They are getting ready to say good-bye to another building filled with the ghosts of the NBA's past.
If you are of the same vintage that I am, you will remember a terrific era in NBA basketball that was ushered in by the NBA-ABA merger. The league was working its way up the popularity charts amongst those with disposable income and with names like Julius Erving Larry Bird, and Magic Johnson; the NBA's fortunes were on the rise.
Those Sunday afternoon games on CBS were special. There was usually only one game a week until you were granted the primetime NBA Finals contests. In that respect you became familiar with everything from the coaches and the players to the opening theme music. The other recognizable items became the names of the buildings where the stars performed and the cast of characters associated with them.
Arenas like Madison Square Garden, the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles, the Boston Garden, Chicago Stadium and the Philadelphia Spectrum became places you knew like your own home. They had a certain charm from a distance although those who played in the buildings would tell you differently. With MSG, the only one of the grand old structures still standing and plans to renovate it in the works, I can vouch for the fact that when you wade in after a game to talk with players, the locker room is as cramped as having four people in the back of a Mini Cooper.
All of the buildings have seen their teams move on and one of the last of the old shops will be taken down as the City of Philadelphia will bid adieu to the Spectrum. The Sixers will run one on Friday against the Chicago Bulls for a curtain call with the court and all the details painstakingly restored to the way they were back in the day, cramped quarters and all.
"I had some good games against there against Doc (Julius Erving) and (Charles) Barkley once I got warm," chuckled Hall of Famer and current Raptors assistant coach Alex English. "I liked the building but man it was always cold in there."
"They always had knowledgeable fans that were right on top of you and they were appreciative of good play," said former NBA head coach Chris Ford who had the unique perspective of playing in Philadelphia in college as a Villanova Wildcat and later as a visiting member of the hated Boston Celtics.
"They (the fans) were tough on me as a 'Nova guy wearing the green (of the Celtics)," Ford explained while laughing. "I liked it because the fans were right on top of you and it was even better when you could come back from down 3-1," grinned Ford in reference to Boston's epic comeback in the 1981 Eastern Conference final.
Philadelphia will see members of the Sixers title team from 1982-83 assemble for a reunion when the team plays Chicago before the building is reduced to rubble. The building was a nightmare for opponents because the Sixers were a tough team back in those days.
"I got dunked on by Doc the first time we went in there," Raptor assistant Mike Evans joked. "It was what you call up close and personal as all I saw was the 'fro go past me for a jam and I thought to myself, 'oh that's what they were talking about.'"
Who could forget the line uttered by Moses Malone when asked about the Sixers' chances as they headed for the playoffs in the eventual title season? Goal-setting, game-planning and having calculated preparation at a run to the title were at the forefront when the Sixers coach and GM sat down with Malone asked Moses about the post-season. Big Mo responded with "fo, fo, fo", which was Moses' way of saying we're sweeping everyone in four games on our way to the title hence four, four, four. He was close as it was a four, five, four run to the crown while those numbers became the title of a hit song by the group Pieces of a Dream.
I asked Malone about his memories of The Spectrum and he responded in his inimitable style as a man of few words with the only one needed, "winning." When prodded further, Malone did say that he remembers cramped quarters in the locker room.
The 82-83 team in Philly had players that have seen there celebrity grow as a result of the title. Andrew Toney, a.k.a. the "Boston Strangler", never met a shot he didn't like according to his teammate Clem Johnson, now head coach at the University of Alaska at Fairbanks.
"He would shoot and have 21 straight misses but would shoot the 22nd shot because he felt it was going in," smiled Johnson, Malone's back-up on the championship team.
There are indelible images etched in my mind when it comes to the Spectrum and not all of them are related to basketball. I remember the Russian Red Army squad leaving the ice in a game against the Flyers after being roughed up a bit. Who could forget Bob Cole's famous crooning of "they're goin' home" as the Soviets left the ice only to return later. As a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, one could never forget the beatings suffered by the Leafs at the hands of the "Broad Street Bullies" like Don "Big Bird" Saleski, Bob "Mad Dog" Kelly, Dave "the Hammer" Schultz and countless others that played physical hockey but with great skill. Names like Bob Clarke, Rick McLeish, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent (a former Leaf also) all dashed many hopes of the Buds and their fans at some point. The crushing defeats were usually proceeded by the singing of "God Bless America" by Kate Smith either in person or via recording.
The 76ers had their own secret weapon when it came to pre-game festivities. When they needed a win, they would, as one opposing coach put it "trot out that guy with the saxophone". That guy was Grover Washington Jr. who was a Sixers fan that satisfied the classy musical tastes of Julius Erving more than any other artist. Washington never failed to deliver a smooth rendition of the Star Spangled Banner providing a boost when Philadelphia needed it most.
But here are my three biggest basketball memories of the Spectrum. Who can forget Magic's 42-point, 15-rebound gem as a rookie to clinch the 1980 NBA title in Game 6? It was done in the absence of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar who sprained his ankle in the previous Game 5 win in Los Angeles. What about Erving's cradle jam over Michael Cooper on a Sunday afternoon in Game 5 of the 1982 championship series to send it back to the Forum where the Lakers eventually won the title. The late "Chick" Hearns call still resonates in my head. And how many times have you seen the move by Erving driving baseline taking off on one side of the lane and landing on the other side as he scooped home a reverse lay-up with his arm extended out of bounds almost scraping the stanchion? That too happened on a Sunday afternoon against the Lakers leaving Mark Landsberger and Abdul-Jabbar staring with open mouths at a seemingly impossible play. That night at the regular Sunday night pick-up game, every kid attempted to replicate the move while trying to tread air like the doctor.
Somewhere legendary P.A. announcer Dave Zinkoff is droning, "numbah six, from the University of Massachusetts, Julius "da docatah" Errrrrrrrrving." But soon the building will grow silent again and eventually be taken down. All that will be left are memories as one of the games venerable edifices will no longer exist.
