Crossing Broad
Have you heard? LeBron James is a Philadelphia 76er. It’s real. It’s damn real.
The Sixers have gone through quite a transformative offseason. I think most of us assumed Daryl Morey would return as the general manager, and we started talking ourselves into bringing in marginal guys to hopefully help Tyrese Maxey and V.J. Edgecombe. Oh yeah, and Joel Embiid.
Morey was fired, Mike Gansey was hired, and he started to cook. Those “marginal” guys we thought they might add turned into Jaylen Brown and LeBron James. Gansey also signed Dean Wade and Anfernee Simons, drafted Labaron Philon Jr., and is adding Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Not only has the starting lineup improved, but the bench depth is already better. And there will still be moves made before the season starts.
James’ signing got me to thinking about the best Philly free agent additions in the last 25+ years (that sounds better than 26 years, right?). Each team has gone through their own respective rough patches during this time, but there have also been some signings out of nowhere that instantly rejuvenated the respective fan bases.
I first created a Twitter account in 2009, but Facebook was still the premiere social media destination at the time. It wasn’t until 2011, when I started blogging about Philly sports (Bleeding Brotherly Love/Bleed Philly fans stand up), when I began to utilize Twitter on a more daily basis. If only I was surfing Twitter on December 14, 2010, when Cliff Lee signed with the Phillies, I would have been exposed to Philly Twitter long before the blogging days. Instead, I kept refreshing MLB Trade Rumors, which would update their running posts with a sentence and link to the latest tweet sent out by a baseball reporter/insider. Smart stuff by me. But man, the adrenaline rush I felt when reading the Phillies were bringing back one of the greatest pitchers I’d ever seen in person not only for one year, but five, was incredible. I went to Yankee Stadium for Game 1 of the 2009 World Series and saw his complete game masterpiece in person. As I left the stadium, Yankees fans were completely deflated. After hours of being yelled at in the face and bumped into “accidentally,” it felt like quite the victory lap when fans were saying, “You guys are gonna win in five” while walking out. I loved Cole Hamels, but I really loved Cliff Lee. He made it look so effortless. Complete game here. Complete game there. Complete game in Game 1 of the freakin’ World Series. At Yankee Stadium. And then… traded. Then he wanted to come back in free agency. What a ride.
Bryce Harper may have brought baseball back to Philly in 2019, but Jim Thome also did so in 2003. It was the first big free agent signing I remember as a fan. I didn’t even know what free agency was in 1993, but the biggest stars I had seen...
