For the most part, when you consider sports writers, you expect them to be completely unbiased, which is the case for the majority of us. But in reality, you can’t be a great sports writer without having a deep love for the game and whether we express it in our writing or not, there’s always that one team that’s near and dear to our hearts.
For me, that connection is to the commonly horrid Philadelphia 76ers and just as you could expect, it has been far from an easy journey. With that said, I’d like to give you a glance at what it’s like to be one of the most patient fans of an ever-slumping franchise.
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In case you’ve been under a rock and have been boycotting the NBA since they handed the Cleveland Cavaliers their third No. 1 overall pick in four years, just as I considered doing, the Sixers are the only winless team left with an 0-16 record, so we’ll just start there.
That’s just short of 20 percent of the entire season behind us and when you’re a fan of a team that spent its two lottery picks in the 2014 NBA Draft on guys who won’t even see the court this season, the nearest light at the end up the tunnel is the 2015 draft lottery.
In the meantime, there are still 66 games left to play and one thing I can surely vouch for as a Sixers fan is there’s never any shortage of support for our team. Yes, we know the Sixers are horrible and the only things that make this entire tanking process even remotely fathomable are the silver linings we cling to, such as praying Michael Carter-Williams hits a higher percentage of his jump shots, enjoying the routine poster created by K.J. McDaniels and overanalyzing Nerlens Noel each time his extremely unorthodox shooting form results in two points.
These seem like things any young rebuilding team would hope for, but in the case of the Sixers, our silver linings reach as far as being overjoyed when JaKarr Sampson doesn’t see very many minutes and tipping your hat to this team any time they score on back-to-back possessions.
Yes, it’s that kind of season we’re struggling through.
Basketball is supposed to be an enjoyable experience and something we all love to talk about with our friends, but any Sixers fan could tell you that it’s actually quite painful to watch a team littered with guys who shouldn’t even be on an NBA roster night in and night out. And although the blowout losses are something that’s going to be quite common, the games when Philly is actually still scratching and clawing in the final minutes before their inferior talent and experience kicks in and leaves them behind on the scoreboard yet again are actually the toughest to swallow.
For the most part, Sixers’ fans are on board the Hinkie express and prefer to lose the majority of games for the sought-after top pick in the draft, but for whatever unexplainable reason, there’s still a collective sigh of disappointment every time Philly gives us hope for that coveted first win.
This is only the tip of the iceberg, though. Not only do Sixers fans have to deal with repetitive losing, but it’s even rougher to scroll through the channels and see teams like Portland, Golden State and Toronto having such great success with win streaks and championship aspirations. It’s kind of like being the kid at the amusement park who’s not yet tall enough to get on the rides so you have to just sit back and watch everybody else have the time of their lives.
But you know that someday, you just might be able to join in on the fun and actually win a game or two.
In a nutshell, being a Sixers’ fan is far from easy. It’s never fun when your team loses nearly every game over a two-year period and only having a small handful of guys who are actually fun to watch lose doesn’t help much, either. But one thing for sure is there aren’t many fan bases out there more passionate and patient than those supporting Philadelphia.