Well shit…
Be careful what you wish for, boys and girls.
It wasn’t too long ago that I had openly campaigned for Phillies players to join Twitter. DeSean Jackson, many Sixers, JVR, Matt Carle, Dan Carcillo, and some other local athletes had taken the plunge, but save for Cole Hamels’ foundation account and a few minor leaguers, the Phillies, the city’s most popular team, had almost no presence on the Tweets. That all changed this summer.
Mike Stutes joined.
Then the Phillies acquired Hunter Pence, a notorious Tweeter. Him and Stutes convinced Vance Worley to join. Then Jimmy Rollins started actually using his account. Then Michael Schwimmmer corrected me. Then Shane Victorino joined.
Then Shane Victorino joined.
At first this was all really cool and worked the way it was supposed to: athletes with a direct connection to their fans. But with that unfiltered access comes some risk.
No one wanted to see this (a day after Game 5):
or this:
or this:
or especially this:
this:
To us fans – even if this sentiment is unfair – we interpret that as: “They don’t care that they squandered a golden opportunity."
What Shane, Jimmy, and Hunter don’t understand is that their loss to the Cardinals is painful for us. Any Philadelphian under 30 has experienced a lifetime of losing, save for the 2008 World Championship. This year, the city fielded the greatest baseball team in its history, and we watched it fall short of even making the semifinals. That hurts, stings.
We don’t want to see J-Roll™ talking about what a beautiful day it was two days after the season ended. We don’t want Pence to tell us the positives of offseason surgery (because it’s not supposed to be the offseason, in our minds). We don’t want to see Victorino talk about his golf game, and we certainly don’t want to see him openly rooting for the Brewers when most of us can’t even stomach watching baseball right now (!!!).
No one thinks they should be home mourning or not watching their peers. But quite frankly, we really don’t want to read about it, either. I’m. Not. The. Only. One. Who. Feels. That. Way.
As fans, we are, by nature, irrational. We expect and demand things from players that we would not ask of human beings in any other circumstance. The current group of core Phillies players (Utley, Howard, Victorino, Rollins, Hamels) took on larger-than-life personas when they won the World Series in 2008. Like we do with good brands, we assigned specific traits and personalities to each of them, even though most of us have never met or spent any time with the Phillies (disclosure: both Hamels and Utley were very gracious in my brief dealings with them). To us, they’re ballplayers– not fathers or sons or fans or surfers or movie gurus or pilots or whatever else they do in their spare time. They’re ballplayers. That’s why they have hundreds of thousands of fans, fancy cars, nice homes, and 80,000 Twitter followers. They need to understand that’s their audience. Their audience is fans. Fans are the audience. Audience is fans. Einhorn is Finkel. Fans are the audience.
You catch my drift.
As an example, I have many thoughts on politics, technology, history, and stand up comedy, but I rarely share them with my roughly 7,800 Twitter followers. Why? Because I’m guessing 99.9% of you (with perhaps Ms. CB, my mother, and a few adult website bots being the exceptions) clicked “follow” because you read, like, were told about, or are interested in my blog. Or hate it. So I stick to sports, because my audience is sports fans– not hipsters or moms or even Shane Victorino.
The same goes for the Phillies. Nearly all of their fans and followers are interested in what they have to say because they play baseball… for the Phillies. That’s their audience. I love the fact that we get to learn more about these guys through social media, but they’re not doing themselves any favors (especially you, Shane) Tweeting about how much enjoyment they’re getting out of some extra time off and watching postseason baseball from afar.
Do whatever, guys. By all means, you’ve earned it. But right now, your audience hurts and is a bit pissed off. Everything will be fine come spring training, we just need some time. We spend our hard-earned money to watch you play and invest more time in being fans than is probably socially acceptable. So just keep that in mind the next time you broadcast a message to your fans. And please, please stop Tweeting about how great the postseason has been. It’s killing us.
Warning: this post is like the Bat Signal for trolls. The comments might get hairy.
112 Responses
That’s silly. Who cares? I have a bigger problem with the way they played during the post-season than what they are tweeting afterwards. Sorry, but life goes on.
I agree. On all counts. Now it’s time for your haters to run amok. I can’t wait to read all of the hater tweets! They’re gonna be blowing Shane and Jimmy for days. Remember boys, wipe your chins!
You could have just said “I and my acolytes are utter crybabies with no broader perception of athletes than a misplaced sense of what they owe to us personally” and saved yourself a whole bunch of words
Phils need change their f*cking Physiology at the plate in 2012 & part ways with J Roll & Victorino. Shaner is good trade bait.
BTW Nose is going to kill them being untradeable with that contract & injury.
Phylan’s real name is actually “Bandwagon Phan”.
I agree with you on all counts, as I am about to unfollow all things baseball on twitter! Cheers!
Great post, save for the pity party for “Philadelphians under 30”. That’s completely off-base. All Philly sports fans under 30 are spoiled brats compared to the fans between the ages of 30-40. They are all too young to remember the glory of the late 70s and early 80s, and had to endure DECADES of slop before they could appreciate these teams.
So show some respect there, young buck, and pour out a little liquor for those fans. And Pac.
