Jack McCaffery, who is the sportswriting equivalent of a retirement savings infomercial, penned yet another gem in the Delco Times today, railing on AI for missing the Big 3 game on Sunday. To be clear, AI should be railed on for not announcing sooner that he wouldn’t play.

However, McCaffery extrapolated his take to look at that larger picture of why do we like AI so much? You might think this could be an enlightening introspective… but nope, this:

Reportedly, there were some boos when it became obvious that Iverson would not check into the game. That’s a first. Maybe it’s a sign that the brainwashing has receded. But if so, it has taken a while. And it may never be known how Iverson was able to so mesmerize a customer core that otherwise rejects athletes who don’t prepare to be their best and who regularly disappoint in tough, late-game spots. Iverson missed 96 shots in five games of the 2001 NBA Finals, yet local lore is that he nearly carried the Sixers to a championship. What other athlete in Philadelphia history could have blown off a Fan Appreciation night yet remained so appreciated by fans? What other 76er could try to come to work wearing Celtics gear? What other Philadelphia player could rock a full Dallas Cowboys costume and pose with Jerry Jones … and not be reminded of that 36 times during any sports-talk radio show for the next dozen years? Wear a New York baseball cap, A.I.; no one in Philadelphia will mind.

The leading theory behind Iverson’s warped popularity in Philadelphia is that the fans bought into him too early and, as a package deal, chose to characterize local product Kobe Bryant as a fraudulent villain. And the more Bryant succeeded in proving them wrong, the more determined the fans were not to budge.

I can’t believe I have to do this, but Iverson also averaged 35, 5 and 4 in almost 48 minutes per game against the Lakers in 2001. Criticizing him for missing 96 shots would be like ripping Michael Phelps for mixing in a Silver every now and then. But sure, let’s equate a meaningless 3-on-3 game (for which AI should be ripped) with one of the most improbable hoops performances ever.