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Sixers win some fans back

John Armato, 33, was the second fan in line when the doors opened to the Wells Fargo Center for the 76ers game Wednesday night against Denver.

John Armato wore his Allen Iverson rookie jersey for Wednesday's game. (Elizabeth Robertson/Staff Photographer)
John Armato wore his Allen Iverson rookie jersey for Wednesday's game. (Elizabeth Robertson/Staff Photographer)Read more

John Armato, 33, was the second fan in line when the doors opened to the Wells Fargo Center for the 76ers game Wednesday night against Denver.

He's not one of those people, those crazies, with no life. He's got a wife, two daughters, a job, and his own business on the side. He was just so excited. He had not been back to a Sixers game in 11 years, not since they lost to the Lakers in the NBA championship in 2001, the pinnacle of the Allen Iverson era.

Like many area fans, Armato had given up on pro basketball, so much so that his wife of four years didn't even know he had followed the Sixers until she looked through his closet and saw his Iverson, Eric Snow, and Aaron McKie jerseys. (Allowing him a partial season-ticket package to the Phillies, on the other hand, had been part of the marriage contract.)

Armato has been watching the Sixers on television this season, along with tens of thousands of additional fans. TV ratings so far this season are up 64 percent: 80,000 households on average, up from 50,000 last season.

He was talking Sixers all the time. This team is young and exciting and, incredibly, winning. So it was his wife, Dana, who bought him the three-pack, a steal: two tickets in the lower level to three games for $117 - $19.50 each.

He invited a coworker from Gallagher Fluid Seals in King of Prussia to join him. Armato drove to the game straight from work and didn't even stop home in Norristown.

"I just wanted to get that, like, that smell back, of being here," he said in line. "I had to get here. I don't drink, so it's not that I wanted beer. I just wanted to go to my seat and take it all in again."

Doors opened at 6.

In he came.

They're new and hot

The Sixers are hot, 10-4, with new owners; a fabulous coach in Doug Collins; and a group of young, relentless, and talented players.

People are noticing. Fans are stirring. The key, of course, is getting fans in the door. Early in this new and abbreviated season, following a labor dispute, the Sixers have averaged about 14,000 a night, a dismal 26th out of 30 teams in the NBA.

Adam Aron, the new CEO, says those numbers are about to jump. He has worked hard to fill the arena again. It begins with putting a winning team on the floor. He's also slashed ticket prices, brought back dollar dog night, and made many other improvements. He says momentum is building and describes himself as ebullient.

"We're going to have sellouts in February, several of them," Aron said Wednesday night. "We've sold $2 million in tickets in the last 10 days."

The resurrection is a work in progress - inertia is a very strong force to overcome. But this is a sports town. The Phillies, Eagles, and Flyers all sell out. The Sixers are the franchise of Wilt Chamberlain and Julius Erving, Charles Barkley and Iverson, the third-most winning franchise in NBA history.

Can the Sixers reawaken and sustain the interest of fans just like John Armato?

That will be the true measure of success.

Much to see, hear

Armato took his seat in Section 116, Row 19, Seat 1, on the aisle. An hour before game time, the arena was empty. But he was happy. He was home.

Armato had thought long and hard about which jersey to wear. He finally picked his Iverson rookie jersey, from 1996-97, because "that's how much I loved that time, and I feel like it's back. I really do.

"I just hope more people come," he said. "I mean, this place used to sell out. I would come [to] a Saturday game and you couldn't move in here. And I feel bad. I watch games, and the lower levels seem empty. We need more support.

"Honestly, without the fans, we can't be a complete team. We're the backbone of helping these guys get up and down the court."

The arena began to fill and attendance would be 15,201 - great for a Wednesday night. Last season, a Wednesday in January would have drawn half as many.

Right in front of Armato sat Chris Hartman, 45, of Montgomeryville, and his three daughters: Kylie, 17, Madison, 14, and Avery, 10. Hartman had been given his tickets, but only last week he had bought a three-pack of games for him and Madison - the real fan.

"We were here a lot when AI was here," Hartman said. "Since the new owners came, there's a new energy. I've tweeted the new CEO several times, and he's replied. This is a great team and that's why I'm back."

Armato enjoyed the national anthem, and especially Ayla Brown, the American Idol finalist who will sing at every home game.

But Armato was disappointed with the player introductions. He wanted the arena to go dark. He wanted more drama, more anticipation, more showtime.

"This was sort of a buzzkill," he said.

The Sixers started out with high energy from the opening tip, and played with intensity and unselfishness. They displayed remarkable athleticism - fakes, glides, dishes, and soaring dunks - and still scrapped for loose balls.

Beyond the court, Armato thought the 76 Revolutionaries were a good idea - 76 fans who come for free but paint their faces and dress in costume and scream throughout the whole game like college kids. Armato thought they should not face the court so much but turn around and face the fans, motivating them to cheer.

Like everyone else in the arena, he couldn't turn away when James Brister Jr., 41, a 460-pound Revolutionary in a red wig, known as "Big Daddy," danced his "Big Wiggle," jiggling on the giant screen in the third quarter.

"Oh, my lord," said Armato, when Big Daddy lifted his shirt.

Armato and everyone else seemed to love the acrobatic display between the third and fourth quarters, when gymnasts bounced off trampolines and dunked thunderously.

But, of course, these were just diversions, complements. The basketball game is what mattered.

Denver is a good team, bringing a 9-5 record to Philadelphia, and the game grew tight. The Sixers trailed by six as the fourth quarter began. The Sixers fell back by 10, but Armato knew this team had fight. He and thousands were on their feet, clapping, screaming - hands skyward after a great play, faces buried after a miss.

With 1 minute, 7 seconds to go, Armato was cracking his knuckles big time. Sixers down by 1.

With 16.5 seconds to go, Denver's ball, the Sixers up by a point, people all around full of joy, he rendered his verdict on the evening, win or lose (it turned out to be a loss in overtime):

"I'm glad I came. That's all I can say."