Screen Shot 2013-09-27 at 10.48.18 AMI’ll start this off by noting that, nearly four years ago, shortly before starting Crossing Broad, I created a Facebook fan page for Roy Halladay. The intent was pretty simple: Out of sheer boredom, I thought it would be fun to have a group-page for fans of Halladay (as a Phillie) to congregate and share Phillies-related content.

The page quickly blew up and collected thousands of likes in just a few days. So, when I started this site, I didn’t think twice about posting links to CB on the fan page. I figured I had a captive audience that was, obviously, interested in Philly sports.

This practice went on for about a year, until Facebook began reclassifying large pages (Roy had around 80k likes) that weren’t managed by someone representing the actual person, brand, group, whatever.

I created fan pages for a few other athletes too, but none of them ever caught on the way the Halladay page did, which was a mixture of luck and timing.

Four years ago, Facebook was a Wild West of sorts, with groups and fan pages for everything from bouncy balls to Lady Gaga, very few of which were actually associated with the real thing. But Facebook has since cleaned things up. For the better, I might add.

Anyway, I tell you all of this simply to demonstrate that I can totally understand the mindset behind creating these pages and the temptations that come with having so many eyeballs just fingertips away.

But I have no idea what the fuck the person or persons who run the Harry Kalas fan page are doing.

I’m sure many of you are one of the, currently, 154,417 likers of this page:

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The page is described thusly [sic’d]:

We love Harry as he love fun. we dedicate our work to this fun lover, a loving husband, a loving father and friend to all. Harry Kalas never stop fun but always encourage it. So we watch baseball and funipix

Coolzzz.

The page hadn’t caught my eye until a year or so ago, when posts about Harry and the Phillies seemingly gave way to memes, cat pictures and, well, complete and utter shit. It’s one thing to, on a page supposedly meant to honor a beloved dead guy, post cutesy, upbeat photos like this…

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… and it’s another to post vile, vulgar, strange and slightly offensive click-bait like this:

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About once a week, they’ll mix in a picture of Harry thanking fans… you know, just to keep things relevant.

The comments on the page range from HAHAHAHAHALOLZ to:

this is in really poor taste.

I’m curious about the HK photo and name and the content of all your posts. Why not honor Harry Kalas.

Why is this on Harry’s page, he’d never wear a shirt like that!

I also agree with why is this shit on Harry’s page????

Sadly, however, those sorts of WTF? comments are far outnumbered by ones that make you hate humanity just a little bit more. Like shmeh:

Dolphin ejaculation is strong enough to kill you

Dumb niggers and their scams

Yea where is the mom n who df the dude in the back that aght Jeffrey that’s somebody else n what bout the youngest one he aght even in the pic smh how u gone have a reunion without all the real people or even all then cast lol fail

Goo!!! Jabba the gut!

wtf is twerking?

Oh no a Miley Cyrus dog act ctfu.

Yo … Harry … Come on… Ask me out!!?!

And then, of course, there are the people who solve society’s problems one Facebook comment at a time:

As a mother , this is wrong. You gained public Attention an recognition … You speak to you daughter, you punish your daughter , you take away the things she likes or loves. This is so wrong for so many reasons……

This is nothing but humiliating the child in public. Talk to her about the twerking and what it looks like. tell her you don not want her doing that. Was she told before the dance not to be twerking at the dance. Punish but do not humiliate them in public.

@ Sam Anderson. It obviously made the news. I could see the mother trying to make a point with a different approach. Someone called the news circuits and she did an interview. No one just does something in public like that and doesn’t expect attention. I mean this isn’t the first time I’ve scene the ‘child shaming’ pictures circulating. It wasn’t some brilliant idea this mother came up with on her own. And this girl is 11, not even a teenager she’s probably going to twerk once or twice again before she’s in college. Who knows, it may have backfired and being on TV made her gain popularity in school. I don’t agree with little girls acting in a sexual manner, But I certainly think she could’ve went about about the punishment differently.

I have nothing against a good meme or some ridiculous comments… but who’s the jackass or jackasses who run this page? Harry might be the most beloved Philly sports figure ever, and his lasting online memory is, sadly, a Facebook page with 150k fans that posts the lowest common denominator bullshit. And somehow, it hasn’t yet been reclaimed by Facebook, the Kalas family or the Phillies.

I want to talk to the people who run it.