Okay, I am not a fan of yours, but I would actually like to briefly state my disagreement with your opinion. I, for one, was glad to see the Phillies living their lives outside of baseball, tweeting ABOUT baseball, and having fun. Because it meant that they had picked up the pieces and were moving on, and so should I. Yes, the Phillies are important to me–WINNING is important to me, but at the end of the day, it is just a game. It’s their job–and win or lose, life goes on. We can’t, and shouldn’t expect them to fall apart because we are.
Get it together, and back off Shane. He’s a human being. I am sorry he’s not living up to your and all these other crybabies’ standards.
I could not agree with you more Kyle.
I still cant watch any baseball and to think the Cardinals and there stink bullpen is performing so well in the post season makes me want to puke.
The 2011 team was the best phillies team ever and they were unable to finish the job.
I dont want to read there tweets about how they are spending there offseason. I want to know they are suffering as much as we fans are who pay there salaries.
good the see the players are living their lives… it is over yes it hurt but we must move on.
since shane is introduced to bob marley i would love to see him tweet about lighting up some good kush in hawaii while sipping on some fresh coconut water
Have to disagree Kyle. While most “Fans” may be the one s that follow Jroll and Shane and whoever else, it is not their job to host a twitter account to keep fans happy. Twitter is their personal account they can do whatever they want with. If they want to tweet about golfing, surgery, or postseason baseball then who cares.
I am a huge philly fan, but twitter can be used however they want to use it. Weather they have fans or family following it shouldn’t matter.
Get over the loss and let them live their lives. We shouldn’t censor what they want to say…freedom of speech.
Find a different way to cope with the loss rather than stalking them and every tweet. If they were tweeting during games or during the season about things that are not appropriate then that’s a different story…but who cares now. Season is over and this is their time they can step out of being that player and be a regular person like us, with a family, with pets, with a team to root for the rest of the post season…
oh yea…wouldn’t you be a little more pissed if Shane was rooting for St Louis?
Also if it was say some Phillies twitter account that was posting golf pictures or making statements about the remaining teams in the postseason then that would be a different story and I would agree it would piss me off.
chirp, you’re saying the starting centerfielder rooting for the brewers isn’t enough to be considered “phillies” when the account woudl otherwise be some intern? plus it no one is saying anything abuot free speech, just giving fans perspective… all of these guys are tweeting to fans… sad ones.
it’s not unfair. you’re just a sore loser. get over it. you make yourself look like an idiot with the shit you send to victorino on twitter. it’s actually kind of embarrassing that i know now that a blog that i follow, all the players hate. awesome.
Kyle maybe you should supply them with a list of things they can and can not not tweet about.
btw – I’m coming back home Thanksgiving weekend. Maybe we should “meet up”
I figured you would post something about trolls. Stop being a douche and let them use their twitter accounts. Your blog is becoming less and less interesting every single day. Prove us wrong with some meaningful commentary.
Jesus Fucking Christopher, if people put as much emotion into their job, family or community as they do sports and stalking insignificant athletes, the world would be a nicer place.
Tweeting is for narcissistic pussies who need attention. The real men on the Phillies – Roy, Cliff, Chase and Cole – they don’t waste there time posting updates on the new Khiel’s facial lotion they bought. They are busy taking their post-season failure anger out by punching clowns, stabbing wild boars in the face, and lighting forrest fires with their burning gaze.
The odd thing is that, if everyday they tweeted how they were still extremely upset about the series loss to the Cards, it wouldn’t make it any easier to follow them.
As is true with everything in life, you gotta take the good with the bad. You want to follow these human beings on Twitter during the season, start ‘let’s go eat’ movements for all to share, know Pence burnt bacon, etc, then go for it. I don’t do twitter (it’s already destroying the english language and making completely useless assholes in life feel like they’re important when they’re really just completely useless assholes), I couldn’t care any less about what athletes, actors, musicians, etc, eat, like, drink, wear, or party. If you do, go for it.
But you can’t bitch about them once they start posting items you don’t agree with. While they are athletes, they aren’t armed forces, police, firefighters, or some other profession that would dictate 100% ‘on-the-clock’ behavior. They’re off hours now, and if Shane wants to learn how to golf, Jimmy’s taking his dogs for a walk (which he probably can’t do that often spending half his games on the road), or Ryno wants to scoot around wholefoods on a scooter, so be it.
Maybe not let so much of your life’s ups and down depend on sports, and this shit wouldn’t get under your skin.
I’m embarrassed for you.
If this stuff really bothers you that much perhaps you should unfollow them. What do you expect them to be doing in the days and weeks after losing? They have lives just like everyone else.
Totally agree with that last papargraph especially..tickets are so expensive and they sell out every game they could wait to broadcast how much they are enjoying watching some other teams play…We really did not expect them to go out so soon..We are still shocked that they played so poorly…I was embarrased by their effort or should I say lack of.
great post…but I disagree to an extent. Hell i’ve tweeted #BeastMode #LOL last night, as a die hard Phillies fan. Im sure the players have friends on that team who they pull for and cheer for. It’s whatever.
I hate the sports-fan questions people put on athletes? Shane’s not allowed to be a cowboys fan? He’s from Hawaii…NOT Philadelphia. I could get a job in LA and move there, but I’d still be a Phillies fan…the same way Shane gets a job in Philly and stays a fan of the team he watched growing up.
athletes are humans too.
The home team lost in the playoffs and should have to spend every waking hour in the batting cage! How ridiculous! How is this any different than other MLB players going on TV and talking sports? So they have a life outside of baseball! So what? Not surprising on a shit blog like this that you’re bitching about such trivial stuff. A real sports blog would be contemplating what the off season brings, but no we’re worried about their Twitter accounts. Get a life dude.
