Friday night (12/13/24) the Sixers took on the Indiana Pacers at the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since the City Council voted to give initial approval to Sixers ownership to build an arena on Market Street. Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey, and Paul George were all healthy enough to start the game, Diplo was in attendance, as was Pete Davidson, yet several times throughout the first quarter the arena the crowd fell completely silent.
The vibe was funeral-like and only became more dour as the game unfolded. Embiid took a hit to the face, and left the game with little to no applause or support from a crowd clearly fatigued by years of seeing him limp off the court. No one wanted to see Embiid go down, more than that the literal last thing they wanted to see was Embiid go down.
“Fuck Josh Harris,” shouted one fan during the lull. On the elevator ride up to the 200-level the word “arena” chirped from every angle. Paul George underperformed, Tyrese Maxey tried to provide a spark but looked muted, the crowd was ecstatic to see Jared McCain who also underperformed (5 points).
The team’s spark came elsewhere, specifically from Ricky Council IV who was an absolute bat out of hell sprinting full speed, sometimes to his own demise, up and down the court with reckless abandon. Council looked out of control, but also looked like he cared more than everyone else on the court. Kelly Oubre provided consistent shooting, a 13 rebound and 12-point double-double and his usual great vibes, Drummond dunked with authority when presented with the opportunity, and Kenyon Martin Jr. played remarkably.
In recent Sixers fashion, they got out to a slow start, brought the game into arms reach and then the wheels came off. Fans were tricked into staying in the stillborn atmosphere of the Wells Fargo Center until the last minutes of the 4th quarter because of a resilient end to the 3rd quarter.
Nine missed Sixers free throws resulted in audible groans from the crowd who were begging for a reason not to groan. For the Pacers Obi Toppin taunted fans as he dunked all over the 76ers, Tyrese Halliburton put up 32 points, and Andrew Nembhard threw a between the legs pass to Bennedict Mathurin on a break away with 2 minutes left in the game that cleared out the stadium.
Leaving the stadium fans muttering about the ineptitude of the team, no one spoke passionately because when the flaws with an organization are this apparent there is no reason to get worked up. The Sixers have spent months in fights with protestors, they’re saga with City Council has held headlines for more than a year, the team is old and the roster construction is eerily similar to previous teams we’ve seen fail.
The Sixers players most responsible for winning games had an opportunity last night to give fans something to be happy about, they failed.
When I got off the Subway at Tasker-Morris, I walked towards Passyunk Ave and stopped on 13th Street to see the Christmas lights. Sightseeing buses drove by, kids in Santa hats admired the decorations, and a woman stopped me because she noticed my 76ers hoodie to say “Hey! Fuck the Sixers,” to which I responded “I know.”
The Sixers are a team that I have loved my entire life and have been purchasing tickets to see since I was a child. They’re remarkable ability as an organization to let people like me down is why I feel so passionate about them. I have opinions about everything they do, from the roster decisions to the mascot. I bought two tickets priced at $8 each to see them play on Friday night.
However on Saturday, I attended the Philadelphia Wings game relatively new to the sport of lacrosse, and as an approved member of their press core. I am covering the Wings because the Wings were kind enough to let me cover them. My only lacrosse experience is one year spent as a manager of the Archbishop Wood High School Lacrosse team my senior year, and multiple friendships with people who played Division 1 lacrosse.
That being said, walking into the Philadelphia Wings game on Saturday the Wells Fargo Center had a very different energy. Firstly, the Wells Fargo Center security could not be heard screaming at fans that they could not bring “vapes, lighters and weapons” into the venue, instead a persistent Salvation Army volunteer rang his bell without wavering.
Although the crowd size was smaller at the Wings game on Saturday, they were far more engaged. In Philly fashion, the fans screamed “suck” after each member of the opposing Vegas Desert Dogs were announced, a tradition that was absent from this building the night before.
As soon as I sat in the press box it became evident that the Sixers bad vibes from last night had permeated into today, Jared McCain is now out indefinitely with a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee.
