Post Writes Phillies a Mash Note

‘Washington Post’
courtesy of ‘DC Public Library Commons’

Look, it’s an open secret that Post wants to be a national newspaper only. Their downsizing of the Metro section, elimination of the Business section, and move to online-only for any good coverage of the locality. But really, I thought Sports was one area where the concept of local reigned supreme. Today’s Dave Sheinin piece on the front page of the Sports section is the paean usually reserved for local teams of note, but instead…we get a mash note to the Phillies?

I know things don’t look great for the Nationals, but I would’ve much rather read a hard-hitting analysis of the faults of the bullpen, or even the nighttime proclivities of Ron Villone’s mustache, than a love note to the team who has the worst fans in Baseball. Couldn’t you write about the Orioles, even?

Tom Bridge

I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.

11 thoughts on “Post Writes Phillies a Mash Note”

Maybe because the Phillies are THE model franchise in the NL East? Or that they’re going for an historic third straight NL pennant? Or Sheinin is just jealous of the Phils’ recent (and long-term) success?

To play the Devil’s Advocate … it is a thought provoking story of the modern Major League Baseball era. Not my favorite … but a thought provoking story nonetheless.

Worst Fans in Baseball? Tn opening day, the Phillies fans will outnumber and outcheer the Nats fans. We may be marred a bit by a few holligans who cause trouble, but overall Phillies fans are respectful, decent fans who support their team though good and bad. Show me 3 Nats fans in one place, and then call us the worst fans.

The Phils may sell out every single regular season game before the season starts. And by “sell out,” that includes overflow SRO tickets, so official attendance numbers actually exceed seating capacity. Worst fans in baseball? I think not.

Attendance alone doesn’t make you a good fan.

I have seen three people thrown out of Nats Park. All of them were Philly fans. No other city with large travelling fanbases, New York and Boston included, have behaved as badly as the Jersey Shore rejects in Philly caps.

3 rowdy fans do not define a fan-base. Given the large number of fans at games, there will be always be problems. And…attendance is an indicator of fan support. The Nats averaged just over 50% of seats sold last year. And I think we all know that if you took out the Sox, Phillies, Cubs and Mets fans, that number would be a lot lower. In a city with a great new stadium that is on public transportation, that is pathetic.

It’s hard to build a fanbase when all you have are losing seasons.

Hard to build a fanbase when the fans can’t stop looking up from their blackberries to follow the games.

That has hardly been my experience with Nats fans. Ticket prices are a bit high for a team that loses more than they win, and concessions are murder on families. Add in a lack of marketing to the District itself, and focusing a lot on the burbs where cars are king, and you’ve got a recipe for issues with attendance.

BTW – harkening back to earlier comments, if the only fans I’ve seen tossed out, in some 60 or 70 games seen at Nats Park have been Philly fans? You have to admit I have a point.

Worst fans?! I think you mean Yankees fans are the worst fans.

At least we HAVE fans, unlike the Nats. Go to a Nats game and it’s literally all of the opposition team’s fans!

The interesting thing about the Phillies is they only “became self aware” about 8 years ago. They play in the largest 1-team market in MLB, but acted as though they were a small market team.

As for Phillies fans, they are starting to get annoying, almost to yinzer levels. Stan Kasten’s marketing to them last year (probably this year too) has not helped matters.

In 2005, I bought four tickets to the first Nats game ever, in Philly, four days before Opening Day. That was the second year of Citizens Bank Park too. Just sayin’…

Phil on March 30, 2010 at 2:43 pm said:

Maybe because the Phillies are THE model franchise in the NL East? Or that they’re going for an historic third straight NL pennant? Or Sheinin is just jealous of the Phils’ recent (and long-term) success?
Rachel Levitin on March 30, 2010 at 3:13 pm said:

To play the Devil’s Advocate … it is a thought provoking story of the modern Major League Baseball era. Not my favorite … but a thought provoking story nonetheless.
Michael on March 30, 2010 at 3:50 pm said:

Worst Fans in Baseball? Tn opening day, the Phillies fans will outnumber and outcheer the Nats fans. We may be marred a bit by a few holligans who cause trouble, but overall Phillies fans are respectful, decent fans who support their team though good and bad. Show me 3 Nats fans in one place, and then call us the worst fans.
Phil on March 30, 2010 at 4:02 pm said:

The Phils may sell out every single regular season game before the season starts. And by “sell out,” that includes overflow SRO tickets, so official attendance numbers actually exceed seating capacity. Worst fans in baseball? I think not.
Tom Bridge on March 30, 2010 at 4:28 pm said:

Attendance alone doesn’t make you a good fan.

I have seen three people thrown out of Nats Park. All of them were Philly fans. No other city with large travelling fanbases, New York and Boston included, have behaved as badly as the Jersey Shore rejects in Philly caps.
Michael on March 30, 2010 at 5:38 pm said:

3 rowdy fans do not define a fan-base. Given the large number of fans at games, there will be always be problems. And…attendance is an indicator of fan support. The Nats averaged just over 50% of seats sold last year. And I think we all know that if you took out the Sox, Phillies, Cubs and Mets fans, that number would be a lot lower. In a city with a great new stadium that is on public transportation, that is pathetic.
Tom Bridge on March 30, 2010 at 5:39 pm said:

It’s hard to build a fanbase when all you have are losing seasons.
Michael on March 30, 2010 at 5:42 pm said:

Hard to build a fanbase when the fans can’t stop looking up from their blackberries to follow the games.
Tom Bridge on March 30, 2010 at 5:46 pm said:

That has hardly been my experience with Nats fans. Ticket prices are a bit high for a team that loses more than they win, and concessions are murder on families. Add in a lack of marketing to the District itself, and focusing a lot on the burbs where cars are king, and you’ve got a recipe for issues with attendance.

BTW – harkening back to earlier comments, if the only fans I’ve seen tossed out, in some 60 or 70 games seen at Nats Park have been Philly fans? You have to admit I have a point.
Philadelphian living in DC on March 31, 2010 at 12:02 am said:

Worst fans?! I think you mean Yankees fans are the worst fans.

At least we HAVE fans, unlike the Nats. Go to a Nats game and it’s literally all of the opposition team’s fans!
WFY on March 31, 2010 at 6:03 am said:

The interesting thing about the Phillies is they only “became self aware” about 8 years ago. They play in the largest 1-team market in MLB, but acted as though they were a small market team.

As for Phillies fans, they are starting to get annoying, almost to yinzer levels. Stan Kasten’s marketing to them last year (probably this year too) has not helped matters.

In 2005, I bought four tickets to the first Nats game ever, in Philly, four days before Opening Day. That was the second year of Citizens Bank Park too. Just sayin’…