Fans under 30??? I’m 40 and I remember a HELL of a lot of losing and letdowns. These fans under 30 have been pampered and spoiled by comparison. As for the Phillies tweeting, life goes on. I mean what do you want them to do? Sulk, be bitter, stop having a normal life because they lost? They are people, just like us, with opinions, likes, dislikes, families, pets, etc. I just can’t be upset about it. If they’d been tweeting, “We lost, who gives a f**k?” Then I could get on board here.
WTF Shane. It’s best to just shut the fuck up. I guess you could just blame it on your ADHD.
Toot your horn there much Kyle?
Really? Come on dude! So how the hell is this any different to Jeff Carter’s latest score? Ryan Howard riding a scooter? Or the countless other gossip posts you do on here? You can not have it both ways dude! At the end of the day, all you care about are pageviews. That is how you get paid and you seem to go almost any extent to grab those views as you can. You are a cross between TMZ, Dan Gross, and 94WIP. Only a little more smuggier…You are right, many of us are jealous you get paid to do this, but it is the way you do it that makes you unlikeable and rather dickheadish.
ps…you really think a black and white avatar picture of yourself endears you to anyone?
Their tweets (esp. Shane’s) are a good reminder that their bank accounts help get them past their disappointment very quickly, and that no amount of money will every make them care as much as we, the loyal fans, do.
I haven’t watched a single minute of baseball after game 5, and it probably will indeed take until pitchers and catchers report for me to start giving a shit again.
I’ve got a beautiful 12wk old baby girl who was born the night the Phils started their longest winning streak of the season in Pittsburgh; she was 12 days old before she saw them lose for the first time. She is quite the entertaining distraction from a baseball-less October.
I suggest you and Ms. CB get hitched and start filling the void.
Shane’s tweets are right up there with his actions on the base paths or swinging first pitch down a run in an elimination game.
There are a ton of better bloggers than you! Crashburn Alley, Buzz On Broad, Recliner GM, and the list goes on. Gossip is what you do though so whatever.
Hahaha. So many haters. Good post. Makes sense, though it doesn’t bother me as much as it does you.
I get the arguments against this post, I really do. But there is a time and place for everything, in February when the Eagles have broken our hearts and I’ll be desperately missing the Phillies I will love to hear about Jimmy’s dogs, and Hunter’s favorite appetizer, and I’ll probably even watch a video of Shane playing a kazoo if he posts it. However right now, when I feel like a zombie in the aftermath of a bad break up, when I can’t even turn on baseball without getting flashes of PTSD from leaving the stadium 9 days and 14 hours ago after watching NO PHILLIES CROSS HOME PLATE I really really really do not want to hear any of that nonsense, ESPECIALLY rooting for a rival football team. The whole entire city put their hearts and souls into what was supposed to be the best baseball team in history, and it ended in complete disaster. Heck it wasn’t even close, it seemed like the just wanted to lay down and go home, and all of these posts about how great the offseason is going surely seems to validate that thought. There is a time and place, there is a time. and. place. Please just give us time to recover.
Kyle, no offense, but its a GAME. A baseball GAME. Get over it and life will go on. Yes we all wanted them to win and they blew it. Life goes on and there are more important things in life such as your family, health, job and friends. The constant is that we will always have sports in this city. We will always have Good and Bad times. No need to write an essay bitching about it. The phillies are people to and seem to be getting over it alot better than you are.
“Warning: this post is like the Bat Signal for trolls. The comments might get hairy,” said Kyle Scott in a blog post trolling a professional athlete. Grow up.
no one is asking these players to sulk or wallow in self-pity. we are just asking them not to rub their vacation time in our faces while WE sulk and wallow in self pity.
and shane – helloooo? 90% of your followers are from phila and hate the cowboys. know your audience. no one said you can’t be a cowboys fan. just do it in the closet.
@MsEaglesAllDay- You’re 40. *does math* that means you were born in either 1970 or 1971. That means, in your lifetime, you have seen 2 Flyers Cups, 1 Sixers championship, and two Phils World Series titles. I was born in 1985- I have seen ONE Phils World Series. That’s what Kyle is saying- you’ve definitely seen a LOT of losing in your day, but you’ve also seen more winning. That 08 Phils championship was the FIRST in many of our lives- and they won it on my 23rd birthday. 23 years I waited without having ever seen a championship in this city. That’s the point.
Let the trolls be pissed, Kyle. They always will be.
I agree with you. It actually upsets me these guys think this way. I see it as a lack of hunger. A couple of them said after the loss it would take “a few days” to get over it. That’s ridiculous. Even Larry Bowa said those guys that think that way have to question their heart and whether they are really committed to winning. When you are the best team in baseball and you shit the bed like that, you shouldn’t get over that loss until you win the fucking World Series next year. Ok, maybe that’s a little drastic. But you shouldn’t get over that loss until Spring Training. It should eat at you, and if it doesn’t that means that maybe you’re a little too complacent (WAIT A MINUTE, THAT KILLED THEM THIS YEAR…. HMMMMM).
Stop Tweeting about the playoffs, Shane. Have a little respect for your fanbase that 1) can’t get on the field, so we have to live and die by your results and 2) doesn’t have millions to do fun shit to distract them. Yeah, you CAN do whatever you want. But you don’t have to put it out there for all those fans, it’s just mean, whether you see that or not.
