Remembering the Spectrum

By John McMullen

Philadelphia, PA (The Phanatic Magazine) - A lot of sportswriters can play the elitist card like a classically trained cellist.

In fact, I personally know a number of scribes that look down upon the fans who read them.

I will admit that I can occasionally fall into the same trap. I mean, it is hard to understand a 40-year-old man who cares more about his favorite sports team than say his family or job.

That said, we all got into this business for one reason. At one time, no matter how much we deny it, every single sportswriter was a fan of some player or team before they embarked on their chosen career path.

For me, that team was the Philadelphia 76ers and the player was Julius "Dr. J." Erving.

I've long since stopped living and dying with the Sixers. Win, lose or draw, I have to write about it anyway, so I spend most of time now rooting for a compelling storyline.

Not on Friday.

The chills came back when Philadelphia's famed Spectrum hosted its final big league game after more than four decades.

Dubbed "America's Showplace" by the Sixers' parent company of Comcast- Spectacor, the Spectrum is a South Philly treasure, limping to the finish line in a sports world dominated by huge buildings with dozens of luxury boxes.

The dingy, old arena is scheduled to be demolished later this year to make way for a new hotel, entertainment and retail complex called "Philly Live."

So, the 76ers paid homage to their past, hosting the Chicago Bulls on Friday.

The game turned out to be an exciting affair but the crowd, the Sixers first sellout of the season, was really there to see Erving and other members of the Sixers' two championship clubs, the 1966-67 group that was once named the NBA's greatest team, and 1982-83 Moses Malone fueled champs.

Legendary public address announcer Dave Zinkoff and saxophonist extrordonaire Grover Washington Jr. have long since passed, but the team brought in reasonable facsimiles. Local comedian and mimic Joe Conklin filled in nicely for "Zink" with a terrific Errrrrrrrrvvvvviiiinnnggggggg and an 11-year-old prodigy blew a tribute to Grover.

"Zink called out to the players every night, all that stuff you always remember," former Sixer Earl Cureton said. "Zink did a great job as an announcer; they got his name hanging from the rafters now because of it. He is probably one of the greatest public address announcers ever in the NBA. It was special. And of course Grover Washington always in those championship series', the way he used to play the national anthem. It gave you chills."

The franchise also brought back the old Spectrum hardwood and a classic old- time organist. The only frills brought across the parking lot from the Wachovia Center were the Sixers' Dancers, the team's mascot, Hip-Hop, and his Hare Raisers, a group of gymnasts that perform during timeouts.

But, the dancers twirled to '80s music like Michael Jackson's Billie Jean, while the Hare Raisers kept a low profile, only coming out to throw t-shirts to the fans in the fourth quarter.

Former players on hand included Malone, Marc Iavaroni, Bobby Jones, Cureton, Clemon Johnson and Reggie Johnson from the '82-83 club and Wali Jones from the '66-67 team.

The only think missing was Hip-Hop's predecessor, the muppet like "Big Shot."

For me, so many indelible Sixers moments, both good and bad, came flooding back when I entered the building.

Dr. J's thunderous "cuff dunk" over Michael Cooper in the 1983 NBA Finals.

Erving notching his 30,000th point while playing in his final regular-season home game, joining Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain as the only 30,000-point scorers in the history of pro basketball history at the time.

The good Doctor's amazing up, over and around baseline move past Mark Landsberger in the 1980 Finals that is still a staple on YouTube.

"Here I was, trying to win a championship, and my mouth just dropped open," Magic Johnson, then a rookie, recalled of that play. "He actually did that. I thought, 'What should we do? Should we take the ball out or should we ask him to do it again?'"

Or how about the then-20-year-old Johnson taking over for the injured Abdul- Jabbar. and scoring 42 points, pulling down 15 rebounds and dishing seven assists as the Lakers won the NBA title by closing out the Sixers in Game 6 of the '80 Finals.

The Broad Street Bullies were the ones famous for fighting but Game 2 of the 1976-77 NBA Finals featured the Sixers' Darryl Dawkins, who once tore down a backboard at the Spectrum with one of his thunderous dunks, and the Blazers' Maurice Lucas getting into a fist fight.

But, perhaps my favorite moment was delivered by Cureton, a little known reserve center. On May 26, 1983 in Game 2 of the '83 Finals, the Sixers were in a bind when Malone left the game in foul trouble during the third quarter.

Malone's usual replacement, the underrated Clemon Johnson was injured, so Billy Cunningham went to the 6-foot-9 offensively-challenged Cureton, who stunned the Spectrum crowd by depositing a sky-hook over the master himself, Abbul-Jabbar.

To this day, I have never heard an arena explode like that.

"When you are playing the Lakers in the finals, it was huge," Cureton said. "I was getting prepared and getting psyched up, and ready to go in there and play against them.

"That was a little momentum-changer in the game. Moses was in foul trouble and it looked like they were going to take advantage of us because I came in to guard Kareem. But we took advantage of it. I answered the bell and it worked out."

On Sunday, I will be back in the Wachovia Center and while I'll certainly enjoy the wireless Internet, the extra leg room and Dwyane Wade, you can bet I will glance across the parking lot at the ugly duckling that is the Spectrum.

Philly Live indeed.