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'Don't boo, vote!': Obama's fighting an uphill battle on that one in Philadelphia 'Don't boo, vote!': Philly's history of booing makes Obama's plea a hard sell
(35 minutes later)
The soundtrack to the Democratic national convention rings familiar in Philadelphia.The soundtrack to the Democratic national convention rings familiar in Philadelphia.
Debbie Wasserman Schultz was booed at her Florida delegation breakfast on Monday. They booed during the opening prayer. Bernie Sanders was booed by his supporters when he insisted it was time to rally behind Clinton. Even Barack Obama addressed it in Wednesday’s remarks: “Don’t boo, vote!”Debbie Wasserman Schultz was booed at her Florida delegation breakfast on Monday. They booed during the opening prayer. Bernie Sanders was booed by his supporters when he insisted it was time to rally behind Clinton. Even Barack Obama addressed it in Wednesday’s remarks: “Don’t boo, vote!”
As the lusty jeers have cascaded down from the stands at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphians everywhere have braced for the backlash. We’re used to it. Another major event, another disorderly crowd, another barrage of hackneyed tut-tuts from out-of-towners reminding us yet again that Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus.As the lusty jeers have cascaded down from the stands at the Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphians everywhere have braced for the backlash. We’re used to it. Another major event, another disorderly crowd, another barrage of hackneyed tut-tuts from out-of-towners reminding us yet again that Eagles fans once booed Santa Claus.
My hometown didn’t invent booing, a practice with roots in ancient Greece and Rome, but it sure feels that way. That’s the consensus whenever the national media descends on Philadelphia and reporters dredge up the past to reinforce the cliche of the locals as boorish louts.My hometown didn’t invent booing, a practice with roots in ancient Greece and Rome, but it sure feels that way. That’s the consensus whenever the national media descends on Philadelphia and reporters dredge up the past to reinforce the cliche of the locals as boorish louts.
But like most stereotypes, there’s at least a kernel of truth within.But like most stereotypes, there’s at least a kernel of truth within.
It’s hard to say exactly when churlish crowd decorum became associated with Philadelphia, but there’s evidence dating back to the earliest days of professional sports. Back in 1910, at a time when nativist sentiment was tilting toward Trumpian levels, a commentary in the Sporting News sought to exonerate immigrants for Philadelphians’ vulgar conduct. “Do not blame unruly baseball behavior on foreigners,” the paper argued, “since it is long commonplace in Philadelphia.”It’s hard to say exactly when churlish crowd decorum became associated with Philadelphia, but there’s evidence dating back to the earliest days of professional sports. Back in 1910, at a time when nativist sentiment was tilting toward Trumpian levels, a commentary in the Sporting News sought to exonerate immigrants for Philadelphians’ vulgar conduct. “Do not blame unruly baseball behavior on foreigners,” the paper argued, “since it is long commonplace in Philadelphia.”
A few years later, when Herbert Hoover attended Game 3 of the 1931 World Series between the Philadelphia A’s and St Louis Cardinals , a crowd fed up with Prohibition and the Great Depression gave the sitting president an earful. Correspondent Joe Williams recalled “a vigorous, full-rounded melody of disparagement” in the New York World-Telegram:A few years later, when Herbert Hoover attended Game 3 of the 1931 World Series between the Philadelphia A’s and St Louis Cardinals , a crowd fed up with Prohibition and the Great Depression gave the sitting president an earful. Correspondent Joe Williams recalled “a vigorous, full-rounded melody of disparagement” in the New York World-Telegram:
Someone boos. Or it may be a whole section which surrenders to this spontaneous, angry impulse. In any event, the boos rise from the stands and break with unmistakable vehemence around your ears. They grow in volume and pretty soon it seems almost everybody in the park is booing.Someone boos. Or it may be a whole section which surrenders to this spontaneous, angry impulse. In any event, the boos rise from the stands and break with unmistakable vehemence around your ears. They grow in volume and pretty soon it seems almost everybody in the park is booing.
They are booing the President of the United States.They are booing the President of the United States.
