I can't wait to get this season underway. I'm kinda bummed about the shortened season, but the positives are that it feels like the season sprung up overnight and I won't have to endure a 2 month preseason, plus there's just going to be that many more games on every night.
It'll be interesting to see who teams amnesty (especially my Sixers), but more than anything I just want to watch some non-college ball.
You, me and Kate Fagan might be the only Sixers fans left. As for the amnesty, they've already rid themselves of the millstone around their neck by axing Hip-Hop, getting rid of anyone else is just excessive (Elton Brand can still kind of play). Although is either Jason Kapono or Nocioni still on the books? 76ers should definitely drop those dudes.
Hey! I'm a Sixers fan. It's just that the team has been so incredibly hatable the past few years. It isn't the players' fault. I'm really high on Thad/J'Rue/Turner and Iggy's STILL somehow underrated by the masses, particularly in Philly.
It's just that the old ownership group could not have ruined the team more than they did.
The Sixers were briefly the most popular team in Philly. Their finals run was Phillies-level awesome in how beloved they were that spring. People who weren't around back then think I'm lying when I tell them things like "A few thousand people celebrated the Game 1 win over the Lakers at Broad and Walnut" and "Everyone in the city pretty much had a Sixers flag".
That team wasn't built for a big run. AI's probably my favorite player ever (I think I watched him stepping over Tyrone Lue 19 times this week alone) but he was too mercurial to be a guy to bring a team to a few finals. And trying to fit the pieces around him required a skilled hand which Billy Hunter didn't have. And Larry Brown was the perfect coach for that run but he's a total flake (although my friend Becky thinks he's a silver fox).
But even with the team up-and-down, they still shouldn't have ended up like they have. The ownership group just piddled away all of their goodwill by making those games as aggravating as possible.
I went to the Lakers game last year with my cousin. The cheapest ticket was $30, before surcharges. I saw the Phillies a bunch of times last year for about half that price. I know the economics are different -- 20,000 seats with 40 games vs. 45,000 seats with 81 games -- but the Phillies sell out every game while the Sixers played to half capacity most nights. On top of the horrifying expense for a ticket, the parking was also $15, unless you wanted to park by the ballpark and walk about four miles in an unexposed, poorly lit parking lot in mid-January.
Hip Hop was also the worst mascot in US sports history. I'd love to see the focus group when he was created. "Oh, yeah, let's get an extreme bodybuilding rape-y rabbit who will hit about 75% of his trampoline dunks." And they had this literal monster when right across the street is the Philly Phanatic, who is even more beloved than Wawa.
Then their attempts at generating atmosphere just drove me and my friends away. The dumb sad voice after the away team's bucket. The piped in defense chants. Hip Hop with those loud gloves. They refused to allow any amount of silence during the game -- just not stop Jock Jam after Jock Jam, with requisite Wang Chung style graphics everywhere.
HOWEVER -- I'm back on board. The new owners are really receptive. One of their owners is constantly on Twitter talking with fans and asking for ideas. They already dumped Hip Hop, which is the best move they could have made, and there will be a GUARANTEED SELL OUT for "Burn Hip Hop in effigy" night. They cut ticket prices by half.
They just have to work the cap. If they get one star -- and it doesn't have to be a superstar, but just a legit scoring All-Star ala Monta Ellis -- and the team gets up to a 4 seed, that place is going to be rocking again.
GO SIX SHOW!
