The Official Fire Doc Rivers Thread

[FireMorey]

Man, fans are just built differently today. I grew up a fan of all four teams here, and they've all gone through times way worse than what we've had here the last few seasons.

I'm not saying to not be unhappy and vent, but all of this "I'm done" and "I wish I rooted for a different team" stuff is just bizarre to me. What, we only follow a team if they're exactly as we want them to be?

I don't care a fraction as much as I did 30-40 years ago - money and mercenary players tok care of that - but the idea of rooting for another team just doesn't register.

Guess it's the age of social media and the way sports are not local like they were, but the idea of adopted and temporary fandom is just strange.

But I've never been a "fan of the jersey" - I need to like the team to root for them. I'll take time away if the team is unlikable, but find another team? C'mon.

I used to be that way when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've totally changed on it and now I totally get why fans would change teams. Do the math. One team wins per year, so as a fan you have a 1 of 30 chance(or in the NFL 1 in 32 chance) of being a fan who gets joy at the end of a season. So 99% of fans every year are going to experience heartbreak and no supreme joy when watching their team play. They'll have games here or there where they get joy, but no ultimate joy.

I used to believe if you win one championship, it makes up for all the anxiety and heartbreak. And a fan may feel like that in the moment when your team wins a title. But once the next season starts you realize that it doesn't. A few days of elation doesn't make up for years of anxiety, angst, heartbreak. So if a fan wants to be happy and is tired of not getting any joy out of their team, frankly, I don't see why they wouldn't change teams.

I know people who have changed teams and are genuinely happy having done so.

And honestly, from my perspective, no team deserves blind loyalty. Why? Just because their name happens to say "Philadelphia" in front of it? You don't owe them anything. They don't care about you or anyone else. You're a dollar sign to them, nothing more.

It's funny, we, as fans, subconsciously "hate" our rivals when they have success. But if you think about it, it makes more sense to hate your own team when they fail rather than your rivals for having success. All your rivals are doing is what they're supposed to be doing. To try and win. But your own team is what's causing you your heartbreak. The Celtics didn't hurt you guys yesterday, the Sixers did. Years of ineptitude and incompetence led to yesterday. And you should be furious at the Sixers for that.

I've said it before, I honestly loathe the Sixers as an organization. I truly hate them. Not "ha ha I hate them!" in a joking way. No, I mean I legitimately dislike them like I do the Dallas Cowboys and NY Mets. They're the team that stole the joy of Sixers basketball away from me. No one else. Them. They're the ones who took what was a promising future and destroyed it. That is all them. And I'll never forgive them for it. And at this point, Joel Embiid is the only thing remaining keeping me even remotely neutral on them. If Embiid got traded tomorrow, I'd instantly become a Sixers hater and root for them to lose every game they play until Josh Harris sells the team and they get new ownership in there. Because frankly, I find this organization detestable from top to bottom.

[FlyingArrow]

I grew up in an NBA desert. In my early 20s I realized I liked a bunch of players on the Spurs: Duncan, Robinson, Avery Johnson, Antonio Daniels, Steve Kerr. So I adopted them as my team, and they turned around from 6-8 to win the championship that year. And 4 more after that. After Duncan retired and Kawhi left, there really wasn't anything left in San Antonio I cared about. Conveniently, the place I had moved to had just wrapped up The Process and was starting to get good. So I adopted my new "hometown team" in time to watch them rattle off 4 2nd round exits in 5 years.

