Apr 23rd 2008 8:50PM by Mullet

There’s been a raging debate on the FanHouse comment pages lately about whether fans in Philadelphia are rowdy, violent, or merely misunderstood. One thing we could all probably agree on is that it’s not all Phillies fans that are giving the city a bad name, but just an unfortunate vocal minority. Another thing we could now agree on is that Philly doesn’t have the market cornered on idiots. Unfortunately, they’re everywhere.(Bobby) Collins, 52, of Macon came to Turner Field with his nephew and friend earlier this month to catch the team’s second home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Collins rubbed some fans in front of him the wrong way, having the audacity to wear a Pirates hat.

The group jawed with Collins over his choice of headwear at the April 2 game, and later got sucker-punched as fans filed out of the stadium. He told a friend who was at the game, Andy Coggins, that his attacker was in the same rowdy group that was sitting near them. The blow knocked many of Collins’ teeth out and broke his jaw and other bones in his face, according to an Atlanta police report. He is still healing, with his jaw wired shut.That group of fans, according to the article, was on the jumbotron dancing, and one of them left a cell phone behind … so these guys will most likely be caught. But when it comes to the problem of violent fans, the common denominator is most likely not a city or a region of the country (more likely it’s alcohol, but that’s another post at another time). When this kind of thing happens in Atlanta, known as a fan base not as “passionate” about baseball as other parts of the country are, then all rules of engagement are out the window.