AMEN! I thought it was just me. Shane in particular has been on my last fucking nerve. And I’m pretty sure none of us are stalking him… Turns out that when you follow someone on twitter, their tweets just show up in your timeline. I think that’s the premise of the site. Freedom of speech does not (contrary to popular opinion) also entitle one to freedom to control how others will react to such speech. Shane can post all the happy-go-lucky shiny horseshit he wants. It’s still not going to make me enjoy seeing video of his golf swing when I feel like my asshole is still bleeding from a 1-0 loss at home to end such an otherwise magical season.
Kyle your an idiot. Guess what the Phillies lost get over it. We got beat by a better team…. they were managed better and hit better and their bullpen was better. The only reason they were a wildcard team was because their pitching was hurt most of the season (wainwright). And their big man Pujols was hurt. Am I pissed that the Phillies lost, yes. But the reason these guys play professional sports, is because they’re sports fans. Get off their nuts. for 162 games a season they sacrifice time with their families and miss important dates. When is the last time any of you got off your lazy asses and sacrificed for someone else. They are enjoying the thing we enjoy every day.
Dude, I don’t care what half of these people are saying, I agree with you. I am a phillies fan, I really only care about them as part of a team that I have loved for twenty years now. So when I see those tweets I get pissed off too. Mainly because they lost and to me as a phillie phan ( strictly) not a Shane or jimmy phan, they should be more upset about the Fucking tragic season. At least as much as me. I questioned jrolls passion in the beginning of the year, and to me , with this shit, he proved to be what I thought. To Fucking arrogant. So.call.me what you will. What I am is a.pissed off fan who needs time to heal. Bitches
as a Kansas City sports fan the “woe is me” attitude that so many Philadelphia fans seem to have is frankly hilarious
@Shawn: You serious? They get millions for their “sacrifice” Must be such a burden being a big league player.
Kyle’s right. Honestly, if you’re famous, then theres a certain amount of responsibility you have to yourself and your fans when you go about doing things in a public setting. Obviously its Shane’s right to use twitter however he feels whenever he wants; freedom of speech, bla bla bla…But come on, do you really think that his thousands of followers, 98% of whom are probably fans, are actually going to be happy about him saying all those things (ESPECIALLY rooting for another team..Are you kidding me?) fresh off of a season-ending offensive meltdown? What’s so hard about containing the apparently oh-so-important urge to tweet about your golf game for a couple of weeks until the fanbase cools off?
If I were a millionaire, played baseball for a living, and had thousands of fans who paid my salary, I don’t think I’d die if I laid off twitter for a little bit. If being lucky, fortunate and blessed enough to have all of those things means I have to trade in my right to impulse-tweet about meaningless fucking shit for a little while, so be it. They can live their lives however they want, but I dont think its a lot to ask of our athletes to least use a little common sense when it comes to things like Twitter.
At no point did I ever see Victorino tweet that he didn’t care that the Phillies lost, was glad the season was over, or anything of that nature. I’d much rather he shake off the disappointment and start looking forward to next season than sit at home and be miserable all winter
I understand why YOU do it, but i think following an athlete’s twitter account for a non blogger is creepy, wtf, get a life. Also Kyle, honestly when the fuck did you get so cunty? You’re posting howard riding a scooter but you need a dose of Midol cause victorino said he doesn’t pay attention to you? Is it that you sincerely thought he did? (god i hope not) Dude, between this and the Pan Am post you may be a little too in touch with your faeminine side right now or smelling yourself a tad too much. Honestly, Is Mrs CB’s idea of a good saturday night out really watching you drink beer and stare at richards cup at a hockey game? don’t ever convince yourself the answer to that question is yes young boy, or you will be 1 lonely mf. Get out and unplug from this sports shit for awhile bro.
Um the fact he is cheering for another team is an issue and if you are a philly fan and are ok with him cheering for the cowboys you need to get your head check. Kyle knows what he is doing and anyone who doesnt get offended by Shane tweets are most likely fans that:
A. showed up in 2007
B. cant let go eg. dawkins, iverson, rowand.
C. doest have a clue, so here is a quarter buy one.
The guy needs to know, this is Philly and we dont care who wins if its not one of our teams.
Thanks Kyle for standing up for the “real” fans of Philadelphia.
@MM
1.) What is wrong with being a female? I think there’s more wrong with being a freaking moron, like you’ve demonstrated with your comment.
2.) How dense are you? Have you been following what has been happening? Kyle didn’t write the post because Shane called him out, he tweeted that he was going to start writing it before Shane called him out.
I also love all the comments talking shit about how badly this blog sucks and that Kyle should get a life and stop “stalking” athletes. Why don’t you stop stalking a blog you hate?
Kyle, you’re way off base here, fella. These guys are fans of baseball, too. I don’t have a problem with them watching the games or having opinions on them. Of course I’m disappointed that the Phillies didn’t go further into the playoffs, but that doesn’t give me license to expect the players on the team to be on suicide watch after being eliminated. And FYI, us fans over 30 know what it’s like to have our hearts broken by Philly sports teams, too. Just because they won their first championship when I was 7 doesn’t make me any less tortured than the fans under 30.
