By Alana Pelosi
With the fall classic underway, it is only fitting that we take a look at the real fans, the inhabitants of both Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, and which enclave really is the home of winners.
Philadelphia.
Ah, the City of Brotherly Love. …Or not so much. At this point, most anyone with an IQ a few points above Forrest Gump or with enough free time to have caught Invincible should know that these fans can be cruel. While it was the Eagles fans who threw the snowballs at Santa on that cold day in ’68, the two are interchangeable.
As in any major city, like New York or Boston for that matter, they also think they are the best and that their team is God’s gift to baseball.
At the end of this fine World Series that maybe be the case, but let’s not jump the gun just yet. In addition to their proud, rowdy and rough behavior, one should also take a more literal look at the citizens of Philadelphia. In that case, be ready to be disappointed.
Unlike the stunning beauty of Hempstead, last year out of 25 US cities, Philadelphia was ranked the least attractive by travel and leisure magazine. If you were scanning the want ads for a genuine Philadelphian mail order bride, your prospects may diminish a little further. Education also comes into question as Phillies fans have a tendency of spelling words with “ph.” While the intended sentiment is blatantly obvious, Phillie Phanatic is just foolish. That’s right Cole Hamels, foolish.
Tampa Bay.
The city with the team that most everyone thought should fold. This is the second time in franchise history that the team has finished better than last place in their division, so surely that means their fans must be dedicated. To the general ESPN-following public, however, these fans along with their team still remain a mystery. Let’s take a look at “Rays'” fans, shall we? First and foremost, up until recently I thought they were still the Devil Rays. The Rays? Who knew!
Firstly, Ray’s fans can viewed as the polar bear of baseball; extremely rare and you aren’t quit sure if you should pet them or not. While a few of those Mets-loving-Phillie-hating New Yorkers may stop off at Modell’s to sport a Rays’ t-shirt for the series, that is obvious bandwagon fandom right there. Attendance at Rays’ games was dismal for the first few years there and from 2001-2007, the rays ranked last in attendance in the American League. Face the facts, its hard to root for your team when Pacman Jones’ future seems brighter. I would love to meet someone who has been a fan since 1998 and whose allegiance never swayed, but unfortunately for them, Phillies fans are on a witch hunt to put such a rare species in their zoo. In past years, promotional giveaways have included cowbells and apparently the fans went absolutely crazy over that. Apparently, it is now their “thing.” Simpletons perhaps? Clearly, it does not take much to excite them, but aside from that not much can be deducted on the Tampa Bay fans. Only time will tell what we should think of these fans, thank god we got at least four days of cable TV to crack the code.