Standing Ovations Do Not Make A Fan Base Soft
Standing ovations are a coveted thing in sports. Not only do fans buy a ticket to a game hoping to witness something that will bring them to their feet, but athletes revel in them as well. Yes there is money, and fame, and a lifestyle that comes with those things, but there is something special about being in the arena and accomplishing something that causes a stadium to rise in unison to applaud your feat.
This weekend, though, Citizens Bank Park experienced a rare standing ovation that was not a result of a great moment, but rather a creation of one. Trea Turner has struggled mightily this season, and is hugely underperforming his lucrative free agent contract he signed to become a Phillie this offseason. He has experienced boos from the home crowd multiple times this year, but with double digit years on his contract and a no-trade clause, he’s here for the long haul. For that reason, Phillies fans decided that a standing ovation as a show of support for Turner could help the star shortstop return to form.
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And it did! Well… sort of. Turner hit a huge home run on Saturday night and a double later on in the game to help the Phillies knock off the Kansas City Royals. It was an awesome moment that culminated in a curtain call for Turner, and one that made waves across baseball. Now, do I really think Trea Turner had some big hits because of the ovations? The true answer to that is “I don’t know”. In reality, clapping has no bearing on a player’s ability to hit a baseball, and the correlation is impossible to prove.
Mentally, there was clearly a positive impact on Turner’s psyche, but that doesn’t mean it caused him to hit the ball out of the ballpark. It doesn’t mean the standing ovation didn’t help in some way; I just hesitate to say that it was the cause of better play. But even if you feel that a standing ovation doesn’t directly affect quality of play, there is another clear benefit of what the Phillies faithful chose to do this weekend.
Just take a look at the reaction of Trea Turner’s teammates during the first ovation he received in the series.
Philly's got ya, Trea 👏 pic.twitter.com/KRIO03u8sN
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) August 4, 2023
Man… that is what you call a great sports moment. You can just see how much it means to the players who go out there 162+ times a year to play for this team and this city. Notably in the video, Nick Castellanos, who experienced Turner-like struggles his first year in Philly, couldn’t be more into the fan base’s gesture. Sometimes, in this city, I think we underrate the effect of positive reinforcement. Philadelphia is a rough and tumble town that no opposition wants to visit for a game, and we pride ourselves on that. It’s what makes this fan base amazing, and I hope that never changes.
And yet, there is still some room for moments like what happened this weekend. It doesn’t mean that the fan base has gotten soft compared to previous generations. I don’t see supporting a player who committed basically the rest of his career to this city as soft. I see it as smart, loyal, and encouraging.
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Every single person in life has had a moment where they were having a bad day, and a kind word made it a little easier. Those words don’t always fix your problems, but they let you know that someone is there for you. When you put on a jersey in Philadelphia, you instantly become family. No one fights like family, and in Philly, we’ll ALWAYS let you know when you’re playing poorly. But in the City of Brotherly Love, it’s fitting to sometimes show love to someone who needs it. Standing ovations will still largely need to be earned here, and not every player who struggles will get the Trea Turner treatment.
But don’t believe for a second that those rare moments where Philly shows its softer side don’t have an impact on the guys who play here, and the guys around the sports world who will consider playing here someday. So no, standing ovations to support a player do not make a fan base soft. They’re just another way of showing the passion that we’ve always had when it comes to sports in Philadelphia.
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