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October 26, 2009 2:59 PM

Yankees fan in Philadelphia. Sports bar in Center City where I won't be lynched?

I mean the lynching in only a three-quarters joking sense, as I'm told that there was a delivery truck driving around Center City today dragging a Yankees hat behind it.

Any suggestions about venues where I could catch a game and do a little discreet cheering, or am I doomed to choosing between streaming Suzyn Waldman and ESPN radio Joe Morgan?

posted by joyceanmachine to sports, hobbies, & recreation (21 comments total)

Having lived in Philly for a number of years, I think you would be crazy to go out in public and cheer for the Yankees this year. NYC is only a 2 hour bus ride away. Or, you could just go across the bridge to Jersey and cheer as loudly as you want.
posted by sickinthehead at 3:03 PM on October 26

No, you'd have to go north of I-195 - above Trenton, NJ, to get to Yankees territory. South Jersey is Phillies territory. I would advise against openly rooting for the Yankees in a 'sports bar' in Philly. Many folks seems to lose all sense of reason when it comes to this sort of stuff. Go Phillies!
posted by fixedgear at 3:11 PM on October 26

Are you a local? Did you see what happened to Broad Street after the World Series win last year?

Doomed.
posted by greekphilosophy at 3:12 PM on October 26

Yeah, I was kinda hoping for a secret bar where we could hang out and display our perversity. I mean, even expat Red Sox fans have their bars in NYC, right?

Alas, I'm painfully aware of both the crowds on Broad Street territory and South Jersey being deep Phillies territory. The parade passed right outside my workplace, so I got in a morning of sneering at the people who lined up outside the building at 7 AM and a solid day of wearing headlphones to block out the noise. Celebrate when you've won 25 more, etc, etc.
posted by joyceanmachine at 3:26 PM on October 26

Um yeah I wouldn't try it.

No, you'd have to go north of I-195 - above Trenton, NJ, to get to Yankees territory.

Yeah, once you're around New Brunswick you should be fine.
posted by ob at 3:41 PM on October 26

Remember these guys boo Santa. And they're proud of it.
posted by bluedaisy at 4:46 PM on October 26

I don't know of any place in Center City, but I'd guess there will be a good number of Yankee fans in University City (if you are willing to put up with undergrads in order to have some support). There were plenty of Yankee fans out at the college bars for the 2000 and 2001 World Series when I was a student there, though of course the Phillies weren't in contention then.
posted by Caz721 at 5:07 PM on October 26

Call the soccer bar Fado (corner of Locust and 15th) and ask them if they will put the game on one of their monitors for you. No one who goes in there really gives a flying fuck about the Phillies.. or baseball, for that matter.
posted by Zambrano at 5:26 PM on October 26

No one who goes there gives a flying fuck about the Phillies, except maybe the owners.
posted by fixedgear at 5:40 PM on October 26

Definitely don't go to Fado. The patrons might not care but the bartenders and owners will probably poison you. I would suggest either looking in University City for a place, though I don't know of one (and avoid the Millcreek), or trying to organize a viewing party via the Philadelphia Speaks forum or craigslist and taking over an empty bar. You might also try one of the more "clubby" places like G and see if they will be showing the game. Most atmospheres like that are either empty during games or full of tourists. For that matter, taking a look around hotel bars or places near hotels in old city might work too.

And we didn't boo Santa Clause. We booed a skinny man in a red sweat suit with an over-sized fake beard. He weighed 120 pounds. He was a drunk fan who ran on the field to make an ass of himself. Do you want children seeing that days before Christmas? Booing that idiot was a public service.
posted by itsonreserve at 6:10 PM on October 26 [1 favorite]

Maybe a hotel bar would be a good choice - the population would be less Philly and more people from out of town.
posted by sciencegeek at 7:06 PM on October 26 [1 favorite]

If I had to pick a public place to cheer for the Yankees in Philly right now (and I wouldn't), I would be sure it was a hipster bar, because hipsters probably won't beat you physically. Although even the Philly hipsters are rougher than most.
posted by nosila at 7:34 PM on October 26

I grew up in Philadelphia and am a Yankees and NY Giants fan (don't ask). Last time I was in Philadelphia was during the playoffs the year the Giants won the Super Bowl. I made the mistake of going to a sports bar to watch the NFC championship game. When the Giants beat Green Bay I got head butted for cheering. Yes really.

