How Philadelphia 76ers Fans Aid in the Exposure of “The Process”

The Philadelphia 76ers fans are some of the most passionate in the NBA, and are a key reason that their rebuilding process has been so exposed.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been tanking for multiple seasons to get a look at a better draft pick, that has been no secret. General manager Sam Hinkie has made it clear that they haven’t been in a position the past few seasons to pursue a trade for a good player or be active in getting the offseason’s biggest free agents. Instead fans have had to watch less-than-average NBA players suit up with “PHILA” across their chest, something that was ironically once an honor only the highest-tier of NBA players had. Over the course of examining this rebuilding process, it’s become clear to me that Sixers fans play a pivotal role in how the rebuilding effort is seen around the league by fans of other teams, and fans of basketball in general.

I started covering the Sixers here at The Sixer Sense less than a year ago, shortly after Jahlil Okafor was drafted by the team. Although I knew that the team was in a rough patch, I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time as far as what it takes to get inside this team and deep into the layers that the rebuilding process contains. Although I aim to cover the Sixers as best I can, and of course with passion, I am not a Sixers fan, and never have been. Don’t get me wrong, Allen Iverson was one of my favorite players to play with in the early editions of NBA Live, and this team has been one that I’ve lightly kept an eye on since I started paying attention to the NBA in 2005. Many people think I am a Sixers fan, and in fact I do remember that a few of the people I have met through the blogosphere were very confused, surprised, and in some cases offended that I am not, in fact, a Sixers fan. But I do get the fan perspective when it comes to the Sixers, and understand what a lot of their fans think.

Many of the Philly fans have backed this rebuilding process, even though it requires them to support a team that is bound to lose around at least 60 games this season. Although it was a slow thing to accept for a lot of fans at first, fans have really started to like the idea of tanking since it seems to hold the better interest of the team’s future. They get better young prospects, and could have a truly stacked team years down the road if the pieces and picks fall in the right places. The popular slogan “Trust the Process” comes to mind. It’s a group of people largely lead by Spike Eskin who talks regularly about the Sixers on the Rights to Ricky Sanchez podcast that have embraced the losing culture, and really make a spectacle of it.

And what a spectacle it has become.

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The Sixers’ rebuilding process and tanking to get a better chance at a draft pick is nothing new. As highlighted by Gabriel Allen in his piece titled “Major League Basketball,” which compares the Sixers’ rebuilding process to that of the film Major League, “Tanking has been with us in basketball for more than two decades now.” The Sixers did not invent the tank, but their fans have helped them turn it into something popular, something fun, and in some ways, made the fans around the NBA hate tanking, even though over the years their team has probably done something similar.

I had the pleasure of living in Philly from August until December last year, and there was a few things I learned about Sixers fans, and Philadelphians in general: They are loud, they are proud (especially about their sports), and they love to argue, about anything. I’m not saying any of these three things are particularly a bad thing, but it doesn’t help the perception that the league has about the rebuilding process.

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Fans of the Sixers have practically no choice but to stand behind the Sixers, just like they have no choice but to stand behind their Eagles or their Flyers, or even their Phillies. They know no better than to support their team in the good or bad, (it’s mostly bad) and to be loud about their support for their team. If they see you wearing another team’s jersey, shirt, hat, or anything of that nature in Philly city limits, and perhaps even a bit beyond, you’re probably going to hear something from someone. They don’t know much better than to let you know you’re showing a bit of disrespect by doing that in “their house.”

So, when the rebuilding started to become public knowledge, that the general manager of the team was practically compiling a roster with the intention to lose, a few NBA fans spoke up about how it was a “travesty to the league.” Sixers fans that saw this had to speak up and defend their team, just as they always have. They told the opposition that everything was going to be good, and that the plan was going to work. And it might, but even if they didn’t believe in it, some stood up for their team anyway. It also helps that the natural Philly fan and citizen loves to argue. Add the chance to argue with the topic of sports and you could get them going for hours.

This loud support for their team despite it being such a dismal period for the franchise — still not having won 10 games at this point in the season — comes off as uneducated to some NBA fans, and gives fans of other teams a bad look and feel for the Sixers and the tanking method altogether. Fans of other teams can’t wrap their heads around the idea of supporting a team so wholeheartedly even when they are losing, because they don’t support theirs at the same level that Philadelphians do.

While the general NBA fan thinks that Sixers fans are uneducated for their support of a team despite their chosen method to tank — even though it’s a commonly practiced method, just maybe not at this level — the Sixers fan base, as I mentioned on the Flat Top Podcast, probably has the largest basketball IQ and general roster knowledge compared to all the other NBA teams. What other franchises’ fans are as invested and dedicated to learning about players that haven’t even seen a minute of NBA basketball (Joel Embiid, Dario Saric)?

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Many fans may seem delusional — some are — because of how their love, passion, and pride in their sports teams clouds their better judgement from time to time. Currently three years into the rebuild, I can tell you that there’s no better option at this point than to go all-in with the tanking method, but the negative perception that has been brought onto the team is largely owed to the fans and how loud they have been about supporting their team, even in this dark time of the franchise. It’s something very few outside of those who are true Philadelphia sports fans will ever be able to understand.