I unfollowed Shane when he started tweeting about golf the day after the final loss and rooting for the Cowboys was the final straw. I unfollowed Jimmy when he asked followers what he should do on “this beautiful day” on Saturday. I’m sure he got a few smart suggestions. Hunter’s tweets don’t bother me, but Jimmy’s and Shane’s were too much to handle.
After seeing all of this, I’m just glad my occupation doesn’t involve me making millions of dollars, or people paying money to watch me work. Could only imagine the backlash I’d receive if I had a shitty week at work but then had the nerve to go out and enjoy my weekend with family and friends
@DM- I beg to disagree. You DON’T know what it was like to live 23 years with not one championship in your city. When you go to college and people point out that you are a jinx because your city hasn’t won since you are born AND THERE’S NOT A GODDAMN THING YOU CAN SAY TO SHUT THEM UP, yeah, it’s worse.
I’m not saying you don’t know losing. We all do. But you just can’t understand how it was for us until the Phils won in 08. You saw all those years, but could remember watching Tug jump up and down, or Clarkie raise the Cup. We watched those losing years… and could think back to nothing but more losing years. It sucks, trust me.
Sorry, Kyle. Gotta disagree with you here. Anyone who wastes their time following the often mindless cyber-babble of professional athletes who are as far removed from the riff-raff who cheers for them as we (the aforementioned riff-raff) are above the common house cat shouldn’t get their panties in a bunch when they tweet something you don’t particularly like. Bottom line: life goes on.
Geez, some people have no sense of humor!
@Calabria, comprehend much?
I like the “if you’re not offended by the tweets, then you clearly started watching the Phillies in 2007” comment. Flawless logic…Really though, it’s twitter, the retarded cousin of facebook! Who cares this much??? I think the best thing to do is move on with our lives and get ready for next season, like Shane is clearly doing (she says while typing a comment on a blog post about twitter…)!
Stop acting like a whiny little bitch.
These guys are just like the rest of us. Life goes on. Yes, I’m sad the Phillies aren’t playing in the World Series right now, but I’m not going to waste my energy getting upset because Jimmy Rollins is walking his dogs, or that Shane Victorino is watching baseball or cheering for the Cowboys.
You say, “Nearly all of their fans and followers are interested in what they have to say because they play baseball… for the Phillies. That’s their audience.” I for one, would get really fucking bored if all Shane Victorino tweeted about was “Great workout today, can’t wait for next season!” These athletes are real fucking people, with real fucking opinions. You think anyone would know who Logan Morrison is, if all he tweeted about was “Go Marlins!”
The reason people hate you, Kyle, is for posts like this. You know you’re going to get page views, and that’s all you care about. What you don’t realize is that you’ll never make enough money doing this because you’re going to lose the respect of all of your peers, most of which you already have. You’ll have your fans who will ride your dick and agree with everything you say, but most of the people who come to your website come to see what stupid shit you’re writing this time. If all you care about is page views, than by all means continue what you’re doing.
Enjoy your summers at your parent’s shore house, while simultaneously stalking Jeff Carter.
Good, so we’re all in agreement here?
For real, though: To those of you saying that the Phillies lost to the better team- you’re wrong. Yes the Cardinals played better and deserved to win, but they were not the better team. The Phillies fielded one of the best teams in the last decade and won 102 games. The Cardinals started Kyle Loshe in Game 1 of the playoffs and only got in because the Phillies helped them get in. Let’s not forget, the Phillies dealt with injuries, too. They had separate streaks of 10 and 13 consecutive scoreless innings in the series, including one run in their final 17 innings. Their loss was – dare I say – historic for Philadelphia. No, they don’t need to be sulking at home (I wouldn’t with 10 million dollars), but from a PR standpoint, they also shouldn’t be Tweeting “Go Brewers.” If that doesn’t irk you at least a little bit, then you need to check your Philly fan pulse.
I agree with the sentiment here, but also have to agree that that under 30 comment was pretty naive. I’m 34 and have seen nothing but losing. Yes I was alive for 1980, but being 3 years doesn’t really count.
word.
You are just an absolute piece of shit.
So not only are people trolling a blog they hate, we now have Philly fans debating on what age group has seen more losing? Oh my Lord. It’s Philly – every age group has seen losing. Is it really necessary to determine who’s seen the most, or worse to argue about it? Get a grip.
I read several different sites and blogs everyday to catch up on sports, read opinions, and get some levity. Crossing Broad is a favorite because I take it for what it is – a blog. I take things from this and other blogs that can improve my knowledge of the game and make me laugh sometimes. I also don’t read articles that I know will just annoy me or that I’m not interested in – a novel concept to some.
I joined Twitter to get inside scoops on trades etc., and yes, to follow athletes. It’s nice to know they have a life outside of “work” and the ones I follow are pretty damn funny (read: Bissonette, Paul and Morrison, Logan)
That being said, anyone who reads ANY blog for their end-all, be-all sports information is just plain crazy. This blog is entertaining, informative, and at times ridiculous but it’s my choice to read it – or not to read it. Do I agree with every post, no – nor should I. If I agreed with every post then it probably means I wrote them all! And it’s Kyle’s choice and opinion regarding what he puts on it. If someone doesn’t like it, I don’t understand why they are still reading it.
Move on people. It’s Kyle’s opinion. It’s not right or wrong – it’s an opinion.
