AOL News
Just in case you didn't believe us about Phillies/Mets being one of baseball's hot new rivalries, consider what happened on Friday night when Phillies fans affirmed the stereotype of the "bad fan". Philly faithful cheered Jose Reyes' apparent injury when his head went into Chase Utley's knee on a slide ... only to boo when Reyes shook it off. Billy Wagner, who played in Philly once upon a time and is never afraid of having an opinion, of course had one when it came to this:
"It's really sad when humanity comes to the point where somebody getting hurt, it's fun to watch," Wagner said. "It's sad when that happens. Nobody wants anybody to get hurt. I don't want Jimmy Rollins getting hurt. I don't want Pat Burrell to get hurt. I don't want none of these guys. I want to compete against these guys because they're the best, and you want to beat the best. You don't want excuses. When you see Reyes laying there - it's a tough shot, a clean play - and the fans cheering that he's hurt, that just goes and shows you volumes about where our society is headed."
Asked if fan behavior in baseball had worsened since his career began with Houston in 1995, Wagner added: "Not really, because this is about the only place I've ever seen somebody get cheered when they get hurt. (Shoot), they boo Santa Claus. What's it tell you? They've taken it to a whole new level when you're cheering for somebody to be hurt."
Well, it's not exactly a "whole new" level. Remember Billy, Eagles fans cheered when Michael Irvin lay motionless on the field and was carried off and immobilized, so it's nothing new. Wagner does have a point, but fret not, Philly fans ... Wagner hasn't been too crazy about Mets fans either this season.
"It's really sad when humanity comes to the point where somebody getting hurt, it's fun to watch," Wagner said. "It's sad when that happens. Nobody wants anybody to get hurt. I don't want Jimmy Rollins getting hurt. I don't want Pat Burrell to get hurt. I don't want none of these guys. I want to compete against these guys because they're the best, and you want to beat the best. You don't want excuses. When you see Reyes laying there - it's a tough shot, a clean play - and the fans cheering that he's hurt, that just goes and shows you volumes about where our society is headed."
Asked if fan behavior in baseball had worsened since his career began with Houston in 1995, Wagner added: "Not really, because this is about the only place I've ever seen somebody get cheered when they get hurt. (Shoot), they boo Santa Claus. What's it tell you? They've taken it to a whole new level when you're cheering for somebody to be hurt."
Well, it's not exactly a "whole new" level. Remember Billy, Eagles fans cheered when Michael Irvin lay motionless on the field and was carried off and immobilized, so it's nothing new. Wagner does have a point, but fret not, Philly fans ... Wagner hasn't been too crazy about Mets fans either this season.