[Mik317]

I grew up in an NBA desert. In my early 20s I realized I liked a bunch of players on the Spurs: Duncan, Robinson, Avery Johnson, Antonio Daniels, Steve Kerr. So I adopted them as my team, and they turned around from 6-8 to win the championship that year. And 4 more after that. After Duncan retired and Kawhi left, there really wasn't anything left in San Antonio I cared about. Conveniently, the place I had moved to had just wrapped up The Process and was starting to get good. So I adopted my new "hometown team" in time to watch them rattle off 4 2nd round exits in 5 years.

you used up all your good karma with the spurs

I am sorry

[FlyingArrow]

I grew up in an NBA desert. In my early 20s I realized I liked a bunch of players on the Spurs: Duncan, Robinson, Avery Johnson, Antonio Daniels, Steve Kerr. So I adopted them as my team, and they turned around from 6-8 to win the championship that year. And 4 more after that. After Duncan retired and Kawhi left, there really wasn't anything left in San Antonio I cared about. Conveniently, the place I had moved to had just wrapped up The Process and was starting to get good. So I adopted my new "hometown team" in time to watch them rattle off 4 2nd round exits in 5 years.

you used up all your good karma with the spurs

I am sorry

I showed up just in time to watch the Colangelos tear down all the good work that Morey did.

Quick trivia question: How many years of The Process did the Sixers have the worst record in the NBA?
Answer: 1

How many non-competitive years were there to The Process?
Answer: 4

The Process was actually really quick compared to most rebuilds. And the tanking wasn't as extreme as people make it out to be. Hinkie just got in trouble for playing the game by the rules. He didn't make the rules.

[brannigan73]

I grew up in an NBA desert. In my early 20s I realized I liked a bunch of players on the Spurs: Duncan, Robinson, Avery Johnson, Antonio Daniels, Steve Kerr. So I adopted them as my team, and they turned around from 6-8 to win the championship that year. And 4 more after that. After Duncan retired and Kawhi left, there really wasn't anything left in San Antonio I cared about. Conveniently, the place I had moved to had just wrapped up The Process and was starting to get good. So I adopted my new "hometown team" in time to watch them rattle off 4 2nd round exits in 5 years.

you used up all your good karma with the spurs

I am sorry

I showed up just in time to watch the Colangelos tear down all the good work that Morey did.

Quick trivia question: How many years of The Process did the Sixers have the worst record in the NBA?
Answer: 1

How many non-competitive years were there to The Process?
Answer: 4

The Process was actually really quick compared to most rebuilds. And the tanking wasn't as extreme as people make it out to be. Hinkie just got in trouble for playing the game by the rules. He didn't make the rules.

Brand and Brown did more damage then Colangelo. Let Jimmy Butler walk check, sign Harris to a ridiculous contract check, sign Al Horford, trade the rights to Mikael Bridges for a 6'3 guy with almost no guard skills that played pf in college.

[mjkvol]

Man, fans are just built differently today. I grew up a fan of all four teams here, and they've all gone through times way worse than what we've had here the last few seasons.

I'm not saying to not be unhappy and vent, but all of this "I'm done" and "I wish I rooted for a different team" stuff is just bizarre to me. What, we only follow a team if they're exactly as we want them to be?

I don't care a fraction as much as I did 30-40 years ago - money and mercenary players tok care of that - but the idea of rooting for another team just doesn't register.

Guess it's the age of social media and the way sports are not local like they were, but the idea of adopted and temporary fandom is just strange.

But I've never been a "fan of the jersey" - I need to like the team to root for them. I'll take time away if the team is unlikable, but find another team? C'mon.

I used to be that way when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've totally changed on it and now I totally get why fans would change teams. Do the math. One team wins per year, so as a fan you have a 1 of 30 chance(or in the NFL 1 in 32 chance) of being a fan who gets joy at the end of a season. So 99% of fans every year are going to experience heartbreak and no supreme joy when watching their team play. They'll have games here or there where they get joy, but no ultimate joy.

I used to believe if you win one championship, it makes up for all the anxiety and heartbreak. And a fan may feel like that in the moment when your team wins a title. But once the next season starts you realize that it doesn't. A few days of elation doesn't make up for years of anxiety, angst, heartbreak. So if a fan wants to be happy and is tired of not getting any joy out of their team, frankly, I don't see why they wouldn't change teams.

I know people who have changed teams and are genuinely happy having done so.

And honestly, from my perspective, no team deserves blind loyalty. Why? Just because their name happens to say "Philadelphia" in front of it? You don't owe them anything. They don't care about you or anyone else. You're a dollar sign to them, nothing more.

