Sixers fans, please don’t throw things at Ben Simmons | Opinion

Philly sports fans, I am begging you: When Ben Simmons returns to the Wells Fargo Center tonight, please do not throw things at him.

You can chant obscenities until you are blue in the face. You can boo throughout the entire game regardless of what is happening on the court. You can even wear a shirt with a picture of yourself throwing things at Ben Simmons!

But don’t throw things at him. The rest of the country has little patience for Philly fans, so anything we do tonight will be under a microscope.

I get it. There is nothing objectively wrong with throwing trash at someone who has wronged you. However, it will make Philadelphia look horrendous if the game is delayed because Tony from Delco launched a half-filled Bud Light seltzer from row 15 and it lands on the court.

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We all know how this story plays out. Footage of 24-ounce Yuengling cans and Chickie’s & Pete’s buckets raining onto the court will be repurposed for the next 50 years on ESPN and social media. The sports world is clamoring for another reason to mock Philly fans. I can already hear the references to throwing snowballs at Santa and batteries at baseball player J.D. Drew from sportscasters.

And to a certain degree, I don’t mind the mocking. As fans we are undeniably wilder and more invested than our fans in any other city. We care far too much and it comes out in extreme ways.

The pressure of living up to the expectations that Philly fans have can be daunting regardless of the sport you play. For anyone who’s been living under a rock and is wondering “why would Philly fans want to throw things at a beautiful Australian man,” allow me to give a little background.

“The rest of the country has little patience for Philly fans, so anything we do tonight will be under a microscope.”

Ben Simmons was supposed to be the 76ers’ ticket to relevancy alongside Joel Embiid. For several years, fans expressed patience and sympathy with Ben Simmons, who simply could not learn to shoot a basketball correctly. Last season, when the Sixers were a championship contender, Ben Simmons played historically badly in the playoffs — so much so that opposing teams were intentionally fouling him to allow him to shoot. In the end, the 76ers did not win the championship.

After the unbelievable meltdown in the 2021 playoffs, Ben Simmons refused to play for the Sixers, which was the worst thing he could have possibly done.

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Simmons has cited his mental health as a reason for not returning to the Sixers, but also told reporters that mental health had “nothing to do with” his request to be traded to another team.

In a working-class city like Philadelphia, defeatism and quitting are cardinal sins. We are used to losing in Philly, but we never quit. When Ben Simmons quit on us, it ignited a rage within the fan base the likes of which I have never seen.

So I get it: I want the boos to be deafening tonight. I’ll be at a bar on South Street booing and throwing garbage. That’s OK, because I’m not going to be on television. But in an NBA arena when the cameras are rolling and the world is watching — please don’t throw anything.

Even as I type this, it almost feels inevitable that someone who’s been drinking since 3 p.m. will throw something at Ben Simmons. And it won’t be just one can of Bud Light seltzer. Philadelphia fans have a Pavlovian-like response that is triggered by seeing someone throw trash at a perceived enemy. Once one person does it, everyone who is holding something will join in.

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Just a few years ago, I recall launching beer cans at Eagles fans who were attempting to climb a giant dome structure during the Super Bowl parade. As soon as the crowd saw a man climbing, the trash started flying. It just happened. It’s infectious.

The same thing happens at Made In America every year when fans climb the light poles. If one person throws a can, it triggers a domino effect of more and more garbage being thrown.

But I’m asking everyone who has tickets to tonight’s game to control their arms. Let your mouths and lungs do the work. Put your hands in your pockets if you have to. Just don’t throw stuff at Ben Simmons.

Jason N. Peters is a freelance journalist and part-owner of the website, Philly Plain Dealer, where a version of this piece originally appeared. Peters hosts the 2100 Podcast and is a podcast producer for Hot 97.