First and last thought…
There have been a lot of questions and public frustration surrounding the 76ers this season, all stemming from three factors: Joel Embiidthe player’s health, his absence from the squad during the first four matches, and even with Embiid speaking on Friday — the Sixers’ prevarications about whether he’s injured and when he’ll play.
If you thought that the frenzy surrounding general manager social media accounts would return the Sixers to normal, if you thought that this franchise would at some point stop making you roll your eyes and throw your hands in the air… oh, poor things, that’s a naive thing.
Amid this confusion, I heard via email this week from two Sixers season ticket holders who agreed to let me offer their (redacted) thoughts on the whole Embiid fiasco. These thoughts are quite negative, to say the least.
First from Joe, the lawyer:
“I don’t have much to say except that the snarky attitude, indifference to fans, lies and (expletive) from Sixers management are outrageous and disgraceful. A bunch of billionaires are more concerned about their new arena (so they can make more money) than providing fans with a product that won’t be as disgraceful as Wednesday night’s game against Detroit.
“I am very disappointed. A team that is healthy and only plays 20-30 games together cannot magically win a championship. Meanwhile, I’m paying a huge amount of money to pay the salary of someone I won’t be able to watch, and I’m supposed to be happy that Embiid will be healthy for the playoffs and maybe they’ll make it. first or second round – it doesn’t matter that the play-offs last two to three months and then he may get injured. It’s a pot.
Then Junhao, a 20-year-old student and entrepreneur:
“I have been a season ticket holder for three years, although I am considering not extending my contract for next year as prices continue to rise and the team’s results have been disappointing every year. It’s surprising how many court/floor seats went unsold this year compared to the past few seasons. Many of my coworkers also have spots there, and many chose not to renew or cancel their contracts last season.
“Other holders and I were trying to sell tickets before the news broke that Embiid wouldn’t play because the ticket value had almost halved. Ticket prices have been highly volatile recently as key players were absent from the match. We understand that key players can’t play every round – but match by match? It’s like a robbery because we pay the full amount in exchange for most of our key players missing several games in a row!
“The Sixers’ handling of Embiid is a joke and demonstrates management’s incompetence in maintaining the trust of not only the NBA community, but also the fans at home. It’s hard to “trust the process” when there is no clear communication from the team NBA fined PLN 100,000 dollars this is just the tip of the iceberg of problems. At least maintain transparency and communication with fans so that we have hope or at least trust in the team.
» READ MORE: The numbers suggest that the Sixers are one of the worst teams in the NBA without Joel Embiid and Paul George
Let’s call it feedback negative is putting it mildly. If there are other season ticket holders who have a different opinion and would like to share their opinion, you know where to find me: msielski@inquirer.com. I will share these thoughts in a later column as well. But I have to be honest: I’m not sure how many people like this there are in the world.
Dougie P and QB
Twice now, the franchise has given Doug Pederson an important assignment: transforming a well-prepared quarterback into a superstar. And for the second time – first with Carson Wentz, now with Trevor Lawrence – Pederson seems unable to complete it.
Wentz’s degeneration in 2020 contributed to this Jeffrey Luriedecision about fire Pederson after this season. Now the Jacksonville Jaguars enter Sunday’s game against the Eagles with a 2-6 record, with Lawrence failing to live up to the lofty expectations that accompanied his 2021 NFL entry and Pederson’s future uncertain at best.
Pederson will always be immortal here in the 2017-2018 season Super Bowl start. But so far, his track record as a QB whisperer doesn’t live up to his reputation as such.
» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts and context, Nick Sirianni and calm, and other obvious Eagles truths
A true original
Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna was an all-time Philadelphia figure, an exceptional scorer and statistician, ubiquitous at high school games in and around the city, quirky and knowledgeable, and an essential thread in the tapestry of portraying and loving Philadelphia basketball. He was the second set of eyes and ears for longtime Daily News anchor Ted Silary, and when they happened to be in the same room, Hockey might as well have been attached to Teddy’s leg. A true original, he died on Thursday evening. TEAR.