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Phillies fans care more than fans of any other team

Sep 13, 2011, 2:30 PM EDT

99 Comments

As a Braves fan, I often have the lack of enthusiasm of Braves fans thrown back in my face by Philly fans. “Why don’t they sell out their ballpark, even for playoff games?” I’m asked. “We may be overly enthusiastic,” they say, “but it’s just because we’re passionate.”

And I can’t argue those points. Really, I have no response. Braves fans do suck at selling out the park. It’s hard to match the enthusiasm of Phillies fans. It’s a point that I’ll freely admit.

But sometimes a lack of enthusiasm is … cooler.

 

Thanks to heyblueyoustink for the heads up.

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  1. presidentmiraflores - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:38 PM

    I didn’t know you could sing, biceps!

    • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:46 PM

      Not me. I swear on Harry Kalas’ grave and all that is Holy with the Phillies.

      • sabathiawouldbegoodattheeighthtoo - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:39 PM

        all that is Holy with the Phillies

        …like Ryan Howard’s swing? There are certainly some holes in that one :-)

      • presidentmiraflores - Sep 13, 2011 at 10:01 PM

        I like the part where you implore the criminals to get out of the city, ceps. Shades of Michael Nutter.

  2. yankeesgameday - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:39 PM

    Speechless.

    Okay, one thing… Phillie fan in this thing had to whisper his entire song so his mom wouldn’t come in to tell him to be quiet.

    Back to being speechless.

  3. halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:43 PM

    I stopped at 1:28 into the video because I couldn’t take it anymore. This guy sucks and is not indicative of any Phillies fan I have ever seen or known. This guy is mentally challenged.

    You picked a ridiculous video to make a funny point about us. I see the humor side of what you did.

    The truth is that 90% of Phillies fans show their enthusiasm through or dissection of every at bat/every pitch and will scrutinize it accordingly. When they go bad in a particular game, we will bash them. When they play good/great in another game, we will beat our chests and let it be known.

    That’s what a true Phillies fan is. Not this clown in this video. My guess is that this guy knows as much about baseball as the Dalai Lama.

    • heyblueyoustink - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:48 PM

      C’mon Ceps, have a sense of humor! I thought this was a riot (and i’m every bit the Phils fan you are) and really, in the realm of famously tragic fans, he’s better than Bartman.

      And I think he could kick the rally monkey’s ass.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:53 PM

        I did. Notice I said I see the humor in the post. Just thought I would add a little commentary as to what makes us different than most fan bases. Because we care so much, we scrutinize everything.

      • The Common Man - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:04 PM

        See, you just don’t understand. Phillies fans are special. They’re just better. It’s all so clear. It’s their rage, anger, and hostility toward adversity and opposing views that make them superior.

      • bdawk20 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:45 PM

        Everybody shirginifnis disidijdij shirginggingin on the floor. David Herndon bishfgfajwu fatankick trhskdkd on the floor.

      • bdawk20 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:47 PM

        Just realized that I nearly jibberish typed the n-word – wasn’t aiming for that.

    • vintage1496 - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:51 PM

      Dude it’s a joke, chill out, no need to get so defensive. Nobody honestly thinks this guy is representative of Phillies fans any more than we think the guy who puked on a girl is. Or the fans who threw batteries at JD Drew. Or the kid who got tazed. Or… wow there sure are a lot of f-ups in that town.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:58 PM

        I did. See my post above. I just wanted to throw a little reason into my comment on what, in my estimation, is what the true Phillies fan is like.

        The video was borderline insane. It’s was so ridiculous, I don’t even know what to say. If I ran into this guy in a bar while a Phillies game was on, I don’t think we would have a frame of reference to even talk about about the game. I might be talking about pitch selections and he would start singing about how great the Phillies are.

      • vintage1496 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:14 PM

        Agree 100%. As much of a ribbing as I gave above, the average Phils fan is well above-average in knowledge of the game and commitment to their team. This guy’s the anomaly in every sense of the word.

    • paperlions - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:53 PM

      “This guy sucks and is not indicative of any Phillies fan I have ever seen or known. This guy is mentally challenged. “

      I can think of at least one Philly fan that resembles that remark.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:59 PM

        There you are again, paper. A disease to any comment that I write.

      • Panda Claus - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:06 PM

        Doesn’t mean he was singling you out biceps. On the other hand, if he was, you took the bait.

