A Sixers fan dealing with conflicting fandom

What happens when the Philadelphia 76ers aren’t the only team you find yourself cheering for?

For my first time posting on The Sixer Sense I wanted to go ahead and get something out of the way immediately. For the last few years, there has been another team in my life. Don’t get me wrong. My passion for the Philadelphia 76ers has not waned. I’ve been trusting The Process. My Joel Embiid jersey is in heavy rotation. The thing is, there’s another team that I’ve been having feelings for.

It isn’t my fault though, I swear. I never intended to develop these feelings. After growing up in South Philadelphia and going to school at University of Delaware, I moved to Washington, D.C. in the summer of 2011, smack dab in the middle of two consecutive playoffs appearances for the 76ers and at the peak of the Doug Collins era. My League Pass subscription was nearly as vital to my well-being as were food and shelter. Jrue Holiday was my guy!

Wizards

Philadelphia 76ers

Meanwhile, in D.C. the Washington Wizards were a joke. They won just 20 games in that 2011-12 season and aside from John Wall, their roster was a who’s who of “Shaqtin’ A Fool” candidates. Their leading scorer was, I kid you not, Nick Young. Combine that sad roster with a general lack of local interest in the team, and tickets to games at the Verizon Center were incredibly cheap. I sat in the lower bowl about 15 times that season and never paid more than $25.

I am though, above all, a basketball fan. It was always my favorite sport growing up. Allen Iverson probably made more of an impact on me in my youth than most blood relatives. I could rattle off the 2011 Finals roster in my sleep. I still play as much as I can today. Two nights ago, I found myself watching a preseason game between the lowly New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets. What I’m getting at is that I just need as much basketball in my life as possible. So even though the Wizards were horrendous and the 76ers were still having some moderate success, proximity and exposure were starting to carve out a spot in my heart for the local team.

Torn loyalties

Once that seed was planted, the two teams’ trajectories created the perfect storm. The Wizards would add Bradley Beal, then later Otto Porter, and their record improved each consecutive year after my arrival in D.C. save for a slight dip in 2015-16. Meanwhile, The Process was born. After the players it has yielded, I am somewhat ashamed to admit I was not an immediate adopter of The Process. I would come around on it, and eventually was just as outraged over Sam Hinkie’s departure as I’m sure many of this site’s readers were, but it took me some time. Particularly when I had an alternative team to pay attention to.

Be honest. If you could watch a team led by under 25-year-olds and an All-Star point guard making the playoffs and improving each year, or a team that is intentionally losing, which are you going to pay more attention to? Again, this isn’t all to say that my love for the Philadelphia 76ers was diminished. Not at all. The NBA draft became one of my most anticipated nights of the year. I was excited for every pick, trade, and traded pick that Hinkie and more recently Bryan Colangelo executed. I simply also had love for another.

Paths collide

Until now, it’s never been an issue. Each season during the process my hopes were clear and did not conflict. I’d root for the Wizards to win. I’d root for the 76ers players to show promise and improvement but ultimately for the team to bottom out. Even when the two teams would play each other, I was able to watch the game with clear motives and a clean conscience.

This can no longer be the case, and it’s going to be hard. What started as a mild interest in the local basketball team has turned into genuine fandom. I no longer look at the Wizards and think “Oh that’s nice that they’re doing well.” Now I look weeks in advance at their schedule to see how they may fare while Markieff Morris is injured. The status of the 76ers has obviously changed as well. Instead of hoping for a #1 draft pick, I’m hoping for the playoffs. I’m watching preseason games not to see if a guy like Christian Wood can be an NBA player but to see if Ben Simmons can be an All-Star.

Prior to this experience, I’ve never been in a predicament like this before. In other sports I’ve had passing interests in teams, or rooted for certain players to do well. But I’ve never been a legitimate fan of two teams at once, NBA or otherwise. Some of you reading this probably think I’m a fair weather fan for allowing myself to become enamored with the Wizards the way I have in these last few years. Maybe you’re right. I’m not sure. I know that I still love the 76ers.  In fact, I am more excited for their season than perhaps ever before.

Face-off

What I don’t know is this: How will I react when my two favorite teams face-off?  And as if their goal were to troll me specifically, the NBA’s schedule makers have presented the opportunity to find out as soon as possible. The Philadelphia 76ers will be in D.C. to play the Washington Wizards on opening night. I legitimately don’t know how I will feel watching that game.

Next: Top 30 players in Sixers franchise history

I’ll be in attendance, and I fear my heart may explode. I’m hoping that it won’t be an issue. I’m hoping that I can simply be a fan of two teams and root for them both, but I’m worried that it will not be that simple. Heaven forbid these two teams meet in the playoffs.