Posted: Thursday, February 2, 2012, 11:14 PM | 26 comments |
 

Sixers assistant: Philly fans get bad rap
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It’s not often that a coach comes to the defense of Philly fans. However, this is exactly what 76ers associate coach Michael Curry did on Thursday.

Curry, who took the Detroit Pistons to the playoffs in 2009, spent 11 seasons in the NBA, four of them as president of the NBA Players Association. Whenever Curry – in his second year as an assistant with the Sixers – visited here as a player or coach, it struck him that the fans were more knowledgeable and less curmudgeon and angry, as depicted by the national media.

You know the stories: booing Santa; popping Jimmy Johnson with snowballs.

“Fans here get a bad rap. Any time you visited Philly, the thing you always heard was that the Philly fans were really hard. But being here these two years I realize that Philly fans are very knowledgeable. They want to win and they want to win in the worst way.”

He might be on to something. Think about it. When Eagles fans were calling for Andy Reid’s firing, it was mostly because he’s been here 13 years and has nothing to show for it in terms of Super Bowls. Eagles fans want Reid Gone probably because of the 11 Super Bowl victories owned by the NFC East – and it could be 12 if the Giants win at Indy this weekend – and the barren trophy case over at Novacare Complex.

“You can’t fool Philly fans - you can’t fool them,” Curry said. “You can promote one thing and say one thing but if they don’t see it they don’t believe it. They believe what their eyes show them. They have to see it with their eyes. And if you show them with your play, then you will make them believers.

“They are not going to believe it just because someone writes it or that’s how it should be or that’s how you’re projecting it to be,” Curry continued. “They don’t move on those things. They move on what they see and what they’ve seen these last two years is a team that plays together, plays extremely hard every night and plays to win.”

Curry pointed out when Allen Iverson was here he played alongside a bunch of workmen players like fellow assistant Aaron McKie and George Lynch, Iverson was the only star playing alongside guys who were “just grunt guys that played extremely hard every night.

“They have been great fans for us the last two years, and I think it’s because they like the fact that our guys play hard every night.”
Posted by John Mitchell @ 11:14 PM  Permalink | 26 comments
26
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  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 11:57 PM, 02/02/2012
    Thanks for the article, John.

    Whether we’re willing to admit it or not, something that will continue to plague Philly fans is our ill-conceived national perception. Our blunders have been well documented: batteries at JD Drew, heaving on visiting fans, jeering an injured Irvin, snowballs at Santa Claus, etc. However, to judge a fan base on such a small sample size is like judging Joe Namath’s interview skills by watching him proposition Suzy Kolber for a kiss on the Jets sideline in ’03.

    That being said, Michael Curry hit the nail on the head. The majority of our fan base pairs their knowledge with an unequaled fanaticism. I’m one of those. I work 60 hours a week and still religiously follow our teams. The Sixers have been my Eagles hangover remedy, and I can’t wait to see how they evolve. They are reflective of our fan-base: better than advertised.

