Philadelphia 76ers Joel Embiid Plays Phillyball For Home Crowd

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Dec 16, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia 76ers great Allen Iverson acknowledges the fans as he is honored during a ceremony for his induction to the hall of fame during halftime against the Los Angeles Lakers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

It’s Both Privilege and Honor

Few understand the mindset of Philadelphia fans. That’s not to say that athletes don’t understand that the fans of Philadelphia are tough. Tough? Perhaps. But its the rare athlete who understands why.

Brian Dawkins understood.

"“Man, that feeling goes both ways,” said Dawkins. “It’s a mutual thing. Like, for me to have … PHILLY! For me to have the opportunity to be in front of these fans, to give everything that I had, that meant the world to me. And the reason why I’m emotional right now is because of the amount of letters I’ve gotten, where people [are] being buried in my uniform … that’s a special connection. That’s a special connection.”"

Allen Iverson understood.

"“My relationship with the fans in Philadelphia is like no other,” he said, comparing their admiration to him to that of Chicago’s with Michael Jordan. “Thank you all for the support over the years. You all let me grow. You all let me make my mistakes. You never jumped off the bandwagon and continued to support me like true fans are supposed to.”"

In fact, if you want to be moved to tears and pride, you need to watch the enshrinement speech of Allen Iverson

And now, the riddle of the hearts of Philadelphia Fans rest in the hands of Joel Embiid.