It's funny, we, as fans, subconsciously "hate" our rivals when they have success. But if you think about it, it makes more sense to hate your own team when they fail rather than your rivals for having success. All your rivals are doing is what they're supposed to be doing. To try and win. But your own team is what's causing you your heartbreak. The Celtics didn't hurt you guys yesterday, the Sixers did. Years of ineptitude and incompetence led to yesterday. And you should be furious at the Sixers for that.

I've said it before, I honestly loathe the Sixers as an organization. I truly hate them. Not "ha ha I hate them!" in a joking way. No, I mean I legitimately dislike them like I do the Dallas Cowboys and NY Mets. They're the team that stole the joy of Sixers basketball away from me. No one else. Them. They're the ones who took what was a promising future and destroyed it. That is all them. And I'll never forgive them for it. And at this point, Joel Embiid is the only thing remaining keeping me even remotely neutral on them. If Embiid got traded tomorrow, I'd instantly become a Sixers hater and root for them to lose every game they play until Josh Harris sells the team and they get new ownership in there. Because frankly, I find this organization detestable from top to bottom.

Where to start ....

1. Funny, but you've never said before that you hate the Sixers. Is this a new take?

2. Neither the Celtics or Sixers "hurt" me yesterday. It's a basketball game, not life.

3. So the only "joy" of being a fan is if they win a championship? Why even bother watching sports? And what kind of joy is there adopting a team because they're good and they win a championship that year? So, arguably I could now switch and become a Celtics fan and would experience joy if they win this year? Weird.

4. I would never tell someone not to do something that made them genuinely happy, but switching teams is still bizarre.

5. I have never felt that I owe a team anything or that they owe me anything. I haven't looked at players as heroes since I was a little kid, and have understood that it's a business since I was a teenager - I have zero illusions about what pro sports has become, which is why I watch very little. It's not 'blind loyalty', it's just the way fans always were - you had a team, you followed them. There wasn't all this calculation of whether or not they're giving me joy or if they're not winning enough so I have to find someone who has a better chance of winning. I don't know what that is, but it's not being a fan.

You have a really strange point of view, and it's even stranger that you feel the need to come on to a team's site to repeat over and over and over again how much you loathe the team. The Sixers didn't steal any joy from you, because it sounds like there wasn't any there to begin with. You'll never forgive them? For what, making some moves you didn't agree with? Welcome to pro sports. Maybe I have an old school view of what being a fan is, but you sound like a petulant child who had their toy taken away.

[M2J]

I like Doc as a general culture setter. We’ve seen big improvements from guys like Maxey & Embiid during his tenure and even development from someone like Tobias Harris. But he’s clearly not the right leader in big games & moments. Harden, Embiid, and Doc all have the same panicky loser “it’s never my fault” energy & they feed off each other to terrible effect.

The thing about coaches and this type of title "choker". Is interesting to me. The are some oddities, like Giannis getting hurt and losing to last year's 1 seed. But generally the best teams win in the playoffs. Best teams generally determined by the best players. If your best players are LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Michael Jordan, Shaq, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Steph and Klay...Even Chauncey billups with a history of big game heroics, the coach has a chance.

Chris Paul, James Harden, Blake Griffin, Jo have other histories with multiple coaches

[FireMorey]

Man, fans are just built differently today. I grew up a fan of all four teams here, and they've all gone through times way worse than what we've had here the last few seasons.

I'm not saying to not be unhappy and vent, but all of this "I'm done" and "I wish I rooted for a different team" stuff is just bizarre to me. What, we only follow a team if they're exactly as we want them to be?

I don't care a fraction as much as I did 30-40 years ago - money and mercenary players tok care of that - but the idea of rooting for another team just doesn't register.

Guess it's the age of social media and the way sports are not local like they were, but the idea of adopted and temporary fandom is just strange.

But I've never been a "fan of the jersey" - I need to like the team to root for them. I'll take time away if the team is unlikable, but find another team? C'mon.