    PS Thanks for getting rid of Hip-Hop, Adam Aron
    — j_pink24
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:57 AM, 02/08/2012
    In a city the size of Philly, with the "blue collar" tag that the media has assigned it, you are bound to get more than the "fair-share" of spotlight on the negativities that arise from the fan-base. (Other cities have their share of disreputable fans too.) Hey, we just need to take on the misperceptions as they come and answer with sports teams that win and fans who continue to be knowledgeable about the philly sports they/we support.
    — mrlars737
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:17 AM, 02/03/2012
    Is he implying the Eagles aren't the Gold Standard?
    — The one & only
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:17 AM, 02/03/2012
    @j_pink...great post...@Quixote...you beat me to the ball as that was the first thing I thought was here's the peripheral "bounce back" piece. At least I got to hear some views from Curry, who will sooner than later gain become a head coach.
    — bearsfriend
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:23 AM, 02/03/2012
    Really enjoying this guys work.
    — Rawkus
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:24 AM, 02/03/2012
    Curry will become the head coach of the Sixers when Doug Collins retires. That is, of course, unless some other team snatches him up first.
    — scribbles
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 1:34 AM, 02/03/2012
    I've been a fan of all 4 major Philly sports teams for the last 40 years, but... This strikes me as pandering. And further, we in Philly have a vocal minority of fans who really are embarrassing, who would rather complain than support the teams, whose knee jerk response is to find criticize our best players and clamor for people to be fired or traded. The Santa thing is overplayed, obviously, but there is a big streak of not being happy unless we're miserable here. And our sports media stokes it up at every turn.
    — FKD215
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:59 AM, 02/03/2012
    I love Curry and I hope scribbles is right. I have to ask Rawkus, are you talking about Curry or Mitchell? If you are "enjoying" Mitchell's work, then good for you, I find him to be lacking, good some some days, horrible others. This piece started really well, but it seems incomplete to me. He doesn't finish his last thought. He talks about Iverson and the players around him, but what's the point? How did the fans feel about that? What did Curry have to say about the fan's reaction? Come on John, don't leave us hanging.
    — BeFrank
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:23 AM, 02/03/2012
    Well said.
    — bearsfriend
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:39 AM, 02/03/2012
    What was the point of the Andy Reid paragraph? My god, from my experience, the loudest anti-Reid people are the ones making the dumbest arguments. Not saying I am a Reid fan, but I really don't think exhibit A in the defense of the Philly fan should be their perception of Reid.
    — JimEisenreich
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:47 AM, 02/03/2012
    Who cares what the national media thinks of us? These people have way too much time on their hands and have to come up with something every day and when they can't they bring up Santa and 1968. We are a grass roots, knowledgable basketball CITY. Look at our history. I have sat in arenas in Miami, Orlando and others where people have no clue what is going down on the court.
    — tudorcity
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:09 AM, 02/03/2012
    I'm an Eagles fan who gives Andy Reid the benefit of the doubt and who appreciates the stability he's brought to the organization and who realizes that Andy and Eagles Org say what they say to protect the interests of the team and its players. Running a football ORGANIZATION is a whole lot more difficult than a basketball team. For example, the Eagles have more assistant coaches (like Duce Staley and those guys) than the Sixers have players. Otherwise, how about an article on where George Lynch is now? What a solid Sixer.
    — Leegles
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:16 AM, 02/03/2012
    Yes...When the organization brought in many former players from past eras in the opener, that got me thinking about similar thoughts...As the Sixers are now in DC's "becoming important" phase (last year was "relevant"), I would love to get feedback from former players on what they see here, as well...That's why I did appreciate Curry getting "air time", even though the subject was some type of makeup for last Friday's insult to some, even though some of it may have been truisms.
    — bearsfriend
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:18 AM, 02/03/2012
    And as far as Mitchell's work goes let's remember that he is a rookie. He's a Philly guy so he know his hoops but he is following a tough act in Kate. So far, so good John.
    — tudorcity


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About John Mitchell
John Mitchell is in his first year covering the 76ers for the Inquirer after joining the paper in November 2011. He covered the Washington Wizards for the Washington Times from 1998 to 2008. He's also worked at the Philadelphia Tribune, the Wilmington News Journal, Courier-Post, Trenton Times and Elmira Star-Gazette.

Born and raised in West Philadelphia - not too far from Will Smith - he graduated from Overbrook High School the same year the 76ers won their last championship. He's a proud graduate of Howard University and the proud father of two sons, Jared and Jordan.

ABOUT MARC NARDUCCI

Marc Narducci has served in a variety of roles with the Inquirer since beginning in 1983. He has covered the 76ers as a backup and a beat writer. In addition, Narducci has covered everything from the Super Bowl to the World Series and a lot in between. Narducci also has a true passion for South Jersey scholastic sports, which he has covered for many years.

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