Frustration levels are high — like 9.5 out of 10 high — for Sixers fans after Game 6 loss
Sixers faithful were bitterly disappointed that their team couldn't eliminate the Celtics in front of their fans, who have endured so many second-round playoff exits.
Tre Smith can’t eat. Isaiah Patrick can’t concentrate at work. Byron Williams had some frustration to work out at the gym Friday morning. After their beloved 76ers failed to end their series against the Boston Celtics in six games, the collective stress levels of Philly fans shot through the roof.
“I haven’t eaten as much; my stomach’s been hurting, a lot of chest pains,” Smith said.
The three friends, who grew up in Southwest Philadelphia, have been Sixers fans for all 25 years of their lives. They’ve watched enough games to see a pattern and said, after the 95-86 loss, their frustration levels were at a 9.5 out of 10.
“We have a history of losing close games,” Williams said.
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Another fan, Pratik Parikh, put it this way: “It’s always, ‘We’re there. We’re not done. We’re there. We’re not done.’”
Patrick isn’t sure if he can take a third Game 7 loss after the Sixers’ second-round ousters by Toronto in 2019 and Atlanta in 2021. He and Williams were in attendance for last season’s Game 6 disappointment, when the Sixers lost to the Miami Heat. They went viral for their comments on a podcast after the game, to the point where another fan, Glenn Toomer, recognized them as he was walking down the sidewalk Thursday night.
Toomer stopped to talk with the three friends, and they discussed their frustrations, the adjustments they want to see the Sixers make, and their chances of winning Game 7. Patrick said his confidence level in a Game 7 win over the Celtics is at 6 out of 10. Smith’s is at 6.5, and Williams’s is at 7.
The three friends, Parikh, and Toomer all share the same belief that they have a team with the potential to go all the way. That was evident in Games 1 and 5, when the Sixers dominated the Celtics on their own floor. But that Sixers team only shows up about 40% of the time, Smith said.
They all want to see Joel Embiid really step up and carry the team. They wouldn’t mind seeing Embiid play 45 minutes. He already has brought pride to the city with his MVP award, the first for the Sixers since Allen Iverson won in 2001, but there’s still more to do.
“It’s extra motivation of Embiid winning now,” Parikh said. “We love it. We appreciate it. But it’s more than MVP. We want to go to the next level.”
The next level, the Eastern Conference finals, has not been reached since 2001. Although they’re lifelong fans, Smith, Patrick, Williams, and Parikh all said Iverson was responsible for securing their fandom.
Robbie Marsden, meanwhile, was not a lifelong fan of the Sixers. He was more into Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokemon as a kid. But when he got to elementary school, he saw people walking around in Iverson jerseys, and his interest was sparked.
Now a teacher, Marsden is a passionate fan of the Sixers and their newest MVP. Once he gets some extra income, he wants an MVPiid tattoo. Looking at Embiid’s life, Marsden couldn’t come up with enough words to express his respect for the Sixers center.
“The MVP award literally means so much to us,” Marsden said. “This guy has had so much happen to him. He is the epitome of ‘Trust the Process.’”
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Embiid’s resilience is what gives Marsden faith that the Sixers can win in seven despite having to play the final game in a hostile environment.
“We’re fine,” Marsden said. “We are fine.”
That’s not to say Marsden didn’t share the frustration of his fellow Sixers fans. He had a lot of stress to get off his chest. But he said Sixers fans are unique because they can be frustrated and hopeful at the same time. (”I think that’s just you,” his friend said in the background.)
Williams and his group are of a similar mind as Marsden. Philadelphia teams put them in a lot of frustrating situations, so to remain fans, they’ve had to learn to bounce back.
“That’s normal for Philly,” Williams said. “In the moment, we’re mad, but we’ve still got one more game.”
There are two days between the Game 6 loss and Game 7, which will be played on Mother’s Day in TD Garden. In the meantime, Williams is going to head to Planet Fitness for a reset. Patrick’s going to focus on work and errands for a distraction and then head to church to pray for the Sixers. And Smith is going to hope that he will have an appetite by the time his reservation for dinner with his mother comes around.
“Hopefully, after Sunday, I can breathe easy, deep breath, and I can go eat food again,” Smith said.