The Philadelphia Wings on the other hand came out to a blazing hot start, the game began with a behind the net “superman dive” style goal by Wings Forward Blaze Riorden. That goal provided an immediate spark followed by three more goals by Joe Restarits, Phil Caputo, as well as Mitch Jones 250th NLL goal but by the end of the first the Desert Dogs thwarted the Wings momentum tying the game up 4-4.
A hot dog toss takes place, Wings alumni from the championship teams of the 90’s were honored, and a constant nostalgia playlist that varied from “We Like to Party” by the VengaBoys to metal stadium anthems looped the entire duration of gameplay.
To start the second quarter Sam LeClair provided another early spark to the Wings offense with a diving goal straight into the Dessert Dogs net. After scoring LeClair smashed his fists onto the protective glass surrounding the field to get the fans hyped up. Moments later Mitch Jones threads in a beauty from deep to score a Power Play goal, his 251st of his career to go up 5-3.
The beauty of niche sports fandoms is that they are locked in and knowledgeable, fans boo goalie interference calls, they cheer on big hits, they know when the opposing team illegally shot from the crease and they appreciate the nuances of lacrosse.
The Wings played a stellar 2nd quarter, completely shutting out the Desert Dogs, while scoring five unanswered to head into the half 9-4. Interestingly enough, the Wings returned to the field after halftime long before the Desert Dogs did, and the entire Wings roster huddled around their net seemingly for a pump up talk. After which players ran either to their position to start the half or to the bench. Within minutes of the second half starting Brennan O’Neill and Holden Cattoni buried two quick goals to put the Wings up 11-4, but the Desert Dogs answered back quickly with two of their own to make it 11-6.
The Wings took over swiftly throughout the 3rd quarter. Fans of all ages were on their feet and dancing as the lead grew to 15-7 with an onslaught of quickly scored goals.
At the close of the 3rd it was evident to everyone in the arena that the game was over. Even the most novice of lacrosse watchers could see the vast gap in talent and energy between the Vegas Desert Dogs and the Philadelphia Wings. Lucky fans were treated to free Mini Melt ice cream raining down from the 200-level connected to parachutes, event staff could be seen hurling the ice cream from the nosebleeds.
With 7 minutes left in the game, the Wells Fargo Center had turned into a party! Goal after goal, needle drop after needle drop, the Wings were up 18-8 with 6 minutes left in the game. The Wings mascot Wingston, who looks to like a cousin of Gritty and the Phanatic could be seen running through the stands at a borderline dangerous speed.
With 3 minutes left, the Wings went up 19-9 tying the Wings franchise record for most goals scored in a game and scoring more points in their home opener than they had all last season.
After the game, Wings players ran around the field tapping the glass to salute the crowd in an incredibly cool and engaging moment for the fans.
Joe Resetarits, Blaze Riorden, Mitch Jones and rookie Brennan O’Neill all had hat tricks, outscoring the opposing Desert Dogs themselves. The Wings were buzzing and the fans left happier than they were when they came into the stadium. The game ended with the Wings nearly doubling Vegas’s score 19-10.
Friday and Saturday was the tale of two completely different franchises, in extremely different positions, that just so happen to play in the same stadium. The Wings have a small but dedicated core of fans, but mostly fly under the radar far away from any scrutiny or press backlash. Philadelphia Wings lacrosse is all about one thing, lacrosse. The Sixers on the other hand are synonymous with the culture of Philadelphia, there are people in other countries whose only frame of reference for the city of Philadelphia is Allen Iverson. The Sixers are intertwined with the local politics and economy of Philadelphia, making Sixers basketball about much more than basketball.
Friday’s 76ers game was clouded in a sense of guilt and disgust in what the fan base was participating in, Saturday’s Wings game was a fun lacrosse matchup. One ended with a loss and two massive injuries to a fan base begging for positivity, the other ended with a statement win in their home opener offering hope to a deserving franchise.
Philly Plain Dealer 
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