      • halladayspronatorteres - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:07 PM

        Yea and with the easy ammunition that you provide even I could have said something funny!

      • paperlions - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:10 PM

        You don’t quite understand which comments I am attacking or why? Do you? …even though the pattern should be clear by know.

        As soon as you stop personally attacking people (like the guy in the video) or being hypocritical (which nearly always involves passing judgement on people, a most unchristian trait), I won’t have any comments to make. In the mean time, I’ll continue to entertain myself, and hopefully others, by pointing out the irony and hypocrisy that riddles many of the comments you make.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:15 PM

        paper,

        If you are finding daily entertainment with my comments with a negative connotation, you are pathetic. I never repond to your baseball comments anymore because you don’t know what you are talking about. I haven’t for weeks. Yet, you continue to do so to my comments, and in a disparaging way.

        Stop hanging on my coattails and find someone else to converse with. I have my people on this site that I respond to to talk baseball, and we have some good debates. I suggest you do the same.

      • paperlions - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:51 PM

        Typical Philly Phan, over-estimating your importance. The 10-20 minutes of diversion I derive from pointing out your “phoibles” (sorry, had to do it) while reading through the comments is but a drop in the bucket of my daily entertainment.

    • Clinton Manitoba - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:53 PM

      At what point can the Philly fan base stop saying a specific person is not indicative of the whole fan base?

      We hear it every time someone spits, throws batteries or even puts out a stupid video.. it never stops.
      Just embrace your kind and get over it.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:00 PM

        Once again, you are a genius. I feel dumber by every reponse in a Phillies post that you write in.

      • heyblueyoustink - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:02 PM

        Sigh, what, do you live under a bridge dermanding tolls from passing villiage folk? Was that your former employment? Mets fan maybe?

        How about something intelligent, slimeball.

    • b7p19 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:10 PM

      “Big hitter, the Lama.”

      Not sure if that would make the Lama the 7th best 1B in the league, but it seems to suggest he would know a good amount about baseball.

    • ditto65 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:07 PM

      “The truth is that 90% of Phillies fans show their enthusiasm through or dissection of every at bat/every pitch and will scrutinize it accordingly”

      Could you cite the source for these numbers?

      Because it seems to me that 90% of your posts are bold statements backed by nothing but your ability to insult and belittle other posters until they avoid your exagerated chest thumping.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:25 PM

        Read the ATH thread every morning where I post discussion of the game the night before. I talk about performance every morning and key plays of the game. I call out players that have a good night and have a bad night. I guess you miss that.

      • ditto65 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:31 PM

        And then you spend the rest of the day “correcting” everybody elses thoughts on baseball.

        But I guess you forgot that.

      • ditto65 - Sep 13, 2011 at 5:03 PM

        Six posts in ATH this morning.
        Three quality posts (discussing yesterday’s game)

        Two discussing a quote – one of which is in Spanish (I believe your normal reply to such a post would be “Speak American!”)

        One giving Craig a heads up on a link to HBT on another site.

        And then there are the responses here. Hmmmm… My 90% might be more accurate than your 90%.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 5:18 PM

        ditto65,

        I talk more baseball in (1) day than you do in an entire week. Anyone that discusses baseball on this site knows it to be the case. I cannot recall on any occasion you talking about a game you watched the night before. Not one.

        The only three genres on this site I comment on is ATH, Phillies posts, and an occasional social article about baseball, usually an entry written by Mr. Calcaterra. On rare occasions, if it is a player from another team I have an interest in, I may comment there. But, that’s about it. There’s 20 other posts per day I don’t even touch. Check.

        If I annoy you so much, why reply to my comments? Are you like the other clowns that want a rise out of me? Do you have anything else better to do than bust my stones?

      • ditto65 - Sep 13, 2011 at 5:36 PM

        How often do I reply to your comments? Just pointing out that you make unsubstantiated statements and bully people when they prove you wrong. I don’t care what you think of me, and it is obvious that many others on this site feel the same way.

    • yankeesgameday - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:13 PM

      Please. you’ve got nothing on Yankee fans when it comes to scrutinizing every pitch.

  4. cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:44 PM

    Good. Lord. I need some gin stat

    • b7p19 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:13 PM

      I respect your sudden need for alcohol, but pine tree liquor is disgusting. Sorry.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:22 PM

        It is I who am sorry. For you. A soul steeped in fine gin is a soul that has lived. A soul of weight and heft. A soul without the gin is merely 3/4 of an ounce.