I think the posts ADD TO a collective feeling that there was, in the end, something missing from this team. They proved you can NOT just turn it on when you want. Entirely too accepting of the failures…
I can’t blame Kyle for pointing that out; the troll-iverse needs to go ape-poop on the players instead of him…
Hahahahahahahah Laddie, once again you need me to summerize your crazy rants for ya:
“Waaaaaaahhhhhh I don’t like it when Phillies players tweeter about anything other than Phillies baseball waaaaaaahhhhhh”
On the upside we’ll know the exact moment when Utley joins twitter, and like Shane (Come back!
), disses CB for the first time. Because that’s when they’ll have a breaking news report about a young fella who’s Laddie Boy’s age jumping off the top of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
drama queens gonna emote
http://i1098.photobucket.com/albums/g375/pennsypix/hawaiian-1-1-1.png
I…they…who…I can’t call it. Island of misfit toys thread.
FACE
So, “MM” how’s that waste pit of a blog working out for you? Really classy response to @Calabria, by the way. Let us know how many more women you’ve disrespected.
I probably would’ve been more upset if Hula Boy had been rooting for the Cardinals (side note, I have no intention of caring about the World Series now. I refuse to watch a bunch of jerk-offs win the World Series at the Phillies expense. I’m not too happy with some of Hula Boy’s tweets, especially about being a Cowboys fan (let’s see him talk his way out of that one next time he goes to an Iggles game at the Linc).
That said, if the players want to tweet about whatever they want, then they should. If someone has an issue with it, just unfollow that athlete (especially the Phillies “fans” who follow clowns like Logan Morrison; you know, the ones who play for *divisional rivals* – people like that should never be allowed to root for the Phillies again).
Kyle, I get your point about how the fan base is still furious over this choke job (which, IMHO, started when Clifton Phifer “Can’t Do No Wrong Because He’s Clifton “P—king” Lee blew Game 2). At the same time, let the players tweet about whatever they want. It’s on *them* to face any consequences, not you for pointing it out.
@J.T.- Somehow you grew up equating success with championships. There are many of us old folks who longed for finishing in the first division. (For the youngsters, that meant the upper half of the league.) I started following the Phils in 1956; here’s where they finished:
From 56 thru 61, when there were 8 NL teams– 5, 5, 8, 8, 8, 8
From 62 thru 68, when there were 10 NL teams– 7, 4, 2, 6, 4, 5, 8
From 69 thru 75, when there were 6 NL East teams– 5, 5, 6, 6, 6, 3, 2
That’s 20 years of failure (which included 7 last place finishes and 0 post season appearances), longer than a 23 year old has been following the Phils.
For the record, 33 years of Phillies phandom here. After reading this article, for the first time I find myself wishing Kyle hadn’t penned something. It’s time for those of you still crying to get over it. The season ended horribly and too soon, but life goes on. We’re not entitled to win, and this year our guys couldn’t make it happen. Oh well.
I couldn’t watch much of the NLCS either, and when I did watch I rooted against LaRussa. But come on, the Phillies on twitter are allowed to tweet whatever they want, and if you don’t like it, don’t follow them. Jeez. Grow up. STOP WHINING.
I pride myself as being a Philly fan, but, I just plain refuse to get worked up over inane tweets by players who have nothing better to do with their time than indulge in that nonsense. After all, we’re talking about professional mercenaries for whom today’s adversary could well be tomorrow’s teammate if the money is right. If they want to root for another team now that their season is over, well, let ’em. Doesn’t bother me in the slightest. What’s more, the the dead LAST player I’m gonna get irate about is Rollins who’s probably out the door anyway. No big deal.
I read this and did nothing but laugh the whole time.
Then I read the comments defending the article and laughed more.
You guys are all fucking idiots, including the writer of this article.
Literally. Big. Fucking. Idiots.
Yes, it makes more sense to dwell on the past then it does to move forward. Yes, we should get angry when people don’t dwell on the past, especially if its a sucky one, then move forward. And we should ESPECIALLY get angry when people enjoy nice weather, and root for sports teams different then ours. ESPECIALLY that.
Oh, and don’t forget about athletes supporting other athletes and the sport that they love and breathe by watching and tweeting and spectating other teams in the postseason. THEY SHOULD BE CRYING IN THEIR OWN PISS AND VOMIT FOR FAILING THIS CITY.
Again. Fucking idiots.
I understand what you’re saying, but respectfully disagree. Twitter is a way for us normal people to get to see what our favorite players are like off the field. I sure as hell don’t feel like talking about work when I get home. In your case, Kyle, you could set up two different accounts: one for CB and one for yourself. It would be pretty dumb for athletes to do that.
I think the biggest losers and whiners are the ones who spend all day on twitter complaining about CrossingBroad, or come here to complain about him. I don’t get it. If you don’t like him, don’t follow him or read this website. It’s really that simple. Also, those people really need to get a life. It’s very strange to spend 24/7 on twitter. Maybe if they had some real life friends, Kyles blog wouldn’t bother them so much.
@phantomjm1st – what’s your definition of “disrespected” you crazy bitch? but seriously sugar tits, up your meds, i don’t have a “blog”! How dare you madam! i actually work for a living and have a higher calling (jizz mopper at the local adult book store). I’d have to take a serious pay cut as a blogger, no can do.
Guys, I think I need help. See, I think it’s fine that athletes on the team I love have actual lives and tell us about it, even though we lost and even though what he enjoys in his actual life is not something I also enjoy. And because of this – to my distress – I am apparently, not a “real fan.”
