Take Back the Park (from Phillies fans)

For those Phillies fans living in the Metro DC area, here is a great opportunity to get good Phillies @ Nationals tickets for a discount! You can register for the deal at: nationals.com/ourpark

Get over it DC.. Phillies fans are going to continue to invade your park.

From the article:

"Frankly, I was tired of seeing it," Nats COO Andy Feffer told me this week. "Forget you, Philly. This is our park, this is our town, these are our fans, and it’s our time right now."

Which is why, starting Friday morning at 8 a.m., the club will begin selling single-game tickets for just a single weekend series: May 4-6, against the Phillies. These tickets will remain on sale for a full month before the rest of single-game tickets go on sale. And they’ll be available only to buyers with a credit card tied to an address in Maryland, the District or Virginia.

"We’ve heard it enough, we’ve seen it enough, and I don’t like it any more than anyone else," Feffer said. "We’re trying to build a team here, and nothing irks me personally or the people here more than to see another team’s fans — particularly Philly fans — in our ballpark, holding up signs. That’s not the way it should be. And I think we’ve got an opportunity here to do something different."

4 months ago McNabbSoup 20 comments 0 recs |

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Comments

I don’t care for the gloating/bragging about “taking over” Nationals Park. Reminds me of all the Mets fans in the 80s/90s who used to flock from north/central Jersey and pack the Vet.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on Feb 3, 2012 10:33 AM EST reply actions

When you get down to it, it is pretty silly. Historically, however, I think this has been a far more common attitude with the hardcore Flyers fans than any other sports team. I’ve been to games in DC (prior to the Ovechkin era) where more than half the stadium is orange and the fans are laughing and gloating about it as if the Caps fans are inferior because they are transient bandwagoners.

You’ve got to admit though… this “take back the park” initiative makes the Nats look ridiculous, IMO. Lolnats

by Boundforbeach on Feb 3, 2012 10:43 AM EST up reply actions

It does look silly, but I think it’s actually some very clever marketing.. The Nats have only been in DC a few years and sucked for much of that time. The city has a ton of transplants, and the fan interest is only slightly stronger than at the local bocce ball court. This is a clever way, of trying to invoke some civic pride to build a fanbase.

by Cormican on Feb 3, 2012 11:34 AM EST up reply actions

In theory it should be doable, seeing as how the Redskins have a real fan base. I think DC kind of sucks, but it’s not a city like Atlanta where there’s no civic pride precedent at all.

by taco pal on Feb 3, 2012 11:56 AM EST up reply actions

It’s not as much the gloating from Phillies fans as it is the Nationals taking offence to their presence. It’s the Nationals campaigning against the reality that Phils fans do pack their park, gloating aside. That’s why I posted this.

by McNabbSoup on Feb 3, 2012 10:44 AM EST up reply actions

I so hated those Mets fans. Bleah.

by taco pal on Feb 3, 2012 11:22 AM EST up reply actions

Word.

"I wouldn’t run if there was a fire. I wouldn’t run anywhere. I hate running." - O. Munn

by doubleh on Feb 4, 2012 12:48 AM EST up reply actions

Yep. This kind of discourse is too ground up in the testosterone-laden, canine/caveman, gear-headed grease monkey road warrior with WIP on satellite kind of fan.

I don’t begrudge the Nats for trying something, even if it is ultimately C&D’d because of restraint of trade/ credit card policies / Nats fans who live in Pennsylvania (after all, their AA affiliate is in Harrisburg). It has an admittedly prickish, persnicketty creativity to it that, might I add, the Phillies never tried during our own invasions of the Met Visigoths. If I were a Nats season ticket holder I’d give them an A for effort.

by Wet Luzinski on Feb 3, 2012 7:17 PM EST up reply actions

If the Mets are the Visigoths, are we the Ostrogoths?

by Phrozen on Feb 4, 2012 12:16 AM EST up reply actions

WTF?

I didn’t even know it was allowed as a business practice to restrict credit card purchases from certain states. Is that legal?

I live in DC (unfortunately) and I only go to Nationals games to see the Phillies, so I’m actually affected by this bullshit.

by ajay on Feb 3, 2012 12:52 PM EST reply actions

P.S.

On the one hand, I understand their frustration. And you should certainly be able to do things to funnel benefits to your fans. But this is a bit much. If Nationals fans don’t want to go to games to see their team, that’s on them.

by ajay on Feb 3, 2012 12:55 PM EST up reply actions

is your credit card not tied to an address in DC?

by yolacrary on Feb 3, 2012 1:27 PM EST up reply actions

Yes

It’s still tied to a Philly address, because that’s where I used to live. I wonder if I could just switch it, buy the tickets, then switch it back. Fuck you Nationals!

by ajay on Feb 3, 2012 2:49 PM EST up reply actions

Was this promotion sponsored by Stub Hub?

Because I see them as the big winner if DC’ers actually purchase tickets during the allotted window.

"Call me dumb, call me stupid, whatever. I block shots."
"Suck it, Phaneuf"

by boknows71 on Feb 3, 2012 4:00 PM EST reply actions

I’m sure the Nats don’t care if Stubhub gets the money instead of Phillies fans keeping it.

by taco pal on Feb 3, 2012 4:22 PM EST up reply actions

I’m sure they don’t but according to reports that is where a bulk of the tickets purchase ended up within hours.

"Call me dumb, call me stupid, whatever. I block shots."
"Suck it, Phaneuf. WOOOO!"

by boknows71 on Feb 9, 2012 3:59 PM EST up reply actions

I think this is hilarious. Good for them. I understand wanting to keep Phils fans out and I generally find the traveling fans in packs to be obnoxious as hell (regardless of affiliation).

We’ll still get tickets, though. Suck it, Phaneuf!

"I wouldn’t run if there was a fire. I wouldn’t run anywhere. I hate running." - O. Munn

by doubleh on Feb 4, 2012 12:49 AM EST reply actions

Just a PR move

to get the Nats fans jacked up.

In the end, everybody’s money is green . . . they’ll sell to anyone who will fill the seats.

"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring". ~Rogers Hornsby

by nps on Feb 4, 2012 11:29 AM EST reply actions

Forgive me if I sound like a typical Philly guy

But let’s make sure we all understand one thing. Their baseball team plays in an area that is geographically conducive to having Philadelphia fans make the journey to watch their team play. Their baseball team has a 49-79 record against ours (which translates to a .617 win pct for the Phillies). And as a general rule, most fans will want to go to games that they are relatively sure that their team will win.

I understand why the Nationals PR department is saying this, but I’m not going to apologize for fans that want to go watch baseball games that historically, the team they root for has greater than a 60% chance of winning.

Besides, the idea of “home-field advantage” doesn’t mean jack shit to me. Whether or not the Nationals pack the park with their own fans has little to no effect on how the game turns out.

Some people don't think it be what it is, but it do.

by TheOrangeCone on Feb 5, 2012 2:20 AM EST reply actions

I don’t think anyone’s expecting us to apologize for going down there. I do think it’s kind of lame to (a) gloat over it, or (b) expect the Nats to apologize for doing what they’re doing. Both of which are being done right now by a lot of Phillies fans out there.

by taco pal on Feb 5, 2012 3:02 PM EST up reply actions