      • b7p19 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:46 PM

        Wow. I still don’t like gin, but that was beautiful.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 5:03 PM

        That’s the gin talking, baby.

    • Utley's Hair - Sep 13, 2011 at 9:36 PM

      I’m more of a beer guy, but when the situation calls for it, gin is the fallback.

  5. heyblueyoustink - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    If he’s comfortable in his fandom, then I’m comfortable not reporting him to Friends Hospital.

  6. nolanwiffle - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    I think I’ll just continue to happily embrace my Oriole apathy.

  7. phrontiersman - Sep 13, 2011 at 2:47 PM

    Well, they’re all part of the fanbase. These teams of ours do seem to embrace the loonies. But I guess as long as they’re doing this and not taking it out violently on other fans, I’ll take a ridiculous thing like this any day.

  8. clydeserra - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:00 PM

    Dish network, MLB GEAR, and ticket City thank you for this post Craig.

  9. The Common Man - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    This is the kind of thing that could absolutely kill a season. If the Phils collapse in NLDS, Phans, you know who to track down and sacrifice to the ghost of Von Hayes.

  10. stoutfiles - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:01 PM

    You’re basing this on what? That they are the most active group on this website? That’s silly.

    In my opinion, the best fans are the ones that always sellout their stadium. So, as of now the Red Sox have the best fans. The best fans in baseball in general are the Dayton Dragons, who have sold out every game they’ve ever played.

    The best true fans, an immeasurable stat, are the ones at the game for continuously losing teams. If there are any Pirate fans who never miss a game for instance, they would be the best true fans.

    The Phillies are the best team in baseball right now. Saying they now have the best fans is silly. Let’s reevaluate that when they start sucking.

    • phillydano - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:20 PM

      thats easy, when our teams suck (which is more often than not), we go to the game and booo. win or lose, fans in philly know all about all their teams, and they will let the teams know what they think whether positive or negative. some players like that attitude better than others. the others leave town. as kruk said, the players that complain about the negative fans in philly are the players who never had the guts to succeed there.

    • Clinton Manitoba - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:23 PM

      I think it is just as silly to base it on attendance.
      DC, Florida, and Georgia are in the top ten in unemployment.
      Last I checked, they were not letting people into the games for free.
      Can the poor not be a die hard fan of a specific team?

      • phillydano - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:43 PM

        are you saying philly is a white collar town??

      • heyblueyoustink - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:46 PM

        The fans that go to the games, especially for teams that simply just continue to lose, shows a certain amount of dedication and loyalty. And every fan base has those, so I don’t neccesarily include that as a huge factor in “best fans”.

        But honestly, the poor have more things to worry about, like lack of dedication in life in many instances, than their role in the sports fan base universe.

  11. philly56 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:09 PM

    Well, as ridiculous as that video undoubtedly is – does he do the tomahawk chop and ridiculous chanting I’ve seen your cool braves fans do hundreds of times?

    Exactly.

  12. rgfyvp - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:11 PM

    I wonder how long it took this loser to put this display together. Not indicative of Phillies fans. We just get excited easily, not write songs of our weird love for dudes that play ball. Does this guy have the “X” Factor Simon?

  13. marshallnbrown - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:19 PM

    Wait until the Phils have a couple of losing seasons back to back to… — which will happen eventually — and then lets see who has the most devoted fans.

    • halladayspronatorteres - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:26 PM

      Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to follow halladaysbiceps on profootballtalk. Just search for DawkinsDongSniffer

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:35 PM

        Look you fraud, why don’t you get lost? You don’t add anything, you aren’t funny, and you think you have some right to rile up a guy who roots for a team which is arguably the best in baseball. He may be obnoxious with all this “we are the best stuff” but he isn’t trolling around screwing with people. What the hell’s the matter with you?

      • halladayspronatorteres - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:37 PM

        As much right as he has to voice his opinions…..it’s not the we are the best stuff it’s the obnoxious insults. So I give them back to him. Tis a shame that one can dish out insults but not take them.

      • drmonkeyarmy - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:41 PM

        What are you, some type of message board defender? Cur, as usual, is correct. You never add anything baseball wise….it is always insulting the same poster. Here is the thing, you crack on him for obnoxious comments, but at least he posts stuff baseball related. All you do is post obnoxious comments. If PL or TCM want to get into with HB then whatever….they are not trolling. You, on the other hand, are the very definition of a troll. Add something baseball wise occasionally or stop with the bullshit.