I used to be that way when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've totally changed on it and now I totally get why fans would change teams. Do the math. One team wins per year, so as a fan you have a 1 of 30 chance(or in the NFL 1 in 32 chance) of being a fan who gets joy at the end of a season. So 99% of fans every year are going to experience heartbreak and no supreme joy when watching their team play. They'll have games here or there where they get joy, but no ultimate joy.

I used to believe if you win one championship, it makes up for all the anxiety and heartbreak. And a fan may feel like that in the moment when your team wins a title. But once the next season starts you realize that it doesn't. A few days of elation doesn't make up for years of anxiety, angst, heartbreak. So if a fan wants to be happy and is tired of not getting any joy out of their team, frankly, I don't see why they wouldn't change teams.

I know people who have changed teams and are genuinely happy having done so.

And honestly, from my perspective, no team deserves blind loyalty. Why? Just because their name happens to say "Philadelphia" in front of it? You don't owe them anything. They don't care about you or anyone else. You're a dollar sign to them, nothing more.

It's funny, we, as fans, subconsciously "hate" our rivals when they have success. But if you think about it, it makes more sense to hate your own team when they fail rather than your rivals for having success. All your rivals are doing is what they're supposed to be doing. To try and win. But your own team is what's causing you your heartbreak. The Celtics didn't hurt you guys yesterday, the Sixers did. Years of ineptitude and incompetence led to yesterday. And you should be furious at the Sixers for that.

I've said it before, I honestly loathe the Sixers as an organization. I truly hate them. Not "ha ha I hate them!" in a joking way. No, I mean I legitimately dislike them like I do the Dallas Cowboys and NY Mets. They're the team that stole the joy of Sixers basketball away from me. No one else. Them. They're the ones who took what was a promising future and destroyed it. That is all them. And I'll never forgive them for it. And at this point, Joel Embiid is the only thing remaining keeping me even remotely neutral on them. If Embiid got traded tomorrow, I'd instantly become a Sixers hater and root for them to lose every game they play until Josh Harris sells the team and they get new ownership in there. Because frankly, I find this organization detestable from top to bottom.

Where to start ....

1. Funny, but you've never said before that you hate the Sixers. Is this a new take?

2. Neither the Celtics or Sixers "hurt" me yesterday. It's a basketball game, not life.

3. So the only "joy" of being a fan is if they win a championship? Why even bother watching sports? And what kind of joy is there adopting a team because they're good and they win a championship that year? So, arguably I could now switch and become a Celtics fan and would experience joy if they win this year? Weird.

4. I would never tell someone not to do something that made them genuinely happy, but switching teams is still bizarre.

5. I have never felt that I owe a team anything or that they owe me anything. I haven't looked at players as heroes since I was a little kid, and have understood that it's a business since I was a teenager - I have zero illusions about what pro sports has become, which is why I watch very little. It's not 'blind loyalty', it's just the way fans always were - you had a team, you followed them. There wasn't all this calculation of whether or not they're giving me joy or if they're not winning enough so I have to find someone who has a better chance of winning. I don't know what that is, but it's not being a fan.

You have a really strange point of view, and it's even stranger that you feel the need to come on to a team's site to repeat over and over and over again how much you loathe the team. The Sixers didn't steal any joy from you, because it sounds like there wasn't any there to begin with. You'll never forgive them? For what, making some moves you didn't agree with? Welcome to pro sports. Maybe I have an old school view of what being a fan is, but you sound like a petulant child who had their toy taken away.

1. I hate the Josh Harris iteration of the Sixers, yes. The organization itself? No. An organization is only a product of the people within it, otherwise it's just a logo and an empty building.

2. Ok, that's you. Plenty of fans get heartbroken after playoff losses. I've known people who've bawled after playoff losses. You, of course, know this is how it works with many fans.

3. For me, yes. The only ultimate joy. I mean, that's the goal. Otherwise, why play the games? If you'd be perfectly satisfied if a team you rooted for never won a championship in your lifetime, more power to you. Many would disagree with you, though. But that's your right if that's how you operate as a fan.

