Philly Travels: Sixers Fans Take Over Hornets Home Arena

Last night’s Sixers-Hornets game was never really in doubt. The Sixers jumped out to a 12-point lead at halftime and squashed the Hornets like a bug in the second half while cruising to a 39-point victory. Aside from yet another dominant performance from MVP front-runner Joel Embiid, one of the most noteworthy aspects of the beatdown was the pro-Sixers crowd in Charlotte. Philly fans took over the Spectrum Center, creating a near home-game feel for the visitors.

Here are Sixers fans showering Embiid with MVP chants that drowned out any other buzzing inside the Hornets’ home arena.

After the game, Doc Rivers was asked about all of the Sixers fans who either made the trip to Charlotte, and he talked about how awesome it is for players when their fans show up on the road.

Seeing the Sixers fans out in numbers in Charlotte and reigning down cheers for the visitors was awesome, given the somewhat complex relationship between fans and this team now. As recently as this week, fans in the Wells Fargo centered booed the Sixers at half-time after a lackadaisical effort against the

The media loves to talk about all the bad aspects of Philly fans, but stuff like this never gets brought up outside of the Philly area. Philly fans do travel and routinely take over opposing teams’ arenas and stadiums. Athletes notice it too, and that is partly why players love playing in Philly despite a narrative that those outside of Philly have tried to force for years of players not liking it in Philly.

Sure, some have been too soft to handle the boos when they happen – cough, Ben Simmons, cough – but for the most part, players love playing in Philly. It’s why Brandon Graham and Fletcher Cox took discounts to return for a final year together. It’s why Darius Slay worked with the Eagles on a restructured deal when it seemed like the Birds were ready to walk away.

But I was told that Philly fans are the worst. Weird.