Moral of the story? Don't go out to a sports bar in Philly and root for a NY team. Especially if they're playing against a Philadelphia team. Consider yourself warned ;)
posted by tundro at 7:56 PM on October 26

If you head out to a bar in the burbs you should be fine. Plenty of jeering sure but there will be much less of a dangerous mob mentality in a smaller town.
posted by furiousxgeorge at 9:02 PM on October 26

I'd not do this. Throw a small get together at your hose.
posted by Ironmouth at 9:22 PM on October 26

I think if you do go -- and you don't overtly say "I'm a Yankees fan" -- you'll be fine. Wear neutral colors. Don't make any sudden movements. Avoid eye contact.

If you're going to be waving around a banner proclaiming your fandom, well -- good luck. (And having lived in West Philly, I can assure you that's not your answer.) Maybe the bar at the Hyatt on Broad? Or the lobby at the Sofitel or the Doubletree? That's where the Yankees fans will stay, I'm guessing, because of easy subway access.

/going to World Series
/cheering for the Phils.
posted by melodykramer at 11:03 PM on October 26

I used to live in NYC, and being a rabid Oakland A's fan with a few good connections in MLB and at Yankee Stadium, I usually made it to every home game the Yankees hosted the A's at, one way or another.

The first Yankee game I ever went to, I was exposed to the Bleacher Creatures, which I thought was equal parts awesome (chantng their team's players names in unison until the player acknowledges them with a glove wave or hat tip) and dick (they are merciless to the opposing team's right fielder).

So, I did what any self-respecting A's fan would do, and I started intentionally getting tickets to the right field bleachers to support our right-fielder and screw with the creatures. I didn't do this unadvisedly, though - I would always invite my hulking beast of a buddy Gary to the game, tickets and hot dogs on me. I'm a pretty average 5'10" and tip the scales at about 170lbs. Gary was an easy 6'3", 240lbs, and in pretty good shape. I wouldn't sit in the RF bleachers without Gary, but when I went with him, I wore my A's hat and Gary knew why he was there. He really enjoyed standing up and staring down puny punks from the Bronx - which was funny because he had never been in a fight in his life and, well - he worked in the fashion industry with me at the time.

So, there's one idea for you, if you have any big friends. I'd still be careful about where you go, though. Philly fans are vicious.
posted by allkindsoftime at 3:23 AM on October 27

Oh, for fuck's sake, we're not going to actually kill you.

But seriously, this town has a serious inferiority complex and we hate the Yankees and their goddamn deep purse and honestly, cheering for the Yankees, especially the goddamn Yankees, of all teams in all of baseball, is just fucking rude, according to our culture here in Philly.

Either organize a viewing party at someone's house via Craigslist or seek one out (UPenn is, indeed, a good bet.)
posted by desuetude at 7:18 PM on October 27

Okay late to the party, but hopefully you see it. Check this out!

http://twitpic.com/nkheq
posted by itsonreserve at 2:53 PM on October 30

I can't believe that I came here to say the exact same thing as itsonreserve. Just saw that, here it is in link form: Picture
posted by fixedgear at 3:05 PM on October 30

Thanks, itsonreserve and fixedgear! Noted for the future.

For anybody else who stumbles into here, I ended up listening to most of the games, but watching Game 6 at Viet Huong down in 11th and Washington. Not exactly Center City, and it closes a bit early to catch all of the 4 hour epics, but it has better and cheaper Vietnamese food than you can get in CC (I'm lookin' at you Vietnam), tasty bubble tea, and a big ol' TV. And a fantastic lack of anybody who will give you crap about Derek Jeter fistpumps.
posted by joyceanmachine at 3:07 PM on November 5