Don't believe the Hyped & Don't sleep on the Philly 76ers by Gregory Gee

Andre Iquodala

This blog goes out to a person who contributes behind the scene to this blog: Mrs. Barbara Harvey...I hear you and your Sixers. Glad your doing well. 

The sports world psyche is such a "prisoner of the moment".

Fans, as well as talking heads, get caught up in a "moment" by pontificating ridiculous accolades during the season in which a player or team is on some sort of amazing success - the flavor of the day.. You've probably heard exaggerated proclamations like:

 Tim Tebow is on the road to being a great quarterback, will Jeremy Lin take Carmelo Anthony's role as team leader for the Knicks, the Clippers Lob City duo is the best team in LA...you get the picture?

So sports fans/talking heads, why haven't the Philadelphia 76ers received the same outlandish love? (Didn't see that coming did ya folks?) After all, Philly is a legitimate contender to the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat for the Eastern Conference Crown. The Sixers are 3rd in the Eastern Conference, boast the best defense in the league and place a top 10 offense on the floor at the half point of this shortened NBA season.

Why haven't this team's performance caught on with sports nation?

 1) The answer lies in that there is no super star carrying Philly or no feel good story to promote like Lin in New York. There is only a bland veteran head coach (Doug Collins) who has his team playing scrappy and hard nose ball just like when he played:

The Sixers may not have one phenomenal player to lean on, but they do have a dependable offensive foundation reliant on scoring balance and ball control. They don’t have a single, esteemed, late-game option, but can throw opponents off guard in the clutch by operating through Andre Iguodala, Lou Williams, Jrue Holiday, Evan Turner or Thaddeus Young. They use ball movement and dribble penetration to draw the attention of opposing defenses and they generate quality shot attempts both inside and out as a result of their passing. source

2) They are not a flashy team of the moment but they are a good solid all around team that's in it for the long haul. The NBA season is a marathon: Flash teams/players are sprinters while all around good teams/players are marathoners.

I'm calling on sports fan everywhere (ESPN, sports blogs, etc..) to jump on the Philly bandwagon. Give the Sixers (and fans) their just due recognition. Philly is missing out on the national exposure (no televised national game yet this season) that computes to a financial boom of high jersey/paraphernalia and sellout arenas.