PHILADELPHIA — Whit Pipkin, 10 years old and wearing a Ronald Acuña Jr. jersey and a Braves baseball hat, already knew what to expect from Phillies fans before he and his father, Josh, walked into Citizens Bank Park on Wednesday for Game 3 of the National League Division Series.
“They’re crazy,” he said.
What does crazy mean?
“Bad language,” he said.
Where did you hear that from?
That’s when dad stepped in to say that the security guards at Independence Hall told them earlier in the day they were going to hear things if they continued to wear their Braves gear.
As the Pipkins milled around in front of the stadium waiting for the gates to open, they said the Phillies fans had been very nice. The Pipkins, who live in Enterprise, Alabama, where dad is a lawyer, even stopped to help a family of Phillies supporters who wanted a group photo. In turn, one of those family members asked Whit who was his favorite Brave.
The welcome wasn’t bad, but sometimes not too cordial, for a few other Braves fans who stood out like a chicken finger in a cheesesteak among the swath of Phanatics.
Credit: Doug Roberson
Credit: Doug Roberson
Gregg and Sean Castille made the trip from Annapolis, Maryland. Sean wore his Austin Riley jersey and Braves ballcap. Greg, his dad and a Braves fan since 1969 because of Phil Niekro, wore a Braves ballcap.
Sean said they heard a few, “Are you lost?” comments from Phillies fans as they walked around the stadium. Wednesday was their first time at Citizens Bank Park.
“I expect it to be very loud; to hear a lot of banter,” Sean said.
Credit: Doug Roberson
Credit: Doug Roberson
April Showers, wearing a green Braves ballcap and white Freddie Freeman jersey over a white Falcons sweatshirt, came for Game 3 because she wanted to support the team while also giving Philadelphia sports fans another chance.
Showers, a claims adjustor who lives in Atlanta, came to a Falcons game against the Eagles in 2017 at Lincoln Financial Field.
“They did me so wrong,” she said.
She said that because it was so cold she bought some cocoa. Eagles fans kicked over her cup.
That happened during a playoff game that the Eagles were winning.
Showers said she hadn’t yet experienced any negative behavior other than a Phillies fan agreeing to take her photo but only if she “hurried up.”
And there was Layton Sheets, a native of Warner Robins who is a real estate investor and musician who resides in Nashville, Tennessee. Sheets said he has attended more than 20 Braves playoff games since 2012. He said he came to Citizens Bank Park, the last of the stadiums of NL East teams he had yet to visit, to support the team and “to see what all of this is about. I want to see it. I want to feel it.”
But he didn’t want to be antagonistic. So his only visible affiliation with the Braves was a non-traditional white ballcap with the Braves scripted in aqua green and purple.
“I am playing it safe tonight,” he said. “I have heard so much about this hostile environment. I’m not one to cause a ruckus.”
Credit: Doug Roberson
Credit: Doug Roberson
They weren’t the only Braves supporters to venture into the belly of the Citizens Bank Park beast. Young Jacoby Weaver wore an Acuña jersey. He was the only one of his four-member Calhoun-based family who was easy to identify as a Braves fan. They said the Phillies supporters were very polite. And, if things get weird, Weaver’s mom whipped out a sweatshirt for her son to wear over his jersey. Sage Bartlett, wearing a Matt Olson jersey, traveled from Syracuse, New York, for the game. He said he heard a few boos as he walked past people, but nothing was too bad.
Others interviewed said they had a similar plan should things get squirrelly during the game and Phillies supporters decide to express their jubilation or frustration in stereotypical ways.
Ignore and/or evade.
“I’m hoping that somehow the power of Jesus comes over me tonight if that does start to happen because I care a lot,” Sheets said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t care. And this is what I do. This is my – I don’t say it’s a passion because it’s not an action – but this is my main interest. And I am so glad to be here. And if a little bit of that happens, I feel like that’s gonna be part of the gig, you know?”
