Philly Ringers

Back in 2005, Johnny Knoxville starred in a filmed called The Ringer. Sunday, Albert Pujols, the biggest name in baseball broke his wrist and will be out a minimum for 4 weeks but it now seems like it will be closer to 7 to 8 weeks.

What does this have to do with a Phillies blog and why do I bring up these seemingly unconnected incidents? It’s not because Pujols does an abundance of charity work for those with Down Syndrome because his daughter has the condition. Nor does it have anything to do with the recent death of Knoxville’s Jackass co-star, Ryan Dunn.

I bring it up because it seems like so many Phillies fans seem like they would have been a better fit to play Knoxville’s character Steve Barker, an able body man who cheats at the Special Olympics.

 So many times I have heard Philadelphia fans complain that they get a bad rap, a statement I would certainly agree with. We are still get flack over the booing of Santa and anytime something goes awry at CBP, its gets splashed all over the national media. And we are constantly reminded of Pukeyman, the kid who got tazed, and all the other nonsense. Ed Rendell even went as so far to write a letter to GQ magazine defending Philly fans. Incidents happen in every city but how many of you know who Brian Stow or Tom Gamboa are? They don’t have trendy nicknames bandied about on the sports headlines, nor do their attackers. Stow was beaten into coma for showing up at Dodger Stadium and showing support for his San Francisco Giants. Gamboa was a coach for the Royals who was attacked on the field in Chicago during a White Sox game. (A similar incident happened to ML umpire, Laz Diaz also during a White Sox game in Chicago, but I purposely omitted it because he probably deserved it. I kid, relax.)

I am a competitive person. Momma Wriz would tell you that’s an understatement. When I was younger, I couldn’t play my brother in checkers without a fight breaking out.  In my defense, if I couldn’t win at checkers I was going to win something. Ok, so my actual point, I thought the whole reason to even play sports or compete at anything is to prove that you are the best. I don’t see how taking the easy road accomplishes that.

If I didn’t before, certainly the Phillies 2010 and 2011 seasons have taught me that injuries are part of the game. But the way Phillies fans get a hard on because opposing players are hurt and the Phillies won’t have to face them astonishes me. I’m not going to bring up Michael Irvin. It’s football and old news. Instead, I will take you back, all the way back to last August. I was able to get a pair of tickets to see Steven Strasburg’s first game in Philadelphia. He couldn’t REALLY be as good as advertised, right? Peter Gammons said he’d be a top 10 ML pitcher the FIRST time he put on a Nationals uniform. I couldn’t wait to erupt when the Phillies chased him early. It never happened. He pitched as advertised: six strikeouts and only allowed 2 hits before he blew out his elbow in the 5th inning. The crowd went nuts. The Phillies were down 5-1 and the kid’s career in jeopardy. I was never more ashamed to be a Phillies fan. Not watching Sil Campusano patrol centerfield. Not sitting in the stands the night the Phillies became the first pro franchise to 10,000 losses.

2008 was a magical season, one that I’ll never forget, but one thing that has always bothered me was the fact other teams fans would say that the Phillies ONLY beat Tampa Bay. As time has passed, the Rays have proven that their 2008 was no fluke. I want to beat the best. No excuses. A famous great competitor would always say, “To be the man, you gotta beat the man!”  Then, he’d say,”WOOOOOOO!!!!!!”

See ya at the ballpark! (and Stay Classy?)

Jay Wrizight

jaywrizight@yahoo.com