Major League Baseball

Fans of Mets no longer heckled in Philly

Published Apr. 8, 2011 1:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

In a measure of how far the Mets have fallen over the past few years, Phillies fans, who have a reputation for their rowdy behavior in the stands, do not find pleasure in heckling their rivals anymore, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.

Several fans at the ballpark for Tuesday's Mets-Phillies game at Citizens Bank Park said they no longer find it worthwhile to poke fun at the downtrodden New York club.

"We don't really care about them enough to give them a hard time anymore," said Russell Holman, a 28-year-old sanitation worker from Verona, N.J. "They don't win often, and even when they do, it doesn't change anything. They're not relevant."

Mets fan Scott Cishek, a friend and colleague of Holman's, said he had no choice but to acknowledge his point.

"It hurts to say it, but of course it's true," said the Belvidere, N.J., resident, who named his two-year-old daughter, Shea, after the old Mets stadium. "The only way it changes is if we start winning again. Otherwise, it's not the same rivalry."

Phillies fan Art Wharton said the trend was still a bit shocking to him.

"My roommate, when he comes to the games wearing his Mets sweater, no one gives him the finger anymore. It's weird," said Wharton, a 23-year-old student at Neumann College.

The pathos from the Philadelphia crowd is a departure from the city's reputation as an unrelenting bunch.

The fans, known for sometimes being equally tough on their own players, booed pitcher Cole Hamels — the World Series MVP in 2008 — as he exited Tuesday's game after allowing six runs to the Mets in less than three innings. They also lightly booed Ryan Howard, the league's MVP in 2006, after he struck out in the eighth.