      • spindervish - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:42 PM

        Don’t worry. It’s just the lovely Johnny-come-lately HBT arbiter taking up his judge, jury and executioner act again. You see, it takes a Canadian nursing degree to determine who can and cannot comment in any given bit of virtual space.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:43 PM

        Tis a shame you’ve taken it upon yourself to elicit insults from him. If you poke the wild animal and it bites you, is the fault of the animal?

        By now everyone on this board knows what ‘ceps is like. All you’re doing is fanning the flames. If you’re doing this under the impression you’re “teaching him a lesson” all you’re really doing is serving your own sense of torturing others, because he isn’t going to learn anything other than you are enormous asshole who enjoys bullying others till they fly into a rage. Before you start teaching others anything, you might take a good long look at what all this says about you.

      • drmonkeyarmy - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:44 PM

        Once again Spindiverish or whatever misses the point.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:47 PM

        Hey spinny, long time no post. You just jump in for lil ole’ me? Flattered like anything. Nice to hear from you. I see you’ve been working on the grammar and elocution. Good. I like to see improvement in people. Don’t be a stranger now.

      • bdawk20 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:49 PM

        As a fan of Brian Dawkins, I can tell you that Dawkins Dong is so big, that everyone can smell it.

      • drmonkeyarmy - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:53 PM

        This message board is going down hill.

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:59 PM

        Good Doctor,

        People outside of Philly will never understand the mentality of the real Phillies fan. Never.

      • mckludge - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:08 PM

        And that, HB, is a very good thing, but probably not for the reason you think.

      • phillyphreak - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:16 PM

        I’m a real Phillies fan I even I don’t understand the mentality of some of the fans out there. See WIP/97.5/Philly.com/dirty 30

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:16 PM

        mckludge,

        Care to elaborate on your vague comment? What do you mean, or are you the Riddler?

      • halladaysbiceps - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:21 PM

        phillyphreak,

        Don’t even bring in those buttwipes that call into sports stations here in Philly. Most of them couldn’t put a sentence together if their life depended on it.

        I’ll let you in to a little secret about calling in to sportstalk radio, which I do from time to time. If you make a valid sports point and it doesn’t go along with their agenda, they make the call short and hang up on you. If you are dumb as shit, they will allow you to talk for 3+ mins to argue with you and carry on the non-debate further.

  14. opshuns - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:33 PM

    And what kind of meter did you use to arrive at that decision? This is just about the most ignorant story this guy has written. EVERYONE loves their team. Take a look at the parade in SF last year? Tell me they don’t care as much as any phillie fan…

    • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:37 PM

      I thought it was about the funniest thing he’s written. Clearly it was meant in jest. Anyone with a modicum of reading skill could see that…ah, I believe I see the problem….

    • heyblueyoustink - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:03 PM

      The folks in SF do care as much, they just wear less clothing is all.

  15. trevorb06 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    And some people wonder why they decided to make the capital Washington instead of Philly.

    • kopy - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:46 PM

      If I remember correctly, Philadelphians were protesting and/or rioting at what was serving as the capitol building in Philly because they were upset with their federal government over something. The government asked Pennsylvania’s national guard/army/police/whatever to defend them from the people, but the troops refused because they were of the same opinion as the people. This act illustrated the obvious conflict in having the national capital within a state’s jurisdiction, and soon after a federal district was created in a marsh.

      …the more you know

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:49 PM

        I didn’t know that. I thought they stuck it there because the land was free. And who said baseball never taught anyone anything of value?

      • kopy - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:58 PM

        I’m a sucker for history. Wikipedia should be taken with a grain of salt, and fact-checked before repeating, but it sure is great at summarizing things: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Mutiny_of_1783

      • trevorb06 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:00 PM

        Damn so much for trying to be sarcastic. I’d ask you a ‘Why did the skeleton walk across the street?’ joke but I’m sure you’d pick it apart and tell me that since the skeleton has no muscles, brain and/or life it cannot cross the street therefore you will have none of such jokes.

        Lighten up. Must be a Philly thing.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:10 PM

        Well Trev, in the interests of keeping the ‘can’t see the joke’ story going, I would like to say that every time a vertebrate crosses a street, for whatever reason, a skeleton will likely be crossing the road. The extended story is that of course there are about 58,000 species involved here so there are at least as many reasons for crossing that road, but assuredly, skeletons cross roads all the time. Joke’s on all of us (or ‘in’ us) I’m afraid.

