Is nothing sacred? I thought you could rely on Philadelphia to be a hotbed of hostility and a place where sportsmanship went to die. I thought Philadelphia was vile, where nothing is off the table. With regard to the Phillies, is this not the same fanbase that pushed Alec Bohm to the brink?
I know Bohm walked it back, started playing better and then the fans came around to appreciate him. But that specific order of events makes sense. Tough, borderline toxic love morphing into admiration. I always felt like the “City of Brotherly Love” tagline was a euphuism for exactly that.
It’s not that I like Philly. I admittedly do not. Over time though, you learn to respect the chaos and the way they sort of own their abrasiveness. At least you know what you’re getting. “No one likes us; we don’t care.”
You knew what you were getting, until now I guess. I’m bewildered at the events that transpired this past weekend at Citizens Bank Park involving Trea Turner.
A bit of backstory: Trea Turner was signed to an 11 year/$300 million contract just this past offseason. He was one of the most sought after free agents at the time. Prior to signing on the dotted line with the Phillies, Turner posted a .294 AVG across 9 seasons, led the MLB in hits in both 2020 and 2021, as well as stolen bases in 2018 and 2021. He also has a World Series ring to show for himself with the Washington Nationals in 2019.
He continued his stellar play in the World Baseball Classic for Team USA this past March, but then everything fell apart. He’s been brutal so far in a Phillies uniform. Absolutely abysmal and nobody saw it coming. More stats might bore you so I’ll leave them out, but he’s unequivocally been broken at the plate and also in the field.
So what do Phillies fans in 2023 do when presented with a player that isn’t remotely living up to his gigantic contract? They sing his praises!
What in the world? I had to do some digging and discovered rumblings on social media that this act of appreciation was, in fact, coordinated. Here’s the rationale, told through an oddly satisfying, thick Philly accent:
What happened to the Philadelphia that cheered for opposing players’ injuries, dumped beer on visiting fans and chucked batteries at Santa Claus?
At the very least, what happened to boo-ing underperformers? They’re gonna be coddled now? Feels like a slippery slope, especially in a city where that was never the standard.
How must Aaron Nola feel? He’s been a stalwart of the rotation since being drafted in the first round back in 2014. Nola has been fairly reliable over the course of the 9 years he’s been in Philadelphia, with a lot of moving parts around him. This season however, things haven’t gone according to plan and he’s been met with a chorus of boo’s on more than one occasion. Why isn’t he a candidate for some good old fashioned love and support?
Philadelphia 76ers superstar Joel Embiid posted a cryptic tweet over the weekend, that lends me to believe he also finds this whole thing to be out of character. Can’t say for sure he was referring to the Trea saga, but the timeline checks out.
As I’m writing this, there’s a part of me that feels like the Grinch. Part of me feels like I’m looking down at Who-ville on Christmas morning. I’m expecting everyone to be sad without any gifts and I’m confused why they’re rejoicing instead. This Trea Turner story is certainly uplifting and his reaction to it was objectively awesome.
My point is that I’m completely and utterly perplexed at where this occurred.
This feels like something that should’ve come out of Milwaukee, Kansas City, maybe Chicago. Where a bunch of jolly Midwesterners join together and sing kumbaya because winning is important, but so is supporting your team and being a good person. It might seem like a backhanded compliment, but that’s just the way it is. The people of the Midwest are way nicer and much more friendly than the Northeast. If you gave me three guesses where something like this would never happen in a million years, I’d offer up Queens, the Bronx and Philadelphia in no particular order.
Change is inevitable. Maybe this is the beginning of some sort of awakening in Philadelphia, where aggression is a thing of the past and orderly behavior reigns supreme. Who am I to judge people recreating themselves. That’s never an easy endeavor. I’ve just never considered this shift to be a possibility. It’s almost as if my whole life I was taught to drink orange juice before brushing my teeth and now Philly is telling me OJ comes second. I’ll need some time to warm up to it.
geryblogs 
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