Finally – Part 2

Special contribution by JT ‘Sixerguy’ 
Part 2 of a 3 parts series (part 1)

Tom created the Sixers in his image of myspace.com and had all the fans virtually connected in a network.  He bought popular message board forums, Philly.com from Prospero, and somehow swindled to buy just the Sixers board from Realgm.com.

He took over the team when it was in management disarray of current Congressman William ‘Billy’ King of the 38th district of Pennsylvania and from uninterested hockey owner Ed Snider.  Tom in his years at myspace.com saved up enough bandwidth to create his own Internet Television station just for the 76ers.  He shoved out the corporate pigs, Comcast, and gave everyone in the world the free chance to watch their beloved Sixers without having to pay $80 a month for shitty cable or for the international people, not at all.

The Sixers were the talk of the internet, the world; reaching globally and becoming “America’s team” much like Dallas Cowboys in football were “America’s team.”  Merchandise was sold at alarming rates and advertising revenue went through the roof as kids from all over the world could watch their favorite basketball team online for free.  NBA’s David Stern was speechless as to how a twenty-five year old could be a better marketer than he himself who has been in the business for decades (centuries it seems too, how old is this guy again?)  The Wachovia Center rent was like pennies in the pocket to Tom.  Revenue got so big that Tom had a lottery system to give away tickets online.    No need to charge $70 a ticket anymore, revenue came from other streams.  Tickets were now just $10.

How fitting then it was that the team and the owners that traded us the goods that got our ex general manager fired, the Las Vegas Kings (formerly Sacramento Kings), with hobbled Chris Webber, were the ones the 76ers faced in this year’s NBA Finals.  And Kenny Thomas who was once part of the Sixers sat patiently (with his ever famous nonchalant look) in his pre-arranged seat for the past 4 years on the Kings bench wondering how long ago was it that he too was on this 76er team.  Sixer fans are wondering how did the Kings get to the finals in the first place with a guy like Kenny Thomas eating away 9 million a year off your salary cap!  (Editor Note: I apologize for reminiscing such details about former team players even after they are long gone…call it a Philly ‘negativity’ and ‘letting-it-go’ habit).

The Kings put on a show and what a show it was playing in their own personalized diamond-studded built arena in downtown Las Vegas  People would walk down the strip, and stroll by the stadium which was built next to the Bellagio and the other Maloofs Casino attraction, Titanic, and see two of the most exciting teams in the world displayed on there 1320 foot (that’s a quarter mile) plasma TV screen behind the water fountain show of the Bellagio, while listening to Frank Sinatra, with a beer in one hand and a hooker in the other.  Two different owners, two different economic strategies, but two similar results: an NBA Finals Team.

(End of part 2)