    • bdawk20 - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:50 PM

      I’m sure it has everything to do with sports and message board arguments.

  16. paulsdamnblog - Sep 13, 2011 at 3:50 PM

    I have a new religon now. Thanks Craig.

  17. Jonny 5 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:03 PM

    Ohhh yeah, that’s just one a-wipe.

    Now here are literally thousands of a-wipes. :)

    • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:16 PM

      It’s too much beer and pie. That’s why they act like that, you can bank on it.

      • Jonny 5 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:21 PM

        Cake and Gin did it. I have sources who have confirmed this.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:25 PM

        Uh Huh. I’ve heard tell of some of these here “sources” from other Philly Phans right here on this here board. Seems to involve a lot of beer and pie.

        Can you even get gin at a ballpark?

      • Jonny 5 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:32 PM

        My sources say in Atlanta sooo many fans smuggle Gin in, that they’ve decided to start serving hard alcohol there. They shall begin with tequilla. Because it doesn’t taste like Christmas trees like Gin does, it tastes more like fermented lawn clippings, which ownership feels Braves fans better deserve. And they make a good point I must say.

      • heyblueyoustink - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:48 PM

        I believe gin is affirmative, I know scotch is.

  18. Francisco (FC) - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:04 PM

    Craig strikes again! OMG That was awful! :D

  19. yankeesgameday - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:20 PM

    The greatest part of this thread is the sheer unmitigated insecurity of all the Phillie fans around here. Are you that terrified people will watch this kid and think every one of you whisper sings lullabies to Ryan Howard bobble head dolls every night in your pink Phillie pajamas…? With footsies of course.

    Get a grip and have a laugh guys. Baseball isn’t that serious we can’t seperate the sad kids from the adults and the teams with 27 World Championships from everyone else. ;-)

    • Jonny 5 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:23 PM

      Look who’s talking…. I bet you think Jeter really IS a GG shortstop. You do, admit it!

    • b7p19 - Sep 13, 2011 at 4:58 PM

      Well, everyone knows that any pajamas worth wearing are footies. Can’t fault anyone there.

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 5:06 PM

        But they gotta have the drop seat. No drop seat is sheer madness.

  20. crankyfrankie - Sep 13, 2011 at 5:54 PM

    Atlanta is a good college football town and a bad pro sports town. Philadelphia is a bad college football town and a good pro sports town. Trying to sell attendance , or lack of same, on how many poor people there are in a city is just a bad analogy. Florida is a baseball state in the spring and a football state the rest of the time. I’m a happy Phillies fan who can not sing but chooses not to share it with the world via You tube. Have a great Tuesday one and all.

  21. jmcnick - Sep 13, 2011 at 6:12 PM

    17,216 … numbers don’t lie. Phils drew 22,231 in Houston(not a baseball town) of which 25% were wearing red. Do you and Buster Olney room together?

  22. Utley's Hair - Sep 13, 2011 at 10:13 PM

    All I can say about this is not even verbal. —Sigh—

    But at least he’s um…passionate, for want of a better descriptor, of course. Now I need some cake…and some Irish Cream.

    • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 10:39 PM

      Hair! Glad you could join the fun at last. What a performance, eh? Hey, if you have Jonny5′s email ask him for mine (if he doesn’t have it he can get it off of The Rabbit). Things are going on that you might be interested in.

      • Utley's Hair - Sep 13, 2011 at 10:50 PM

        Hey, Seisenta y ocho. I don’t have anybody’s email but Craig’s. Does he have yours? Is it HBT related or otherwise?

      • cur68 - Sep 13, 2011 at 11:05 PM

        Craig’s got mine. Ask him for it, and I’ll send along a request that he let forward it. I’ll hook you up with the rest. Definitely HBT related.

      • Utley's Hair - Sep 13, 2011 at 11:13 PM

        I emailed him. Probably won’t be until tomorrow, though.

  23. Utley's Hair - Sep 13, 2011 at 11:08 PM

    Holy crap…the Phightins manhandled by none other than Brett freakin’ Myers and J.A. freakin’ Happ…? Last night, they should’ve been tagged with multiple errors, and tonight, they are. First three-game losing streak since early June, and first multi-error game since mid May.

    Just getting it out of the way before the playoffs?

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