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The Philadelphia Seventy-Sixers suffered a devastating loss in what felt like an away game against the New York Knicks. The Wells Fargo Center was indeed filled with fans, but most of them were wearing orange and blue. During the game, both fan bases would try to outshine one another whenever their respective team did anything successful. The only thing the rivaling fan bases could agree on was their hate for their NFC East rival as both fanbases gave Dallas Cowboys’ Micah Parsons resounding jeers.
If it was one person who was affected most by the attendance turnout, it was Joel Embiid . The Sixers star expressed his frustration seeing a sea of blue and orange in his home gym.
“Disappointing,” Embiid said, when asked about the Knicks’ fan support Sunday. “I love our fans. Think it’s unfortunate, and I’m not calling them out, but it is disappointing. Obviously, you got a lot of Knicks fans, and they’re down the road… I’ve never seen [fans takeover], and I’ve been here for 10 years.”
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“Yeah, it kind of pisses me off, especially because Philly is considered a sports town. They’ve always shown up, and I don’t think that should happen. Yeah, it’s not OK.”
Sixers guard Tyrese Maxey believes Sixers fans did what they could. Unfortunately, the proximity of the two teams allowed for the Knicks fans to show up in overwhelming numbers. But to Maxey, that is no excuse to accept defeat.
“Our crowd did a great job,” 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey said. “We appreciate them. It’s a close two organizations. Like they’re right up the street from us, honestly. So, it is what it is, and you just got to go out there and you got to defeat that.”
Philadelphia rapper Meek Mill came to the defense of Embiid, implying that fans are ‘turning on him’ and instead of ostracizing him, fans should be supporting him. Meek encouraged Sixers fans to attend the next game at Madison Square Garden with him, not only to give New York fans a taste of their own medicine, but implying that Philly needs to play their part in the successes of the team.
“How people acting like they turning on Joel trust the process wins and losses I’m coming to next knicks game we gotta rep like they did that whole arena was half knicks fans … let’s play our part no blame game get you to a chip!” Meek posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Joel Embiid ‘Disappointed’ Knicks Fans Flooded Sixers Arena in Game 4 was originally published on rnbphilly.com
