May 03, 2019
Remember when Eagles players, and then Eagles fans, started wearing dog masks and then won the Super Bowl? Of course you do, it was (almost literally) insane.
Well, it looks like the Sixers — technically underdogs in their second-round matchup against the No. 2 seed Raptors — are also on board with the dog masks, if their official Twitter account is any indication:
Yes, please. pic.twitter.com/GHYyF9rql6
— Philadelphia 76ers (@sixers) May 3, 2019
Here we go.
The Sixers trying to capture some of that “Philadelphia Goes Nuts” playoff magic the city found two years ago is laudable, even if it probably isn’t going to work the same way.
That Eagles playoff run was perfect because everything — the dog masks, the Art Museum ATV, the SEPTA Dawkins pole guy, everything — was entirely organic. It all happened because Philadelphia sports fans are bonkers.
The dog masks, too, happened organically: the Eagles were actually underdogs, and they felt like underdogs up until the final bat-down and the clocks read 00:00. They lost their MVP quarterback and were about to face some very good football teams.
These Sixers, as they proved in Game 3, are decidedly not underdogs. They have the best five-man lineup in the Eastern Conference, and an unstoppable windmill-slamming Monstar in Joel Embiid. Right now, they're the better team, and most everyone seems to know this.
Also, and I’ve seen this on Sixers Twitter throughout the season, Eagles things don’t inherently belong at Sixers games. It’s fun when the city’s sports teams bleed into each other, like when Bryce Harper rings that bell (brotha) or Harper and Carson Wentz watch a Sixers game together.
But sometimes, Sixers fans just want to enjoy the Sixers:
Eagles chants at Sixers games will never not annoy me. pic.twitter.com/C3HfKNKDFS
— Dan Fitzpatrick (@The_Jersey_Fitz) May 3, 2019
Eagles chants need to stop at Phils/sixers game
— Andrew Hollander (@AHollander84) April 27, 2019
Stop doing the Eagles chants at other Philly sporting events.
— Ray McNulty (@raymcnasty22) April 9, 2019
(For the record, some Phillies fans and Flyers fans also want that to stop.)
A bunch of Sixers fans wearing dog masks in the Wells Fargo Center would probably look cool as hell, and I certainly don’t want to discourage things from looking cool as hell.
I do, however, think expectations should be tempered in case the aura doesn’t feel as magical this time around. Perhaps the dog masks should be left in the Linc, and the Sixers’ current NBA Finals run (it’s happening) can find its own cool thing. This city’s sports fans always find a way.
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