4. Disagree.

5. Agree with the first part, disagree with the second. It's not how many people have become accustomed to being a fan, but it's a perfectly suitable way of being a fan. Think about it this way. I'm sure you've met people in your life who've moved to a new town or state and eventually became a fan of a new team at some point. Countless people like this exist. I have a friend who grew up in Baltimore as a Ravens fan, but moved as a teenager and has been here for over 20 years and became an Eagles fan. I have a friend who grew up in Philly, moved to LA and now is a fan of LA teams for being down there for years. Also have a friend who moved to the Tampa area years ago and fell in love with Tampa teams. How is that any different? I find it funny that this is widely believed to be "acceptable fandom" but changing teams for other reasons isn't. Seems arbitrary to me.

6. "It sounds like there wasn't any joy to begin with" well that's where you're wrong. The Sixers were my first love. I bawled like a baby in 2001 when they fell to the Lakers. I watched every Sixers game every year from when I was about 7 years old until when I was about 30. I'd watch the Sixers over the Eagles if they were on at the same time for most of my life. And I blame those running this team for ruining something that I loved dearly and turning it into something I now dislike. To me it's no different than no longer tuning into a TV drama that you once loved because the showrunners made the show crappy and when friends ask you why you no longer watch the show, you tell them that you no longer like the show, and you remain bitter about the showrunners ruining a show or movie series that you loved. You see this a lot with Star Wars fans in communities who go on rants about how far the Star Wars property has fallen over the years. It's really no different here. Passionate people hold passionate beliefs about properties they at one point were passionate about. This is really nothing new. It's been as old as time, but for some reason people think sports fandom should be different.

[Arsenal]

All of a sudden I wouldn't mind having James back lol:

Read on Twitter

[Jay555]

Not surprised there. Harden did not like the way Doc wanted him to play but he did anyways. That's a quote from Doc himself.

[Arsenal]

Here's how the Celtics totally shut us down in Game 6 and 7 with their double-big lineup. As usual when it counts, Glenn has zero answers...

Watch on YouTube

[Arsenal]

Meanwhile, Glenn refused to ever try a double-big Embiid / Reed lineup. Should have been experimenting w/it in the regular season just in case we needed it in the playoffs.

Reason #1432 that Glenn needs to go.

[Jay555]

Meanwhile, Glenn refused to ever try a double-big Embiid / Reed lineup. Should have been experimenting w/it in the regular season just in case we needed it in the playoffs.

Reason #1432 that Glenn needs to go.

I thought he should have got for the double big line up in G7 at least to try and see if that works..Embiid is always nowhere near the paint so it makes sense to have Reed under the basket for boards.

Boston was desperate in G6 and the double big was their last resort. We did not a counter other than hoping guys make their shots which is not sustainable.. You ain't beating the Celtics without dominating the boards.

[Arsenal]

Meanwhile, Glenn refused to ever try a double-big Embiid / Reed lineup. Should have been experimenting w/it in the regular season just in case we needed it in the playoffs.

Reason #1432 that Glenn needs to go.

I thought he should have got for the double big line up in G7 at least to try and see if that works..Embiid is always nowhere near the paint so it makes sense to have Reed under the basket for boards.

Boston was desperate in G6 and the double big was their last resort. We did not a counter other than hoping guys make their shots which is not sustainable.. You ain't beating the Celtics without dominating the boards.

Yeah, once we realized we couldn't score on them, we should have pivoted to making it a street fight by playing tough D and winning the boards because their offense is compromised by the double-big lineup also.

But sadly we couldn't because Glenn never bothered to try it earlier in the year.

[Bum Adebayo]

Man, fans are just built differently today. I grew up a fan of all four teams here, and they've all gone through times way worse than what we've had here the last few seasons.

I'm not saying to not be unhappy and vent, but all of this "I'm done" and "I wish I rooted for a different team" stuff is just bizarre to me. What, we only follow a team if they're exactly as we want them to be?

