Alright team, let me walk you through how I dug into this Philly fan rivalry debate. See, it all started when I was scrolling through Phillies fan groups on social media this morning, coffee in hand. Kept seeing the same damn question pop up over and over: “Who’s our BIGGEST rival?” And man, the answers were everywhere. Got me curious about what the real popular choice was.
Getting My Hands Dirty
First thing? I decided not to just guess. I wanted actual numbers. So, I started hopping into different Phillies spaces online. Posted a super simple poll myself in a few big Facebook groups and subreddits, just asking straight up: “Who’s the Phillies’ biggest rival? Mets, Braves, or someone else?” Figured keeping it basic would get more honest answers.
Then I dove deep into existing threads. Oh boy, the comment sections! Man, the passion! Printed out a bunch of the busiest discussions – my desk looked like a damn paper explosion. Started circling names every time someone mentioned a rival, adding little sticky notes about why they hated that team. The bitterness towards the Braves surprised me, honestly! All that “chopping” nonsense really gets under folks’ skin here.
Tallying Up the Hate
Time to make sense of the mess. Grabbed my notebook and pen. Went through every printed thread, every poll result I could find, and my own poll responses. Made three clear piles:
- The Usual Suspects (Mets & Braves)
- The Old School Feels (Like Cardinals, Pirates sometimes)
- The “Someone Else” Weirdos (Usually Yankees, sometimes Nats)
Just started counting. Marked a tick for every mention in comments, every vote in polls. Lost track of time for a bit, just hunched over scribbling tallies. Found myself arguing with the data out loud: “Damn right the Braves are getting more ticks than that!” My gut thought Mets, for sure… that division history is thick.
The Eye-Opening Result
Finished counting. Took a step back. Added up all the ticks from polls, all the mentions from discussions. And you know what? Clear as day.
The Atlanta Braves weren’t just winning… they were absolutely crushing it in mentions and votes. Way more than the Mets, especially in those fiery comment sections where feelings run hot. Sure, Mets got votes, especially from older fans remembering classic battles. But recently? That whole “battle of the division titans” thing with Atlanta, that constant back-and-forth, the annoying chop… man, it’s pushed Atlanta to the top as the current Public Enemy #1 for a huge chunk of Phillies Nation. It wasn’t even that close!
Kinda blew my mind. Thought my Mets bias was showing, but nope. The people have spoken. Loud and clear. Feels like Atlanta took the crown right outta Queens’ hands these last few years. The passion, the pure hatred in some comments… yeah. That told the real story more than any poll number. Looks like Atlanta wearing the “Biggest Rival” hat for now, like it or not. Guess I owe someone a beer for arguing the Braves side so hard earlier!