And it’s all come clear now. I think I need to be “saved” and brought to the light to see this deity who has apparently determined via sacred scripture exactly what it is to be a “real” fan and who is not a “real” fan. Can anyone help me find where this is? I thought I was doing it all right, but clearly I’m going to the fiery hell of fan afterlife. I mean, I thought that since I’ve watched every game for 5 years (yes, only 5 years, I should be stoned), spent thousands of dollars on tickets and merchandise, read blogs and articles obsessively, and cheered and cried with family, friends, and complete strangers alike over all sorts of issues regarding the team I grew up with (although I am under 30, maybe that’s my sin) – I thought that I WAS being a fan. But to my horror, I am not this “real” fan. Is it really because I’m on Twitter? (Oh boy, please let me know!)
So please, if you know the Phillies Fan God, be he Basebaal or some other mighty being, can you please send him (or, even HER) my way? I’d really like to be cheering for my sports team of choice “the right way,” and – dear lord – don’t want to be rational about it or acknowledge that life exists outside of this arena of entertainment if it means that people think I’m not a “real fan.”
I should have known Rabs, who worships at the CB alter, would chime in with his two cents.
Then don’t follow them you fucking idiot.
I only come here to mock you when you write something this extraordinarily stupid.
there is such thing as the offseason faggot, what are they supposed to just tweet apologizing for losing until next season? get over it, the shit you post is way more pointless. Shane was rooting for the Brewers…who were playing the Cardinals…who we’re all supposed to hate right now. you don’t know shit
Guys, I wasn’t trying to say you didn’t suffer if you are over 30 (And if you’re 34, that’s pretty close to the age range anyway). I was simply responding to a comment someone made about how Kyle had no right to talk about that- but having lived about the same amount as Kyle, I agreed with his point. That was it. We really don’t need to argue about who has had it worse. Sorry if I perpetuated that- was just trying to make a point to someone. We’ve all had it bad, and I think we all know that.
And I do equate success with championships. That’s how I’ve been brought up. It was an outcome of living in a city with no titles in my lifetime- that became all that mattered. I could see being satisfied with a division title after years of not competing (hell, I was ecstatic in 2007 about 4 days after they were eliminated and had gotten over the loss), but success really does come down to championships in this city, especially when you are as good as this team.
@Matt- so what is worse? Phillies fans getting all worked because their Phillies are tweeting about stuff that upsets them or you getting all worked up about those fans? I’d say that’s more sad. At least the object of our ire has some sort of prominence in our life- it’s pretty sad if Crossingbroad and its commenters are that for you.
This made me lol
don’t you dare try to say that you strictly stick with sports on your twitter. we’ve had to read countless tweets about how you are finally just “stepping outside from your basement and afraid to look into the sun”. you’re a d bag. and your anti-Michael Vick stuff is way worse than anything any of the Phillies players have done. grow up and have respect
Betcha there’s only four or five people posting all these comments, just with different handles.
Yea. This is really dumb. Oh no, players have lives!? No way!?! Get outta here?!?!
I expect your twitter to say something like “My column really sucked today, as always. I’ll hit the library later to check out a thesaurus and a book on sports. I hope Baseball for Dummies is still there.”
If not, you’ll be doing the exact thing the players are- living your life. Maybe I’ll write a column about how your such a crybaby.
http://www.google.com/search?q=kleenex+sale&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a#q=kleenex+sale&hl=en&client=firefox-a&hs=epZ&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&prmd=imvns&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ei=PoucTqf9EoXt0gHehJm4BA&ved=0CIcBEK0E&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.,cf.osb&fp=ef9c8ef0013c4708&biw=1920&bih=1033
Remember when your blog wasn’t a troll-y, tabloid-y shit show and it was called The 700 Level?
i would prefer victorino tweet something on the lines of, “im getting sauced as hell and passing out in back alleys.” then we could at least relate.
if they were in any other industry they would have been fired. what other job can someone fuck up on their biggest client/project and not get fired?
Mr. Scott, what you’ve just wrote is one of the most insanely idiotic things I have ever heard. At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone who checks this website is now dumber for having read this. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
seriously though, this article is an embarrassment to you and to your website.
Yeah what are they thinking??!?! I expect them to lock themselves in their room with a few handles of jack daniels until spring training. /sarcasm
Kyle Scott is a cunt.
Stop making fake Facebook pages to try to promote yourself through the players you are going to criticize for having lives you stupid dick.
It’s all about the page views boys!
Keep up the good work, Slappy
Bababooey! Bababooey! Bababooey! Howard Stern’s Penis! Bababooey!
“what other job can someone fuck up on their biggest client/project and not get fired?”
Uh, maybe Wall Street bankers.
SLAPPY!
This is indeed the greatest Phillies team of all-time, but I’m a bit confused by your flagrant disrespect of the many great A’s teams who called Philadelphia home.
Shane cheats on his wife
Kyle and all those others who actually agree with this crappy post…grow up. Turn your hats from sideways back to where they belong.
Oh and one more thing, no one cares about every single random photo you post of Philly players out at a bar.
…seriously, post about things that matter. Like whether or not Rollins will be here next year.
This is bad. You should stop doing this blog.
Slappy also likes to delete comments when they call out his fanboys aka MPH.
