Jan 18, 2009
In Defense of Philadelphia Sports Fans
I know a guy from around these parts of Vermont, a New York Giants fan, who travelled down to Philadelphia for a football game between Philadelphia’s Eagles and the Giants. He was amazed at the way fans cheered the Eagles as they fan onto the field, complete with fire works, but soon thereafter booed their team when unable to gain a first down.
His consternation is shared by many in the sporting world. Philadelphia fans have this seemingly high standard for their teams that is rarely met. If left unsatisfied, they resort to booing their home team. The reaction of many is something like, “How could you boo your home town team?”
How could we? Let a life-long Philadelphia sports fan tell you, and perhaps I’ll even convince you to boo your own team in the process.
Remember, we’re talking about professional athletes here. If Philly fans booed their little league teams or even their high school and college teams the way they booed the pros, then we’d have a real problem. But keep in mind most Philly fans have no use for sentimental “home team” fluff. Sure we have a certain element of loyalty. During championship droughts and losing seasons every team in Philly has sustained a solid fan base.
However, Philly fans realize that professional sports is just another entertainment industry. If the product is bad, you don’t settle for it. So if you don’t like a restaurant, you never return. If you don’t like a movie, you walk out. If you don’t like a team’s play, you boo them.
We’re talking about millions of dollars changing hands here. And while professional athletes no doubt work hard and make tremendous sacrifices, fans are getting fleeced in paying for tickets, parking, and concessions. Going to a pro game is a major financial outlay, and as such, if the team gives a dispirited performance, the fans who paid exorbitant prices should be annoyed.
Owners and players are awash in huge pay checks while the fans are hit with high prices, endless advertising, and pleas for the use of public funds for stadiums that will produce private profits. While some players are loyal to particular teams and cities, we have to face the fact that much of professional sports is about money. Owners and the leagues fight over TV and online revenue, while players and owners joust for the edge in contract negotiations. Seasons have been cancelled over contract disputes in both baseball and hockey.
So we need to call a spade a spade here. Owners, league officials, and players want us to believe this is about loyalty and pride in a hometown team. They want us to focus on the one hand holding out the promise of entertainment and mutual accomplishment, while the other hand is firmly planted on our wallets.
Sports is a fun diversion that I have no problem enjoying. I try to keep it to minimum because it’s simply a matter of entertainment, not a source of meaning or fulfillment. And therefore, if my hometown team hits the field today and can’t manage to gain a first down, I have no reservations about booing them. I think pay day will help soften that blow.
And if you don’t buy this, choosing to believe in the sentimental home team fluff instead, I have one word for you, “Boooo!!!” 
While I don’t want to get the cart ahead of the horse, I have a proposition.
If there is in fact a Pittsburgh/Philly Super Bowl, how about a blog off? A whole week of defending our sports pride. I don’t have the sense of loathing for the Eagles the way I do for the Fliers, but I’m sure I could whip something up…
And by the way, I couldn’t agree more. If your team bites, boo. It’s just that simple.
Godspeed,
J
I’m an Australian, so this comes with a limited knowledge of the American professional sports scene, but I follow an Australian Rules football team (Richmond Tigers) who have a bit of a reputation for turning on their own.
So I take your point about these being professionals, and this being an expensive form of entertainment. But here’s the thing: to the kid sitting at home watching the TV with his Eagles jersey on, seeing supporters of his team booing every time there’s a perceived lapse in performance – there’s a very different message. So we end up with kids who think it’s OK to boo your own team, and it comes into the little leagues and the high school games.
As I say – I’ve got no idea about the Eagles (the only thing I knew about them before today is that their kicker, Saverio Rocca, is a former Australian football star) but I can’t agree. And I’m also a little disturbed that of all the things you’ve written on here in the past while, this is the one that fires me up enough to post a comment
I did a bit of booing in the first half of the game tonight. At least they showed up for the second half even if they couldn’t dig themselves out of their hole.
Hah! Glad I got you riled up Geoff. I see you point about kids, though in my own experience the parents at the games are the problems, not kids. I don’t remember any booing going on with my own sports teams growing up, and never saw anyone boo a high school or college team. However, I have seen parents make complete fools of themselves.
So I don’t want to discredit your experiences, but I just haven’t seen that play out. You do bring up the point that kids are watching and we need to be aware of what they see. That’s a good call for discretion. Of course, we could also make the point that athletes sometimes make troubling role models without even getting into the fans…
It is my belief that Philly fans participate in a kind of sporting version of “speaking the truth in love”. We love them by showing up every week and suffering along side of them, we speak the truth by booing them when they suck.
Do not be fooled though, oh ye of sports cities that have fallen for a less wild lover, we love passionately and in public, we fight and we and reconcile in public. Its all out there on the table, we are not passive-aggressive and manipulative like some other cities. And lets not be coy, the make-up sex, so to speak, is mind blowing (i.e. 2008 World Series Champions Phillies).
So other cities, lets a call a spade a spade, and let’s call it jealousy. Envy born out of a lackluster relationship with your own sports teams; we get it, the flame has died and your looking for a way to fan (pun intended) the flame. My advice, love your team enough to boo the hell out of them when they suck.
Adam, where were you two days ago? Right on. It’s all on the table in Philly. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I was offline for like 3 days in a row, it was crazy.