I don't care a fraction as much as I did 30-40 years ago - money and mercenary players tok care of that - but the idea of rooting for another team just doesn't register.

Guess it's the age of social media and the way sports are not local like they were, but the idea of adopted and temporary fandom is just strange.

But I've never been a "fan of the jersey" - I need to like the team to root for them. I'll take time away if the team is unlikable, but find another team? C'mon.

I used to be that way when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've totally changed on it and now I totally get why fans would change teams. Do the math. One team wins per year, so as a fan you have a 1 of 30 chance(or in the NFL 1 in 32 chance) of being a fan who gets joy at the end of a season. So 99% of fans every year are going to experience heartbreak and no supreme joy when watching their team play. They'll have games here or there where they get joy, but no ultimate joy.

I used to believe if you win one championship, it makes up for all the anxiety and heartbreak. And a fan may feel like that in the moment when your team wins a title. But once the next season starts you realize that it doesn't. A few days of elation doesn't make up for years of anxiety, angst, heartbreak. So if a fan wants to be happy and is tired of not getting any joy out of their team, frankly, I don't see why they wouldn't change teams.

I know people who have changed teams and are genuinely happy having done so.

And honestly, from my perspective, no team deserves blind loyalty. Why? Just because their name happens to say "Philadelphia" in front of it? You don't owe them anything. They don't care about you or anyone else. You're a dollar sign to them, nothing more.

It's funny, we, as fans, subconsciously "hate" our rivals when they have success. But if you think about it, it makes more sense to hate your own team when they fail rather than your rivals for having success. All your rivals are doing is what they're supposed to be doing. To try and win. But your own team is what's causing you your heartbreak. The Celtics didn't hurt you guys yesterday, the Sixers did. Years of ineptitude and incompetence led to yesterday. And you should be furious at the Sixers for that.

I've said it before, I honestly loathe the Sixers as an organization. I truly hate them. Not "ha ha I hate them!" in a joking way. No, I mean I legitimately dislike them like I do the Dallas Cowboys and NY Mets. They're the team that stole the joy of Sixers basketball away from me. No one else. Them. They're the ones who took what was a promising future and destroyed it. That is all them. And I'll never forgive them for it. And at this point, Joel Embiid is the only thing remaining keeping me even remotely neutral on them. If Embiid got traded tomorrow, I'd instantly become a Sixers hater and root for them to lose every game they play until Josh Harris sells the team and they get new ownership in there. Because frankly, I find this organization detestable from top to bottom.

Wow, it's been a long time since I saw such wisdom condensed in such little text.

[ExplosionsInDaSky]

First of all, I will never ever jump ship and root for another franchise. I'm a Sixers, Phillies, Miami Dolphins, and Pittsburgh Penguins fan until I take my last breath.
Staying on topic here, I have to say again that I was wrong about Doc in a lot of ways. There's been some things he's done or not done for that matter that have caused me to sour on the idea of retaining him and running it back again. Mainly his lack of adjustments in big games, his treatment towards younger players. I mean one has to wonder if some of the younger guys did have more to offer than some of the vets and yet were still ignored by him. Jalen McDaniels comes to mind...I mean there's a guy that will not re up with us if Doc is retained. Personally I don't want to lose McDaniels! We gave up Thybulle for him, he did some great things for us towards the end of the season. WTF didn't Doc use him against Boston!!!!???? I legit thought that was why we traded for him. His best games as a pro....came against both Boston and Milwaukee. It was baffling to me that he didn't get any run.

Doc also ruined Shake Milton. Milton may never have been lead guard material, but he never had a fair shot a proving otherwise in my opinion. Whenever he was the lead guard the guy was averaging 20/8 a game. I don't know why Doc steered away from him. He didn't even attempt to use him in the playoffs against Boston in hopes of a spark type play. I'm willing to bet Shake would have given us something had he got the chance. Sleep Floyd, Vinnie Johnson type stuff.

