The Sixers unveiled their new court today, and to christen it they invited a group of media (including, that’s right, ReclinerGM) to play on it for a couple hours this afternoon. Dannie wasn’t able to attend, so I went down and took some photos and played in a couple full court games. Before I get to the pictures, it should be noted that Philadelphia history was made when yours truly sank the first shot in “competitive” play on the new court (a 15-footer from the baseline, after the 10 of us missed about 15 shots to open up play) and the first 3-pointer on the new court. I was passing as well, I promise. It was a great time, and I thank the Sixers and particularly their Director of Public Relations, Michael Preston, for arranging it.
Alright, on to the pictures. The court is very simple, with the new/old Sixers logo at center court and Philadelphia 76ers spelled out on the baselines in somewhat retro font. The paint is blue with red outline, and “Wachovia Center” is on either side of the center logo. Here is the best picture I could get of the entire court. It was tough without going upstairs.
Here’s a closer shot of a half court…
Close up of the font on both baselines…
From the paint looking down court…
Close up of paint/colors…
Paint from a distance…
Mid-court from another angle…
Another full court shot…
Personally, I liked it. I’m all about keeping things simple and classic, and this court does that. I was kind of hoping for the different color woods you’d see in the old arenas like Boston Garden, but this is just fine. This might look like the Spectrum Court, but as Dannie pointed out to me today, it really doesn’t. See picture here and note the amount of red / lack of baseline lettering / logos by paint / different mid-court logo.
For those waiting for the new unis, I got the sense that they will be coming out near the end of September, so we will have to wait a bit for that.
Credit where credit is due – nice gesture by the Sixers. Pete, who else was there? Did you get to reject a Bill Conlin hook shot? Did Kate Fagan from Deep Sixer show everyone up?
Classic, this alone gives me hope for this season. At least Ill feel proud again.
The “Iverson Era” jerseys/logo was the worst in all of sports ive always thought. People were making fun of the Thunder, last year I would of paid money for the 6ers to swap w/ them
haha – no notable media…. a guy from Liberty Ballers was there, a bunch of behind the scenes comcast guys, a guy from a newspaper (metro something?) – I have a terrible memory. Sorry.
Will “Big Shot” return as our Sixer mascot? The “Hip-Hop” era should have ended when Iverson was traded.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbRdHXt3LTI
Also, the Sixers re-signed Royal Ivey.
Now, the team needs a scorer like Flip Murray for a 1-2 year deal, off the bench.
GO SIXERS!!
Or the Phanatic can represent two teams!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE8_EA0FJGs&feature=related
That would be awesome Rob, their marketing strategies have been as shameful as their jerseys the last decade.
One game, they had a free concert after the game. It was someone singing about chicken noodle soup with a soda on the side? Why would I ever want to see that? I wouldnt of stayed if they offered free season tix.
Every time I go to a game, they play horrible pop music talking about the worst stuff, and all I can imagine is if I were bringing a young kid to the game and think that I wouldnt of come if so. It sucks really
The jerseys are here. (confirmed by Tom Moore):
Apparently, these are the main home and road jerseys (not alternates as was initially guessed. I’m not a huge fan of what they did with the road jersey. Would have preferred a more traditional look by going back to the blue border around the letters abd numbers and ditching the bright blue ribbon on the edges.
Maybe someone can embed the images?
tk -
http://www.realgm.com/boards/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=936270
the one I just posted should work.
the shorts are awesome though
I put a space after www so that your site would not filter out my thread for moderation.
I agree, the bright blue was over-designing IMO. I also would have preferred they stay with the thin blue border around the letters and numbers.
Yeah Pete to me it seems the all-white “Sixers” across the chest & number makes the jersey look cheap. A Blue outline to at least match the neck and shoulder trim would have gone a long ways.
Our very own Tom Moore, has posted some news on the Sixers interested in a couple of swingmen including a couple of Grahams, as well as a former Sixer.
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/61079/20090811/philadelphia_looking_for_swingman/
Also, I love the new court. It brings the old with the new– a nice updated version of the Spectrum. Red, white, and blue truly represent the colors of Philadelphia and our nation. This city was our nation’s capital. Now the Sixers need the fans, just like the old days at the Spectrum. Last year’s game against the Bulls that March was OUTSTANDING!!
GO SIXERS!!
Wow, I just thought of it. With red as the Sixers’ color on the road, there will be no more, “Here come the black shirts!” That was a great Zumoff quotable!
I love them. You can’t go with the same exact jerseys, the originals were great because they represented a time to be proud of, but they were too plain. These are very similar with a better cut and some accents. Love them. I will be excited to see them take court.
I’ll wait until I see more pictures and see them live to pass my final judgment. Initial judgment is they are just okay and certainly a step down from the originals. I really just wanted them to not reinvent the wheel and go with the classics.
Uniforms/logos – I cannot stand this whole retro thing. I honestly always really enjoyed the AI era…or more accurately 97 – 09 jerseys. The white I wasn’t in love with, but the black away jerseys, with the Sixers bball and swish in red and gold? Thought it was a classy, cool modern looking jersey that was one of the best away jerseys in the league. These “new classics” to me look cheesy, and straight from the 80s…and not in a good way.
Rasual Butler – Headed to the Clippers for a conditional 2nd round pick. I !@#$ing knew this would happen. I made a few posts a month or two back about how logjammed the Hornets were at the wing spots, and that Rasual Butler (who makes a reasonable salary ($4) and is an expiring contract) could be easily had via trade. Well, the Clippers just got a talented bench player in exchange for a !@#$ing cheese curl.
Gee, ES, think maybe we could use a player that is 6’7, plays good defense, hustles, can hit the three, would make the PERFECT backup SF for this team that we’ve needed…AND has Philly roots? Nah, we wouldn’t want a guy like that who could have been easily nabbed from the cost-cutting Hornets. Jesus christ.