76ers Report Card

My first weekend on my own here in PA was a very busy one, but one that was filled with some great stuff.

Philadelphia 76ER-Cavs basketball game-Friday night
I had Friday off from work for Good Friday, so I had purchased 1 ticket to the Philadelphia 76ER vs Cleveland Cav basketball game Friday night......I wanted to see Philadelphias new Wachovia Center and more importantly, see Lebron James play in person. I will give out my unbiased grades on my visit to the game below, as well as some pictures below.

Citizens Bank Park (Phillies play here) Dowtown Philly from my parking spot





















Traffic into the game was a mess.......PA believes that 2 lanes on each side of the road constitutes a "freeway" but ofcourse, there is nothing free about it=pure congestion all through the metro area which is why it took me almost 2 hours to go 59 miles! It also costs $1.90 each way to Philly because of the PA Turnpike (main vein into Philly) is a toll road ofcourse. So Philly decided to build all of their new stadiums in one location they call "The Sports Complex" which entails the Eagles football stadium, Phillies stadium, the old 76er/Flyer arena and the new one.....sounds nice and convenient....its also a drag if theres more than one team/event going on there because it makes parking and access to the game even worse! Anyways, for Traffic/Access to the game I give it a C-

FOOD-I expected the new stadium to have good variety of choices and some sweet eats....alas, I was dissapointed. They do have some Philly favorites, Chickie's and Petes and Butch's Smack Your Lips BBQ but these venues were too few and FAR in-between which made the lines crazy long....so I ventured to the standard stadium food line.....quite short, and then I saw why-the menu...... The menu was so short, a 5th grader could have it memorized by just walking by the menu while looking at it, chewing gum, and talking to their friend at the same time........so I got the basic jumbo hot dog (no other option but that one!), a drink and a cookie (I didnt want messy nachos). Spent $11.40 for the food and went to my seat....and ate.....I give the food of the place a another C- for lack of variety, long lines for good food, and a terrible tasting standard hot dog.

In-Game Entertainment-This area was done well by the sixers, from DJs playing music inside the main halls of the stadium to family friendly games going on in and outside before the game. Contests and games played during breaks and halftime were also fun to watch and one guy hit a layup, freethrow, and 3 pointer in 40 seconds to win the whole crowd 50% discounts at all Sixer retail stores at the stadium which others (not me...I dont want an Igoudala jersey) were excited about. I give the In-Game Entertainment an A

On-Court Product- Lets just say the Sixers are no Lakers, in fact, they might be just a tad worse to watch than the Phoenix Suns.....anyways, the team isnt that good, but that doesn't bother me so I will give the Sixers an "N/A" Not Applicable due to the fact that I do not care how good or bad they are, I am a Lakers fan living in PA.

Fan Experience-This area is concerned with the fan environment in the stadium......I thought I was in a movie when the chubby guy next to me began yelling "sit down ya bum!" at Lebron James everytime Lebron would walk on or off the floor......classic......that and the new jersey accent of the guy on my right yelling everytime the Sixers messed up made my experience very memorable. Fan Experience I give it a B because its definetely not as laid back as a Laker game but it was a good atmosphere overall.

Restrooms-Again, a new facility, high expectations, and again, I was dissapointed. I knew the restrooms were close as I began to smell a horrific odor about 15 yards away from the entrance, YES 15 YARDS! It was b-a-d. They had ample soap and hot water but goodness gracious I had to hold my breathe most of the time! I give it an F for an extremely odorous experience.

FINAL GRADE: I give the overall experience a C+. I probably would not go to another Sixer game unless they played the Lakers on a Saturday and or I went with someone who drove AND gave me free tickets! I will have to get seats for Brieann and I for a Phillie game though, because that stadium looked beeeautiful and woujld be interesting to see a big NL matchup there.



















Lincoln Financial Field (Eagles) and inside the Wachovia Center (I sat at the same level, but right on the center court line, so the seat for $52 was well worth the $)