By now the boos have changed to a chant. From thousands of voices come the cry, “We want beer. We want beer. We want beer.”By now the boos have changed to a chant. From thousands of voices come the cry, “We want beer. We want beer. We want beer.”
This must be the first time a President ever has been booed in public, and at a ball game of all places. There is something about a ball game that is supposed to make everybody kin and it’s a high honor to sit in on a ball game where the President becomes a fan, just as you and I.This must be the first time a President ever has been booed in public, and at a ball game of all places. There is something about a ball game that is supposed to make everybody kin and it’s a high honor to sit in on a ball game where the President becomes a fan, just as you and I.
The incident made national headlines, though nothing compared to the hoariest old chestnut of all: the time Eagles fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus during half-time of a 1968 game, one of the more embellished and misconstrued episodes in civic lore. Since then, locals have since booed everyone from Beyoncé to Kobe Bryant to Sarah Palin, almost as if future generations have felt a compulsion to live down to our reputation.The incident made national headlines, though nothing compared to the hoariest old chestnut of all: the time Eagles fans threw snowballs at Santa Claus during half-time of a 1968 game, one of the more embellished and misconstrued episodes in civic lore. Since then, locals have since booed everyone from Beyoncé to Kobe Bryant to Sarah Palin, almost as if future generations have felt a compulsion to live down to our reputation.
So why?So why?
Philadelphia, home of the fiercest revolutionary movement of the past 500 years, has always been a tough, hardscrabble place. Once the nation’s capital, it has declined in global importance since the mid-19th century, tucked as it is between America’s centers of commerce (New York) and politics (Washington). It’s a provincial, blue-collar burg where people care a little too much about sports.Philadelphia, home of the fiercest revolutionary movement of the past 500 years, has always been a tough, hardscrabble place. Once the nation’s capital, it has declined in global importance since the mid-19th century, tucked as it is between America’s centers of commerce (New York) and politics (Washington). It’s a provincial, blue-collar burg where people care a little too much about sports.
The mostly dismal history of our teams only redoubles the inborn inferiority complex. The Phillies have lost more games than any club in the history of professional sports. The Eagles haven’t won a title since the Eisenhower administration. The Sixers, while still the third winningest team in NBA history, are decades removed from their glory days (like the Flyers) and have literally elevated losing to a science in recent years. In all, the local pro teams have combined for 81 last-place finishes over the past century.The mostly dismal history of our teams only redoubles the inborn inferiority complex. The Phillies have lost more games than any club in the history of professional sports. The Eagles haven’t won a title since the Eisenhower administration. The Sixers, while still the third winningest team in NBA history, are decades removed from their glory days (like the Flyers) and have literally elevated losing to a science in recent years. In all, the local pro teams have combined for 81 last-place finishes over the past century.
A lifetime of rooting for teams that always let you down has taught many Philly natives how to lose. Locals have been conditioned for failure. The end result is something worse than fatalism: it’s the sense, deep down, that we don’t even deserve success. And so we boo. More than a form of self-expression, it’s a Whitmanian self-affirmation, informing, as scholar named Alice Cook once put it, our concept of self as both individual and universal. We are the chorus.A lifetime of rooting for teams that always let you down has taught many Philly natives how to lose. Locals have been conditioned for failure. The end result is something worse than fatalism: it’s the sense, deep down, that we don’t even deserve success. And so we boo. More than a form of self-expression, it’s a Whitmanian self-affirmation, informing, as scholar named Alice Cook once put it, our concept of self as both individual and universal. We are the chorus.
Of course that can’t directly explain the boobirds making themselves heard at this week’s convention: a distinctly non-local mix of delegates, national politicians, celebrities and media types. But if this week has shown us anything, it’s that something about this place brings out the lout in people. As they say, when in Rome.Of course that can’t directly explain the boobirds making themselves heard at this week’s convention: a distinctly non-local mix of delegates, national politicians, celebrities and media types. But if this week has shown us anything, it’s that something about this place brings out the lout in people. As they say, when in Rome.