I have had an account on this board since pretty close to the beginning but have not really witnessed our fan base have such a collective crush on a fellow team as we seem to have here with the 76ers. Right now we currently have 3 front page topics on Philadelphia and we every couple of weeks (or more frequently) we have a thread on Embiid, Noel and previously, the value of MCW.
I get that the 76er's are doing something that seems fairly unique in terms of tanking by drafting injured players, drafting foreign players and being at the salary floor the last few seasons. That being said this stuff seems a little over the top. Are they a lot of posters second favorite teams? I know that we have a few regular posters that have come over from Philly forums (they have admitted as much in threads), but are there more then a couple? Are the 76ers the second favorite team of a lot of posters? Have they not been good at the same time as for so long that we forget they are a division and historical rival?
I personally think they have some really nice pieces in play with Noels, Embiid and either 1 or 2 upcoming top 5 draft picks. However, there are teams like Minnesota with Dieng, Wiggins, Lavine and an upcoming top 5 pick that appear to have an equally appealing future (not to mention more existing veteran talent). I can't even recall a single thread talking about how great Minnesota's future looks. What about Milwaukee? They have Giannis (board favorite), Jabari Parker, MCW and an interesting piece in Henson. That seems like a really bright future to me too.
Anyone care to explain this Philly phenomenon to me and why they are held in so much higher regard than the other young and potentially up and coming teams? Is it just more philly fans here?