MLB

This Photo, Allegedly Of Ryan Howard, Will Launch Philadelphia Into An Even Deeper Sports Depression

You couldn’t blame any Philadelphia sports fan who’s experienced some dark days in the last week. The Eagles are 1-4. The Sixers can’t actually play basketball until the lockout ends, and who knows when that will be. The Flyers are off to a good start, but it’s just that: a start. They’ve played two games, far too soon to come to any conclusions about the team’s direction.

And then, the Phillies. Oh, those Phillies. They were baseball’s best regular-season team, but fell to the Cardinals in the first round of the playoffs…and not only that, star Ryan Howard tore his Achilles in the process of making the final out. Howard will turn 32 next month, his production (though still quite good, to be fair) isn’t at the level he reached in 2006 and 2007 – and since he’s past 30, it doesn’t figure to get back there, either. Oh, and he’s got a five-year, $125 million contract (with an option for a sixth year that would push the value to $138 million) that begins next year.

None of that, though, is what’s going to make Phillies fans the worst. That dubious honor is reserved for a photo posted on Philly.com and later by Crossing Broad, purportedly of Howard. This is that photo:

Yes, powerful slugger Ryan Howard – 6-4, 240-pound Ryan Howard – is riding around Whole Foods on the type of scooter you might see advertised during The Price is Right. I know we have to accept that pro athletes are human like the rest of us and everything, but this? Thankfully, Philly.com’s Dan Gross also said that more recently, Howard was seen at the store on crutches. That one photo above was all we could take – never mind actual Phillies fans.

Sad Phillies fans photo via Busted Coverage