There's a lot of complaints about Doc, but I guess my main ones are how he treated his players and his close mindedness towards switching things up when that was what was clearly needed. At this point, put me on the side that thinks it would be best if he rolled on out of Philly.

[the_process]

MDA is almost certainly coming to town now. Joel better be ready to drop down the option list. D’Antoni ain’t about featuring lumbering centers. Stoudamire back in the day in PHX did pretty damn well for him, but he was above the rim.

[Jay555]

MDA is almost certainly coming to town now. Joel better be ready to drop down the option list. D’Antoni ain’t about featuring lumbering centers. Stoudamire back in the day in PHX did pretty damn well for him, but he was above the rim.

Imagine MDA turning Biid into Stoudamire. I'd take that any day of the week. Lob threat, face up game and DPOY material which Stoudamire does not possess. Hell, this version can also win the MVP.

[mjkvol]

I used to be that way when I was younger, but as I've gotten older I've totally changed on it and now I totally get why fans would change teams. Do the math. One team wins per year, so as a fan you have a 1 of 30 chance(or in the NFL 1 in 32 chance) of being a fan who gets joy at the end of a season. So 99% of fans every year are going to experience heartbreak and no supreme joy when watching their team play. They'll have games here or there where they get joy, but no ultimate joy.

I used to believe if you win one championship, it makes up for all the anxiety and heartbreak. And a fan may feel like that in the moment when your team wins a title. But once the next season starts you realize that it doesn't. A few days of elation doesn't make up for years of anxiety, angst, heartbreak. So if a fan wants to be happy and is tired of not getting any joy out of their team, frankly, I don't see why they wouldn't change teams.

I know people who have changed teams and are genuinely happy having done so.

And honestly, from my perspective, no team deserves blind loyalty. Why? Just because their name happens to say "Philadelphia" in front of it? You don't owe them anything. They don't care about you or anyone else. You're a dollar sign to them, nothing more.

It's funny, we, as fans, subconsciously "hate" our rivals when they have success. But if you think about it, it makes more sense to hate your own team when they fail rather than your rivals for having success. All your rivals are doing is what they're supposed to be doing. To try and win. But your own team is what's causing you your heartbreak. The Celtics didn't hurt you guys yesterday, the Sixers did. Years of ineptitude and incompetence led to yesterday. And you should be furious at the Sixers for that.

I've said it before, I honestly loathe the Sixers as an organization. I truly hate them. Not "ha ha I hate them!" in a joking way. No, I mean I legitimately dislike them like I do the Dallas Cowboys and NY Mets. They're the team that stole the joy of Sixers basketball away from me. No one else. Them. They're the ones who took what was a promising future and destroyed it. That is all them. And I'll never forgive them for it. And at this point, Joel Embiid is the only thing remaining keeping me even remotely neutral on them. If Embiid got traded tomorrow, I'd instantly become a Sixers hater and root for them to lose every game they play until Josh Harris sells the team and they get new ownership in there. Because frankly, I find this organization detestable from top to bottom.

Where to start ....

1. Funny, but you've never said before that you hate the Sixers. Is this a new take?

2. Neither the Celtics or Sixers "hurt" me yesterday. It's a basketball game, not life.

3. So the only "joy" of being a fan is if they win a championship? Why even bother watching sports? And what kind of joy is there adopting a team because they're good and they win a championship that year? So, arguably I could now switch and become a Celtics fan and would experience joy if they win this year? Weird.

4. I would never tell someone not to do something that made them genuinely happy, but switching teams is still bizarre.

5. I have never felt that I owe a team anything or that they owe me anything. I haven't looked at players as heroes since I was a little kid, and have understood that it's a business since I was a teenager - I have zero illusions about what pro sports has become, which is why I watch very little. It's not 'blind loyalty', it's just the way fans always were - you had a team, you followed them. There wasn't all this calculation of whether or not they're giving me joy or if they're not winning enough so I have to find someone who has a better chance of winning. I don't know what that is, but it's not being a fan.