First off all of you new 2008 phils fans or young kids who dont understand why someone would get upset about this screw you losers go watch teen mom or jackoff to video games or whatever you patheic hipsters do….Second real philly fans are still pissed about the nlds actually im still pissed about the eagles losing 3 straight nfc championship games or the flyers getting swept in 97 finals…im 30 so i have seen mostly heartbreak and suffering from are four major sports teams. Dont get me wrong we have had some great times in the last ten years and the greatest moment being the 2008 World Phucking Championship. So I will never ever really get mad at J-Roll or Shane because they are two big reasons why we had parade I will always love that team….Having said that I agree with Kyle in the sense that what athletes in this town dont get sometimes is we give a 110 percent as fans in this city and we dont have the rings to show for it. So we suffer each day with scars from years past. Is there something with that? Probably… Does that mean a star player cant live his life or tweet?? NO but it means maybe think it over a little before you tweet wait a month or so before you sending out how much your having fun on vaca thats all
@Tom Schmidt
It must suck to constantly expect every blog or website you read to only post things about what you care about. I’d imagine you have to be pretty disappointed just about every day with the internet.
“Every single bar picture.” While not all of them are important to me (in fact, none are. Going on the internet purely for entertainment- what a novel concept), I do find some to be funny/entertaining. So if Kyle stopped, you’d be happy, I’d be disappointed. I know it’s hard to believe people might be interested/find something funny that you don’t, but there’s this new theory that not everyone is the same. I think it’s a fad, but it seems to show some staying power.
Chill. The. Fuck. Out.
If you disagreed with the post, fine. If you commented saying so, fine. But it all comes down to this- Kyle got paid because you clicked it. How’s that feel? He’s doing his job, and obviously doing a pretty good job of it.
Haters gonna hate. CrossingBroad gonna CrossingBroad. Sometimes they make it too easy. Nice work Kyle.
I can’t get an Egg McMuffin ’cause it’s 10:35? Slappy Pappy weh weh!
I agree with Kyle. The Phillies let us down – big time. We fans all suffered because of their failure. I don’t understand how Shane & JRoll can just let their failure roll right off their backs so soon.
I think we should blow up our team (except the pitching staff) & replace all the position players. We need bats!
Charlie needs to go, too. His mgmt. style during the playoffs sucked. He did nothing to shake up the batting order.
Keep up the good work Kyle.
Love the post. Fuck Victorino…. what a douche.
If this bothers you so much then why would you follow them? Just because they aren’t crying over the fact that they lost, doesnt mean they don’t care. This is just a really dumb topic to be angered by
I personally work in PR for a sports organization in Philly and if Victorino played for our organization he would have already been forced to delete his posts. Victorino isn’t a normal person. He is a professional athlete and SHOULD be held to a higher standard that Joe Smith walking down the street. Kyle is correct. His audience is his fans. He should be sorry that his team is sitting at home right now when they should be the ones still playing. His fans are sorry that the team that was supposed to win it all is at home WATCHING the games instead of playing them. With the Phillies being so strict about things that are available online concerning them and their players I am very surprised that they haven’t talking to him, especially about directing any comment towards Kyle. It is very unprofessional of him to do so. And anything he does online should be handled as professionally as it can be.
All of you people are insanely idiotic. I MEAN WHY SHOULD THEY POST ABOUT A BASEBALL GAME THEY’RE NOT IN AFTER THEY JUST GOT ELIMINATED FROM THE PLAYOFFS THAT ISN’T RIGHT AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It’s their twitter account, THEY POST WHAT THEY WANT TO POST. If you choose to follow it, you’re going to see what they post. If you have a problem with it, stop following it. Jesus Christ you people are morons.
JT, get the fuck off of Kyle’s dick, bro
“He is a professional athlete and SHOULD be held to a higher standard that Joe Smith walking down the street.”
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
He’s not a nurrowsurgeon!
Way to go Ashley, swallowing the http://www.snowangels.com/sketchbook/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/img_3322.jpg
When you’re internship is over at that PR firm, then tell us how it really is working in the real world.
A pro athlete has to be held to a higher standard than the avg guy…
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
you are a turd. these players do not have tweet, they are not your friends. if you dont like what they say then dont follow them….you are still a turd.
For the record regarding Shane, if you are going to bash him, 1st read the twitter conversations (both sides) he was having. (1) he was NOT rooting for the cowboys, he was rooting for a great game. (2) he wasn’t rooting for the brewers, he was rooting for a great game. You can’t take what ppl say in twitter at face value because sometimes they are actually have a CONVERSATION with someone. You can easily take something out of context. Anyway, while people have a right to be hurt, it doesn’t give you the right to call out Shane or any other athlete. They are NOT public officials. They are more like movie stars than public officials. No one cares what movie stars tweet after a bad movie or drunken night of partying, who cares what an athlete says.
Amen philsigke.
Pardon me french, but Laddie Boy’s arse is so uptight that if you stick a lump-o-coal up there, a few days later you’ll get diamonds-a-plenty. Ms. CB (Rosie Palm and her 5 sisters) must have a lot of best friends by now hahahahahahah.
COSMIC by Frank Cottrell Boyce: 12-year-old Liam is tall enough to be mistaken for an adult, and cons his way into winning a contest to chaperone four other kids on a trip into outer space. What happens when the kids break the ship and look to Liam – the “adult” – to fix everything?
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