Sixers season ticket-holders are angry, Doug Pederson doesn’t live up to his rep, and other thoughts

First and final thoughts …

It has been quite the swirl of questions and public frustration around the 76ers this season, all born of three factors: Joel Embiid’s health, his absence from the lineup through their first four games, and — even with Embiid speaking Friday — the Sixers’ evasiveness about whether he was injured and when he would play.

If you thought the craziness over a general manager’s social-media burner accounts would snap the Sixers back to normalcy, if you thought this franchise would at some point stop causing people to roll their eyes and throw their hands in the air … oh, you poor, naive thing.

Amid that swirl, I heard from two Sixers season ticket-holders via email this week who agreed to allow me to present their (edited) thoughts on the whole Embiid fiasco.

» READ MORE: Joel Embiid, Paul George are full participants at Sixers practice, but will remain out vs. Grizzlies

First, from Joe, an attorney:

“Not much to say other than that the snarky attitudes, indifference to fans, lying and [expletive] of the powers-that-be at the Sixers is outrageous and shameful. A bunch of billionaires more worried about their new arena (so they can make more money) than giving the fans a product that is not as shameful as it was Wednesday night against Detroit.

“I’m so disappointed. A team that is healthy and only plays 20 to 30 games together cannot magically win a championship. Meanwhile, I’m paying a huge amount of money to pay a salary for somebody who I’m not gonna be able to watch, and I’m supposed to be content that Embiid might be healthy for the playoffs and they might make it out of the first or second round — never mind that the playoffs are two to three months and he can get hurt then. It’s a crock.”

Then, from Junhao, a 20-year-old college student and entrepreneur:

“I have been a season ticket-holder for the past three years, though I am contemplating not renewing next year since prices keep going up and the performance of the team has just been disappointing every year. It’s surprising how many courtside/floor level seats went unsold this year compared to the past few seasons. A lot of my associates also have seats down there and many opted not to renew or canceled last season.

“Other holders and I tried to sell the tickets before the news that Embiid wasn’t playing, since the value of the tickets dropped by almost half. Tickets have been very volatile recently without key players playing in the game. We get that key players can’t play every round — but match after match? Feels like a robbery since we are paying full face value in exchange for most key players not playing for a few consecutive games!

“The Sixers handling of Embiid is a joke and shows management’s incompetence in maintaining trust not only with the NBA community but the fans at home. It’s hard to ‘trust the process’ when there’s no clear communication from the team, and the NBA giving a $100k fine is just the tip of the iceberg of problems. At least maintain some transparency and communication with the fans so we have hope or at least confidence in the team.”

» READ MORE: Numbers suggest the Sixers are one of the NBA’s worst teams without Joel Embiid, Paul George

To call this feedback negative is to put it mildly. If there are other season-ticket holders who feel differently and would be willing to offer their perspectives, you know where to find me: msielski@inquirer.com. I’ll share those thoughts, too, in a later column. Got to be honest, though: Not sure how many such people are out there.

Twice now, a franchise has given Doug Pederson an important assignment: develop a highly drafted quarterback into a superstar. And for the second time — first with Carson Wentz, now with Trevor Lawrence — Pederson appears unable to complete it.

Wentz’s degeneration in 2020 contributed to Jeffrey Lurie’s decision to fire Pederson after that season. Now, the Jacksonville Jaguars enter their game Sunday against the Eagles with a 2-6 record, with Lawrence having failed to meet the sky-high expectations that accompanied his entrance to the NFL in 2021, and with Pederson’s future tenuous at best.

Pederson will always be an immortal here for that 2017-18 Super Bowl run. But so far, his record as a QB whisperer doesn’t match his reputation as one.

» READ MORE: Jalen Hurts and context, Nick Sirianni and calmness, and other self-evident Eagles truths

Tom “Hockey Puck” McKenna was an all-time Philly character, a scorekeeper and statistician extraordinaire, ubiquitous at high school games in and around the city, quirky and knowledgeable and an essential thread in the tapestry of covering and loving Philadelphia basketball. He was a second set of eyes and ears for longtime Daily News preps writer Ted Silary, and when the two happened to be in the same room, Hockey might as well have been affixed to Teddy’s leg. A true original, he died Thursday night. RIP.