- The best way to get anywhere in town is by bus and drivers are happy to make change.
- Smoking is still allowed in bars.
- Make lots of eye contact in the subway, it shows you’re a local.
- It’s customary to tip everyone — hot dog vendors, token booth clerks and cops.
- The vacant taxis are the ones with the light off.
- Nudity is legal — even encouraged — below 14th Street. metro
Updated 12:42, October the 29th, 2009
Camaraderie for a fake Phillies fan
Full disclosure: I’ve never been a “sports guy” and my only fantasy teams involve X-rated delusions.
So yesterday when my editor-in-chief asked me to dress up in full Phillies regalia and parade around the pregame Yankees rally in Times Square for a story, I thought “Why not? Change of pace.”
A police officer approached as I neared the edge of the crowd. “We’re gonna have to put you in protective custody,” he joked. I laughed and moved further into the belly of the beast. “Intruder!” a man shouted. People threw taunts like “Get out of here!” and “Go home!”
Inspired, I got into the act. “Let’s go Phillies,” I screamed throwing my hands in the air. Boos rained down.
Then, from behind me, an angry growl: “Heeeeey!” Bracing myself for physical assault, I turned to find a smiling man. “Good luck!” he said, reaching out to shake my hand. “You guys have got a great organization.”
Metro’s editors expected a massacre; I found camaraderie. Yanks fans wanted to win, but most were there for the love of the game.
Sure, there was an occasional four-letter invective, but the crowd’s taunts were mainly good-natured. Most just shook their heads and told me how big my balls must be.
“It’s going to be a great match,” one man said.
Quoted
A couple of the best things shouted at Brayden:
- “You’re gonna get jumped! Oh wait — at least you’re not Boston!”
- “You in the wrong city, son.”
In Yanks gear in Philly
A Yankees fan in PHL: Payroll
The media loves Philly, especially after [Yankees first baseman Mark] Tei-xiera’s large contract and A-Rod [Alex Rodriquez’s alleged use of steroids]. Little do people know that Philly increased their salary by 20 percent after 2008. So why blame New York? It all comes down to winning games. The more you win, the more people will attend. The more people attend, the higher the salaries.
– Venk Kandadai as told to Christopher Wink.
The result was mostly just long glances and rolled eyes, though we also heard a few scoldings and a handful of jabs. The worst we got was a bicyclist speeding by with his middle finger extended.
But the overwhelming majority of people yesterday in Center City never said a word and many did not take a second glance.
But Nicole Rubin, decked out in a red Phillies T-shirt and ball cap, gave a stern shake of her head.
“How could you?” she asked. “If it was a little bit closer to game time, I might have told you to go f— yourself.”