Sixer Fixer

The Sixers' season is set to begin in 12 days, but shockingly enough no one seems to care. I suppose its somewhat understandable...the fetid stench of the Lockout still hangs over The Association and and David Stern's Mr. McMahon-esque decent into madness over the past few weeks hasn't helped. But even last year, when the Sixers were surging into the playoffs and the NBA was enjoying Jordan-era popularity levels...no one around here seemed to care. I've identified the problem. And I intend to fix it. What is the aforementioned problem? Its quite simple. I'll give you a hint...his initials are "A.I." and he AIN'T the Answer. That's right folks, I am leaving a lion's share of the blame for the fan apathy towards Your Hometown Five at the doorstep of one Andre Iguodala. I'm not going to pile on the guy for being overpaid...I think every one of us would have taken that amount of money to do our job. But he's not a superstar. Plain and simple. He's an OK offensive player and an above average defender. Would I take him to be my third option on a contending team? Sure. But the fact is that the Sixers front office identified Iggy as the "Face of the Franchise" and have paid for it, both literally and figuratively. Success, both in terms of winning and in terms of revenue, is entirely star-based in the NBA. You need to have "THAT GUY" on your team if you want anyone to care. Allen Iverson was THAT GUY, Sir Charles was THAT GUY, Moses was THAT GUY. Andre Iguodala? Not so much. Misidentifying someone as THAT GUY is one of the worst mistakes a franchise can make. It cripples your cap and assassinates your fan base. We here in Philly and South Jersey have learned that the hard way.