Phillies Fans Voted Most Obnoxious

Earlier this week, I talked about the super-scientific and 100-percent accurate survey that Sports Illustrated released, so we might as well talk about the survey that will appear in next month's issue of Men's Journal.

It's the kind of hard-hitting stuff that you would expect to see in a survey of 100 Major Leaguers (who is the most hated player, which player is the nicest, and so on).

But my favorite bit, of course, is the part where one player (who is not named) calls out Philly fans for being the most obnoxious in baseball. Via Craig Calcaterra over at Hardball Talk:

Philadelphia was crowned the city with the most obnoxious fans. “They boo their own players,” one opponent tells the magazine.

OK, a few things. First, booing your own players has been happening since the dawn of time. It's not news, at all. The only reason that people seem to talk about it when Philly fans do it is because it's this perpetuating stereotype that just won't die. Don't believe me? Spend a few games in any other stadium when the home team is struggling. You won't get three sips into your first beer before you hear boos from the hometown crowd.

Secondly -- actually, there is no “secondly.” Just firstly, because what else is there to say? Phillies fans are tough, yes. That's what 25 years of losing followed by an unprecedented winning streak will do. After only knowing failure, victory becomes so foreign a concept that you don't know what to do with yourself. That's not an excuse, it's just an observation.

But, like always, this does not surprise me, because every time a list comes out or a survey is taken, it always ends with the Phillies getting the short end of the stick. And why not? There will inevitably be an outcry from the fans, followed by blog posts like this, which mean more eyes and advertising dollars for whichever publication released it. It's downright diabolical!

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go boo Cole Hamels and throw batteries at the guy who is throwing out the first pitch. 

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