The "girl throws baseball back" video has become the most adorable story in baseball for the moment. The little girl who threw a baseball back at a Phillies game has also become a rare antidote to the ugly sports stories of the past few weeks. Since Tuesday, the 'girl throws baseball back' video has put a much nicer face on Philadelphia fans than they are used to getting. As such, Philadelphia, the Internet, and baseball shows have embraced the girl who threw a baseball back, as well as her daddy.
On Tuesday night, a Phillies fan in the upper deck made a nice catch to get a foul ball in the Phillies-Nationals game. But when the man, Steve Montforo, gave the ball to his 3-year-old daughter Emily, she threw the ball back on the field. That would be adorable enough on its own, but the video also made headlines because of the father's reaction.
Rather than get angry at his daughter for throwing away his foul ball - one he had wanted since he started coming to Phillies games when he was three years old - Montforo laughed it off and gave her a big hug, as cameras caught the action. So for the last 36 hours, the 'girl throws baseball back' video has become the biggest viral video in sports - and the most positive sports story in a while by far.
This entire month has been an ugly one for sports in general, with nasty clips like LeGarettee Blount punching a Boise State player, Serena Williams and Roger Federer cursing at line judges, and the Yankees and Blue Jays getting into a heavy brawl. With all those violent and uncivilized clips - to say nothing of the recent outbursts in entertainment and politics - having a sweet video to watch of a girl throwing back a baseball is a rare thing.
It is also rare to see such a thing in Philadelphia, which is always accused of having the most insane, nasty fans in sports. But for once, a Philadelphia fan made headlines for being nice, not for getting drunk, hurling things at players, or booing too much.
On Tuesday night, a Phillies fan in the upper deck made a nice catch to get a foul ball in the Phillies-Nationals game. But when the man, Steve Montforo, gave the ball to his 3-year-old daughter Emily, she threw the ball back on the field. That would be adorable enough on its own, but the video also made headlines because of the father's reaction.
Rather than get angry at his daughter for throwing away his foul ball - one he had wanted since he started coming to Phillies games when he was three years old - Montforo laughed it off and gave her a big hug, as cameras caught the action. So for the last 36 hours, the 'girl throws baseball back' video has become the biggest viral video in sports - and the most positive sports story in a while by far.
This entire month has been an ugly one for sports in general, with nasty clips like LeGarettee Blount punching a Boise State player, Serena Williams and Roger Federer cursing at line judges, and the Yankees and Blue Jays getting into a heavy brawl. With all those violent and uncivilized clips - to say nothing of the recent outbursts in entertainment and politics - having a sweet video to watch of a girl throwing back a baseball is a rare thing.
It is also rare to see such a thing in Philadelphia, which is always accused of having the most insane, nasty fans in sports. But for once, a Philadelphia fan made headlines for being nice, not for getting drunk, hurling things at players, or booing too much.
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