The Eagles and Cowboys squared off on Sunday Night Football, a game that ultimately went to the Cowboys 29-23 in overtime. Needless to say, fans in Philadelphia weren’t too happy about it, so they took their anger out on Phillies catcher Cameron Rupp, who tweeted his happiness about the game’s result.
Responses tended to hit one of three areas: “[Catching prospect] Jorge Alfaro will soon replace you,” “I hope the Phillies trade you,” or some sort of expletive-laden insult. A handful of fans, however, went over the line. One attached a Photoshopped image of soda cans with a Clorox label on them, saying, “Got u a cold bev.” Another used a slur typically aimed at gay people. At least two people suggested “kill yourself.” Another wished Rupp would take a four-seamer to the face.
To Rupp’s credit, he’s taken the uproar in stride. Responding to the fan wishing for the four-seamer, he tweeted a video where he was hit in the head by a four-seamer.
He also joked that his girlfriend took care of the problem:
Rupp was born in Dallas, went to high school in Plano, and attended the University of Texas at Austin. It follows that he’d root for the Cowboys and not just give up his other sports allegiances because he plays in a different city.
This is not the first (nor the last) time that Philly fans have jumped on a player for rooting for a rival team. Several years ago, former Phillies outfielder Domonic Brown posted a selfie on Instagram in which he was donning a Cowboys jersey. Just like Rupp, Philly fans poured in the hate and Brown — who now doesn’t appear to be on social media anymore — seemed to have fun with it, which is all you can really do. The Philly faithful also harped on utilityman Kevin Frandsen (from San Jose) for being a fan of the Sharks rather than the Flyers.
Philly fans often get a bad rap in the national media for a couple of highly-publicized and never-forgotten incidents, such as when fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus in the late 1960’s or when a drunk fan vomited on a young girl. And as someone from southeast Pennsylvania, I’ve gone to battle for my city numerous times, but it’s times like these where it makes me think the fans’ boorish reputation is warranted. It’s all fun and games razzing someone for liking a rival team, but a line is crossed when you suggest that person ends his life or suffers a serious injury.
