NBC Sports Philly debuts a new score bug for Phillies broadcasts and naturally, fans are already judging it

Phillies Spring Training is all about fresh starts—new lineups, new prospects, and apparently, new score bugs. NBC Sports Philadelphia rolled out a new on-screen scoreboard (aka “score bug”) during Sunday’s Grapefruit League game between the Phillies and Orioles, and, well… let’s just say reactions are mixed.

A Downgrade? Maybe. A Tragedy? Absolutely.

Let’s be clear—the new score bug isn’t terrible. It has all the necessary information, it’s clean, and it’s functional. But it’s also a downgrade from the previous version. The old one incorporated team logos, which gave it a polished and modern look. This one? It looks like something out of a 1990s sports movie that couldn’t afford real MLB licensing.

RIP to the ‘COOP’ games…a year too late for Cooper DeJean:

It’s serviceable, but it lacks the personality of the old version.

The Death of “P00P” Games

The real tragedy here, though, isn’t just the aesthetics—it’s what we lost in the process. For years, whenever the Phillies played the Pirates, the old score bug would display “P00P” at the start of games (Phillies 0, Pirates 0, Top of 1st).

The Death of NBC Sports Philadelphia P00P Games

.@NBCSPhilly RIP to the POOP score bug with the new one today. pic.twitter.com/kBAo31toLr

— JoshMRadio 🎙️🎧 (@JoshMRadio) February 23, 2025

It was a dumb, childish, and glorious little quirk that made certain matchups must-see TV for a very specific type of fan (sickos, as they are lovingly called).

Now? Gone. Forever.

Phillies fans responding to the score bug change: pic.twitter.com/ARKqqdBsa1

— Abigail ⚾️💚 (@AbigailCSports) February 23, 2025

Did NBC refresh the graphics across all their regional sports networks just to erase “P00P” from existence? I wouldn’t rule it out. Was it time for a new look regardless? Probably. The old score bug had a three-year run, and networks do tend to switch things up every few seasons.

Still Better Than FOX’s Super Bowl Disaster

No matter how you feel about NBC Sports Philadelphia’s new design, it could be worse—much worse. FOX debuted an abomination of a transparent scorebug during Super Bowl LIX, and it was so unreadable that people begged for the classic version to come back immediately.

The debut of the new Super Bowl LIX scorebug on the FOX broadcast was a total miss and NFL fans let them hear all about it on social media

Final Verdict: Meh, But We’ll Get Used to It

It’s not a dealbreaker, but it’s not an upgrade either. It’s just… fine. But losing the “P00P” scoreboard forever? That one’s going to hurt for a while.

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