Rollins Calls Fans Front-Runners; Fans Say 'Duh'

It's hardly newsworthy, but leave it to the Daily News to put a blurb out there that we just can't pass up. Jimmy Rollins was a guest on The Best Damn Sports Show Period when he was quoted as saying, of Philadelphia sports fans, "When you're doing good, they're on your side. When you're doing bad, they're completely against you."

The DN writer who posted the story seemed to be fishing for an undercurrent of resentment. Front-runners? Well, yes. That seems like a pretty sensible assessment of the typical Philadelphia sports fan. After all, when your child fails a test, do you want to support that failure? When your dog leaves a steaming turd in the living room, do you want to reassure the pooch that you're sure he'll poop closer to the door next time?

And when the [insert Philly team here] let you down, when they make honest mistakes, commit stupid violations of the rules, or just plain turn up the suck, do you want to say, "We love you, no matter how much money you make or how much you lose?"

No, you don't. Because Philly sports fans know that the minute a player gets comfortable and feels like they own the place, they start in with the attitude and the arrogance.

So, Jimmy, you're right. We like winners. If we were the overbearing father of a struggling teenage wannabe sports star, we'd go down in history as one of the most insensitive, selfish and wild-eyed dad-coach hybrids ever to steal his son's childhood.

But we're not. We're a city, one of the best cities in the world, at least by our own estimation. And as long as you're helping the Phillies stay in first place, you can call us out on our true colors any time you want. But as soon as those numbers start a-droppin', you had better be prepared.

We live by a very simple credo when it comes to sports in Philly:

Spare the insult, spoil the player.

Image via Flickr user Bob Jagendorf, remixed with Fotoflexer.