ROASTED IN A BOILING HATE CAULDRON
AS expected, Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, gave Aussie Ben Simmons no love.
Simmons knew the hate was coming, and the notoriously salty Sixers fans didn’t disappoint, smashing their former star guard with a barrage of boos and “F... you” on his return to the franchise following his controversial trade exit.
The abuse started outside Simmons’ team hotel in Philadelphia and followed him inside the Wells Fargo Arena, where he was greeted by fans who were so fired up the franchise hired multiple security guards to prevent the fire from overflowing.
One disgruntled punter approached the three-time All-Star as he signed autographs before getting on the team bus to the game.
“Why spit in the face of Sixers fans?,” the furious fan said.
“Why the grievance, Ben?.”
In some ways you can understand the Philly fans’ fury.
They believed in Simmons to turn the franchise into a success again after he was taken with the No.1 pick in the 2016 draft.
Instead, the supporters feel like he refused to improve his shooting, couldn’t fire in the big finals games, and turned his back on the franchise when he refused to play until he was traded. These wounds deepened when reports out of Philadelphia emerged that Simmons and his management are preparing to file a formal grievance against the Sixers. The grievance surrounds the Australian guard being fined a reported $26 million by the team for his refusal to suit up for games due to mental health reasons.
Simmons was welcomed by plenty of noise from Sixers fans as he made his way onto the court with Patty Mills for the Nets’ warm-up.
Mills said he’s always had Ben’s back and the much-loved Boomers veteran delivered, walking out with his fellow Australian as he copped boos. Once the warm-ups had been completed, the boos turned into “f... Ben Simmons” chants.
The Wells Fargo Center sound operators did their best to drown out the abuse by cranking up the music, but the boos just continued. It was officially the most in-demand 76ers game in the last decade, including post-season, and the fans were determined to make Simmons feel unwelcome.
One punter decided to don a crying baby mask that had a label on the front which had a picture of Simmons along with the phrase “Mister Softee.” On the back, they had taped “Crybaby Ben” above Simmons’ name on the jersey.
Despite all of the angst directed towards Simmons, he took it all in his stride. He lapped up the abuse and was even filmed bobbing his head along to it. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal praised Simmons for facing the 76ers’ faithful, saying it said a lot about his character.
“It would’ve been a better night if Ben was playing,” O’Neal said on TNT’s pre-game show. “I give him credit for going out there, I wish he was playing. He had to go and I’m glad he’s sitting on the bench. If he didn’t, that would’ve told me a lot about him.”
For all the Simmons’ hype, and noise, superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving stole the show to help Brooklyn blow Philadelphia away in a dominant win. The 76ers’ fans were filthy – some leaving with eight minutes remaining, when their side trailed by a whopping 35 points.
On the night, Simmons had the last laugh, with the 76ers’ fans turning on their own team with a chorus of boos following a poor performance.
The Melbourne-born guard walked out of Philly with a beaming smile, but this saga is far from over with Philly and Brooklyn to potentially face each other in the post-season.
Simmons will be back on the court, and you can expect more boos from the 76ers’ faithful.