Another big, national spotlight; another big stain they’re trying to put on us.
Supposedly the fans at Friday night’s Phils-Mets game were cheering Jose Reyes’ injury, then booing when he was found to be OK.
So Billy Wagner — of course — had this to say about the fans:
“It’s really sad when humanity comes to the point where somebody getting hurt, it’s fun to watch. It’s sad when that happens. Nobody wants anybody to get hurt. I don’t want Jimmy Rollins getting hurt. I don’t want Pat Burrell to get hurt. I don’t want none of these guys. I want to compete against these guys because they’re the best, and you want to beat the best. You don’t want excuses. When you see Reyes laying there — it’s a tough shot, a clean play — and the fans cheering that he’s hurt, that just goes and shows you volumes about where our society is headed.”
“… This is about the only place I’ve ever seen somebody get cheered when they get hurt. Shit, they boo Santa Claus. What’s it tell you? They’ve taken it to a whole new level when you’re cheering for somebody to be hurt.”
I was at Friday’s game, and yes, there were some cheers when Reyes hit into Utley and remained down. That’s stupid, I agree; however, it happens most everywhere. If Rollins showed to be legitimately hurt against the Mets 10 days ago at Shea Stadium, some fans would’ve cheered wildly, I don’t doubt that for a second.
Now, the boos weren’t for Reyes being OK, it was for the amount of time wasted by the Mets. Many fans thought Reyes was merely faking the injury to ice Cole Hamels. Now that may not be the case, but before pelting us with verbal snowballs, think about the whole equation.
And let’s own up here; fans in Detroit a few years ago caused a player/fan riot, yet Philadelphia fans get attention for screaming “boo.” Come on, let’s move the hell on.
And Billy Wagner has to shut the hell up. It’s not his place. Tell him we’re sick of the Santa Claus bit — it got old in 1975.
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