frustrations of having to watch the flyers, eagles and 76ers so as a LA. RESIDENT AND FAN OF THE LAKERS WHO KEEP LA. FANS HAPPY GO CRAZY PHILLY ENJOY IT DONT LAST FOREVER AS ONLY YOU KNOW SO WELL
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- Church of the Perpetually Outraged - Oct 20, 2009 at 11:55 AM
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Pissing because the police take Cole Hamels to the hospital for his son’s birth?
Whining about the Phanatic’s antics?
Is that the best you can do?
Go back to school, learn how to write articles, grow a backbone and please stop whining like a high school junior that just broke her nail.Do you even know how to read? Here let me help you. I’ll break it down as if you are a 4 year old because that’s apparently the level of comprehension you have.
Craig, he’s the author of this post, wrote:Last week I questioned whether the Philly police were using their time and resources wisely when they drove Cole Hamels to the hospital for the birth of his son.
TJ Simers, who Craig quoted, wrote the middle section. The one with the slanted lines aka italics.
These are two different people. You couldn’t figure that out, and think they are the same person.
Maybe you were too concerned with broken nails in high school…
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- Jim D. - Oct 20, 2009 at 12:15 PM
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Kudos, Debra.
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- Joey B - Oct 20, 2009 at 12:28 PM
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I’m neither a Philly fan nor an LA fan, but that writer has snapped and needs some quiet time in a well-insulated room, if you know what I mean. That’s not normal anger for a writer. Either he’s a die-hard LAD fan, and doesn’t know how to separate his vocation from advocation, or something else is going on here. How many articles from professional writers use the same phrase like ‘choking dogs’, over and over and over? It’s a known fact that 87.5% of BB PO teams will not win the WS, so there is no reason to go nuts.
And it’s not like they choked in the first series as a huge favorite. The same group of guys swept a tough StL team, and now face the defending WS champs. There is more to this than fan disappointment.
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- Scott R - Oct 20, 2009 at 12:32 PM
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This clown has been writing the same garbage since the Lakers met the Sixers in the finals several years back. He is a frustrated journalist forced to cover the same folks he once aspired to be. He has a chip on his shoulder the size of a Buick and unlike the 76ers the Phillies are repeatedly knocking that chip off those puny, unathletic, laptop carryin’, shoulders. Hey TJ its a good thing you live in LA, you wouldn’t survive 15 minutes in a town famous for chopping up and spitting out talentless hacks Charles Shakleford, Don Carmen, Freddie Mitchell and TJ Simers.
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- TomSD - Oct 20, 2009 at 12:33 PM
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Leave the San Diego Chicken out of this, he has nothing to do with LA! Also, if you consider the Chicken rude and nasty, how would you describe the average Philly fan?
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- Jim G - Oct 20, 2009 at 1:00 PM
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LA chants “Phillies Suck” (which they don’t) and Phils fans chant “You did steriods” to Manny (which is true) and “Beat LA” (which they are). What’s the problem here? At the very least, Philly can claim smarter fans. GO PHILS!
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- E - Oct 20, 2009 at 1:16 PM
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excellent response…..sounds like that guy is bitter…on another note, too many empty seats in LA…..you’d never see that in Philly.
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- PhillyPhan - Oct 20, 2009 at 1:27 PM
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I rate the average Philly & NY fans as passionate and supportive of their team, unlike the majority of LA Dodger fans in the LA area. Please note that the TV ratings for game 3 of the PHI v. LAD game had been lower than the Sunday Night Football ratings & you have no NFL team?!?! Nice support being shown, but I guess that is your typical average LA sports fan? Come on out to Philly or NY and see how a city and their fans support the teams. Quite a bit of team support when it comes to these two cities and a championship series, but perhaps we need to make sure a large percentage of our crowds show up after the 3 inning and leave in the 8th to be what I am guessing you would consider your typical average LA fan?
BTW…I remember seeing the San Diego Chicken in LA after he left the Padres and became a wondering Free Agent mascot. If I am correct he was at the LAD v. PHI games back in the 70′s during the Lasorda – Ozark days.
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- Bub - Oct 20, 2009 at 1:44 PM
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Simers, may you choke on a Dodger Dog at the next LA home game.
Next year, of course.
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- jonny5 - Oct 20, 2009 at 1:55 PM
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Ahhh, when your team fails, it’s always easier to just pick on the fans. LOL!!! LAME!!! Anyway, go to the Phillies clubhouse and ask them what they’d change about their fans and see what they say…. There are very few teams that have fans as passionate and educated in the game of baseball as Philly fans are.
“Today, it seems, that they’ll be paying overtime to protect the life and limb of a Los Angeles sportswriter.” LOL Craig, go to a phillies game and see for yourself. If you were talking about an Eagles game, I’d have to agree.But every time I show up at Citizens bank park, everyone is more than amicable. I’ve sat with a cubs fan in all their gear during the Cubs Phills series and no one killed anyone. Gasp!!! Not even a harsh word. Double Gasp !! Actually, the only rude people I ever met were selling me food for an outrageous price at concession stands.
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- Michael N. - Oct 20, 2009 at 2:02 PM
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Pathetic if you ask me how many sports writer would actually attack a fan base how about actually doing your job and covering the games what a douchebag!
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- jonny5 - Oct 20, 2009 at 3:01 PM
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Who’s picture is that up there? Is Craig trying to identify the perpetrator of the story?? Are you trying to get a jump on this guys job after he’s devoured by the rabid Philly fans Craig? LOL!!! I think you’re a smart guy. Go for it!! He sucks way worse than you do!!! LOL, just joking. Don’t worry, I’ll go away at the end of the season…….
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- Sim - Oct 20, 2009 at 3:03 PM
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T. J. Simers is a hilarious writer who knows exactly how to get peoples’ goat. I don’t know what’s more entertaining: reading him or reading the indignant reactions to his columns. I wish more sportswriters produced copy like this, rather than just playing it down the middle.
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- Crash - Oct 20, 2009 at 3:13 PM
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I coached little league for many years. One of my first rules was, “Cheer for your own team, not against the other team.” It seems when Philadelphia plays LA in baseball, some LA writer can’t stand it if they don’t criticize Philadelphia. Jim Murray did it in ’77 and ’78. And Simers, whoever he is, feels compelled to do it now. When the other team would taunt the ones I coached, I told them, “Just point to the scoreboard.” Randy Wolf, Jim Thome and Joe Torre are class acts. I’m sure the Dodgers have many more. But in Philadelphia we don’t celebrate cheaters with “Mannywood” signs. Mr. Simers, look at the scoreboard.