You have a really strange point of view, and it's even stranger that you feel the need to come on to a team's site to repeat over and over and over again how much you loathe the team. The Sixers didn't steal any joy from you, because it sounds like there wasn't any there to begin with. You'll never forgive them? For what, making some moves you didn't agree with? Welcome to pro sports. Maybe I have an old school view of what being a fan is, but you sound like a petulant child who had their toy taken away.

1. I hate the Josh Harris iteration of the Sixers, yes. The organization itself? No. An organization is only a product of the people within it, otherwise it's just a logo and an empty building.

2. Ok, that's you. Plenty of fans get heartbroken after playoff losses. I've known people who've bawled after playoff losses. You, of course, know this is how it works with many fans.

3. For me, yes. The only ultimate joy. I mean, that's the goal. Otherwise, why play the games? If you'd be perfectly satisfied if a team you rooted for never won a championship in your lifetime, more power to you. Many would disagree with you, though. But that's your right if that's how you operate as a fan.

4. Disagree.

5. Agree with the first part, disagree with the second. It's not how many people have become accustomed to being a fan, but it's a perfectly suitable way of being a fan. Think about it this way. I'm sure you've met people in your life who've moved to a new town or state and eventually became a fan of a new team at some point. Countless people like this exist. I have a friend who grew up in Baltimore as a Ravens fan, but moved as a teenager and has been here for over 20 years and became an Eagles fan. I have a friend who grew up in Philly, moved to LA and now is a fan of LA teams for being down there for years. Also have a friend who moved to the Tampa area years ago and fell in love with Tampa teams. How is that any different? I find it funny that this is widely believed to be "acceptable fandom" but changing teams for other reasons isn't. Seems arbitrary to me.

6. "It sounds like there wasn't any joy to begin with" well that's where you're wrong. The Sixers were my first love. I bawled like a baby in 2001 when they fell to the Lakers. I watched every Sixers game every year from when I was about 7 years old until when I was about 30. I'd watch the Sixers over the Eagles if they were on at the same time for most of my life. And I blame those running this team for ruining something that I loved dearly and turning it into something I now dislike. To me it's no different than no longer tuning into a TV drama that you once loved because the showrunners made the show crappy and when friends ask you why you no longer watch the show, you tell them that you no longer like the show, and you remain bitter about the showrunners ruining a show or movie series that you loved. You see this a lot with Star Wars fans in communities who go on rants about how far the Star Wars property has fallen over the years. It's really no different here. Passionate people hold passionate beliefs about properties they at one point were passionate about. This is really nothing new. It's been as old as time, but for some reason people think sports fandom should be different.

I don't get how you could possibly watch sports if the only joy you get is if your team wins a championship. I've seen all four teams win championships, but the greatest joy I ever experienced as a sports fan is the Sixers 1982 ECF G7 win in Boston. They lost the finals to LA, but it didn't diminish that Boston win even a little bit. I got tremendous joy watching the Buddy Ryan Eagles teams with that defense, and they never won a playoff game until he was gone. Those are a couple of examples, but sports is full of joyful moments that don't involve winning a title. Only someone who really loves sports would understand that.

I get moving to a new town and following the local teams, but if you were an avid fan of a team I don't see how you can have any passion for new teams. I went to school in Tennessee and lived near NYC and Charlotte, NC, but aside from becoming a UT Vols fan while attending school there the thought of adopting new teams never entered my mind.

[HardenGoat]

Iam a bit of an odd duck. I never had a home team since I was raised overseas. I watched basketball and gravitated to players I liked. The player I really followed from day one was Yao Ming. I yearned for him to win a title but he was stopped short by the foot injuries. Then Harden came to Houston and I watched him fall short against the warriors every year. I believe he’s a much better player than people give him credit for. I don’t take falling short as failure unless you stop trying. I don’t see that in him. When the team is complete and matures with leadership I think there will be a championship win in the end. I don’t take this personally and let hate develop against others. There are things out of our control, but faith is something I truly believe in. That is something I do have and I can lean on that during the down times.