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I Do Not Care About Josh Hart Saying Philly is No Longer a Sports Town
By Matt Schultz
Published:
The Sixers got swept by the Knicks. It wasn’t a good series. The Sixers played the exact opposite of how they played against Boston. Tyrese Maxey was passive. Joel Embiid turned back into a 7-foot, foul-baiting pumpkin who can’t jump. Jalen Brunson made one million tough shots. The Sixers got killed on the boards. The Sixers were out-hustled. The Sixers’ roster is thin. Etc., etc., etc.
Let me be clear: That stuff does suck. It stings. Overall, I do care about it. But what I don’t care about Josh Hart saying this type of stuff:
“I used to think Philly was a sports town. I don’t know if it is anymore.”
There are two central points I’d like to make here. First: I think it’s worthwhile to point out that Josh Hart is clearly goofing around here. He’s being a troll. He’s laughing. He’s having fun. We all know he went to Villanova, that Jalen Brunson is a Birds fan, that Mikal Bridges is from here, etc. Josh Hart knows Philly is a sports town (to be clear, I don’t care if he does or doesn’t – why would I care what Josh Hart thinks about the city of Philadelphia? Who gives a rat’s ass? There are all kinds of more interesting things to care about. I’m just telling you he’s not being serious here).
Overall, this is fine. Josh Hart is allowed to be a troll after he wins. That’s part of the rules. We all do it. I, for one, was a repulsive little troll-man after that Celtics series. I was cockily sending this video to every Celtics fan buddy I have. I get it –
“What they gonna say now…”
The second thing I’d like to get off my chest is: I don’t care at all about the “Knicks fans took over Philly” narrative. It’s weird how big a story it’s become. I think this is the national and New York media trying to drum up a fake fever pitch around the Knicks. It truly does not matter that Knicks fans come down here for games. Philly fans have been doing the same thing to the Giants and Nationals since the dawn of time – and it makes even more sense for Knicks fans to do it. Non-wealthy fans can’t afford to get into Madison Square Garden, so why wouldn’t they drive 90 minutes down here to see the game for a more reasonable price? If the roles were reversed, we’d be doing the same thing. This is normal behavior.
What’s not normal, though, is the whining and complaining the Sixers are doing about Knicks fans being in their building. In my opinion, this is lame as hell:
“It absolutely sucks, if I’m being honest. It just sucks, bro. It just sucks, man. I– Yeah, it just sucks. I can’t– I– That’s really all I can say about it, man. Like I just– It’s hard. It’s definitely difficult, you know what I’m saying? It’s only one way to put a stop to it and it’s, it’s– we have to go out there and win these games… I was telling them, it felt louder here for (the Knicks) than it did in the Garden… We got to put a stop to it as a team. Like, winning these games, that’s what’s gonna make, you know, our fans like louder than theirs or whatever. I don’t know how to keep them out. I don’t know the logistics of it, but um, you know, it does suck. I can’t even lie. It definitely does suck.”
The logistics part of this quote is pretty irritating to me. What do you want to happen, Maxey? Truly asking. I’m genuinely curious – what do you think the solution should be? Should we move Philadelphia further away from New York? Should we get a 2,000 person security detail to rough up any suspected Knicks fans who step foot in the Delaware Valley? Should we kidnap Fat Joe and tell Knicks fans that if they come within a 50 mile radius of Xfinity Mobile Arena, they’ll never see their precious large rapper ever again?
Hate to say it, but I don’t think any of these are viable options. Maxey said it in the quote, but then he talked around it a bunch, so I think it’s worth underlining – there is only one solution to keeping Knicks fans out of Philly: The Sixers must beat them very badly. So badly that Knicks fans don’t think it’s worth it to come down here just to watch their team get whooped.
Maybe give it a try next year. Please…
Matt Schultz is a comedy and sports writer from Philadelphia. He’s written extensively for ClickHole, The Onion, and Conan O’Brien’s Team Coco. His work has been featured in Vulture, Deadspin, The A.V. Club, Paste Magazine, and other publications. Much of his sports journalism can be found on college basketball websites that don’t exist anymore (PhilaHoops Heads rise up…)