Sixers' Head Coach Brett Brown is Unbothered by Philly Fans Booing Him
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- Everything was going as usual on Friday night in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. The typical game night introductory events were the same as normal. First, the National Anthem gets sung. Then, a special guest comes out to ring the bell right before the Philadelphia 76ers' starting lineup gets introduced.
By the time the lights dimmed down, and the pump-up video concluded, something different occurred when the home team was getting its introduction. Like always, the first person announced before the lineup is 76ers' head coach, Brett Brown.
Since it happens so fast all the time, there's usually no reaction to Brown's name getting called. This time around, though, fans wanted themselves heard. Not by their cheers, though. Instead, Philly fans wanted to boo Brett Brown.
Lately, the Sixers have had their fan base on edge. Considering the team just went on a four-game road streak, which resulted in four-straight exhausting losses, the crowd was a bit more hostile than usual in South Philly on Friday night. And when Philly fans are upset, they are never hesitant to let it be known.
Whether this is a good or bad thing; Brett Brown claims he didn't actually hear the boos from the home crowd on Friday night ahead of the matchup against Memphis. However, the head coach was informed after the game, which caused him to smirk while hearing about it during his postgame presser.
"It's really the first time I'm hearing about it. It doesn't surprise me," Brown admitted. "It's a part of the passion in this city that makes it unique. I mean that with all of my heart." While Brown likely wasn't thrilled to hear about the crowd's disproval of him, he didn't seem all that fazed about it. "You move on," he claimed. Had the Sixers lost to the Grizzlies on Friday, the reaction from Brown might've been slightly different. Since he helped deliver a 12-point win, though, the Sixers' coach is willing to forgive and forget about it.
Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_