The city is notorious for being tough on its own teams, to say nothing of visiting players and beloved Christmas characters. The City of Brotherly Love always seems to be upset about something, and they make their unhappiness known. Usually by booing. Loudly.
But booing is so old school. Did you know that in Europe, they whistle when they're mad at players? They do. It's adorable.
Philadelphia, you can do better than booing. And you can do better than whistling, no matter how adorable it is.
So we here at NESN Nation thought we would recommend some other ways for Philly fans to show their displeasure as they continue their three-game series with the Red Sox.
Without further ado, here are NESN Nation's top five ways for fans to show that they're upset instead of booing.
1. Silent treatment
Worked on your parents, didn't it? Didn't they hate it when you would ignore them after getting home from school, rushing upstairs, slamming your door, and blasting those rock and roll records that they disapproved of? And then Norm from Cheers came upstairs to yell at you, but was magically blasted out of the house and landed in Africa? If that wasn't your end result, you were probably doing it wrong.
But seriously, how eerie would it be to go up to bat and have the stadium absolutely silent? Players already know that they're struggling. They know when the fans are upset with them. Wouldn't total silence make them that much more self-conscious and feel that much worse? Worth a shot.
2. Sarcastic applause
Christian Bale voice: "Oh, good for you."
"You really killed that pitch. It almost made it into the outfield, even! Great job. Keep it up. There's nothing more we love to watch than a routine ground ball to shortstop. You're the best."
3. Throw money at the problem
It worked for Angels fans to make their point against the Red Sox earlier this year. Upset with Carl Crawford choosing the Sox over the Halos because of a bigger payday, the L.A. faithful threw money in Crawford's direction in left field.
He didn't need the money (again, because the Sox offered him way more to play for Boston), but he probably got the message. And if not, at least the grounds crew got a nice little tip that night.
And just so we're clear: paper money. Coins hurt.
4. Call security
Because, um, they can be awfully persuasive if there's something bad going on.
5. Debate cheesesteaks
Pat's or Geno's — who ya got? Now take out your aggression on whoever disagrees.
So, there you have it. Five ways for fans to show that they're upset without booing players. Do you have any suggestions of your own? Leave them in the comments below.
