Last Saturday, Stefi and I went to Philly to hit up the big rivalry game – Mets v. Philadelphia at Citizen’s Bank Park. The park is gorgeous. Stef and I had standing room only “seats,” which meant we were able to score a really sweet spot standing behind home plate. They have these bar-like ledges you can lean on, rest you food on, etc. Totally brilliant idea. Apparently they only sell the standing room seats for sold out games, and I would totally do it again (hint, hint, Citi Field). Anyway lots of Mets fans were down there, including the girls of Spring Training – Zoe and Coop, and the “famous” Matt Cerrone. It was a really great time (awesome to win on enemy turf), and for the most part, despite all the rivalry talk, the fans were cool. But some of them were hideous. First there was the drunk fan to our right. He consistently tried to engage us in banter, but he wasn’t clever or funny and we had to keep brushing him off (quote of the night “Win, loose or draw, your team still sucks!” uhhhh….). Same guy spat on a fan 10 rows in front of him – a Phillies fan! Crazy. Stef an I hung out at the McFadden’s in the stadium for a while after the game, then left around 8:30 to take the SEPTA back to out hotel. At this point it was pretty dark and desolate, so we tried to catch up to a group of people we saw walking that way. Apparently that was a mistake. The men started harassing us and making crude remarks, and one of them slapped me on the ass. They were with girls, who joined in on the heckling. I never thought I’d feel unsafe somewhere just because I was wearing a Mets shirt. Like I said, it wasn’t all the Phillies fans who behaved that way, but it was a turnoff. Although what can you expect from a team whose mascot (WTF with the Phanatic?!) smashes a plastic Mets helmet between innings? I know you haven’t won anything in a while, but let’s keep some good sportsmanship. Stay classy, Philadelphia.
(Coop, Stef, Me, Zoe)
