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December 28th, 2009 
Sportsfreak11 Hey guys! My name is Imran Farooqui and I’m a junior at Penn State. While Dave is about to go study abroad in Italy, I’m going to start helping out with the blog and give my insight on Philly sports, the good, the bad and the ugly.
Today I’m going to talk about the infamous Philadelphia superstar, Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson is one of the most controversial athletes that Philadelphia has ever seen, whether it was his on-court display of skills or off-court problems and dilemmas. Iverson would always keep us entertained and for that he was a very revered member of the Philadelphia elite athletes. In the late 1990s to early 2000s, Allen Iverson’s prolific scoring and his ability to carry a team on his shoulders drew national attention and his abilities helped the Sixers reach their first NBA finals in 2001, after about 15 years.
Off the court, Allen Iverson went through a roller coaster of family controversies, famous press moments or even his rapping days (not his brightest days). If you even follow basketball, you must remember the infamous “Practice” press conference that Allen Iverson had after he was benched for not coming to practice a couple times. Forever now, ESPN uses that press conference in conjunction with any situation that an NBA superstar goes through, just as a mockery. Allen Iverson will also be known for his use of firearms in front of regular citizens and even his one album that caught national acclaim for let’s say one day (Check out the one song he had “40 bars”). His tattoos define him, as he said once, and I believe that they also show his rebellious side. No matter what, Philadelphia still loved him.
The 10 years that Allen Iverson had with the Philadelphia 76ers was an up and down time. Each year, the Sixers front staff would try and pair him with a player, a scorer of sorts, that they thought would help their team in the end make it to the top. The list, in order of playing time with the 76ers, is Jerry Stackhouse, Derrick Coleman, Larry Hughes, Toni Kukoc, Keith Van Horn, Glenn Robinson, Chris Webber, and Andre Iguodala. Each player, before they became a part of the 76ers, was a great scorer and a presence in the NBA. However, each time they played with Allen Iverson would falter. The only time that it did not was that 2001 season when the starting lineup for the Sixers was Dikembe Mutombo, Tyrone Hill, Toni Kukoc, Eric Snow, and Allen Iverson. Allen Iverson would be too much of a factor for the team that the other players had to step aside in order to let him shine. It was a one-man show for Philadelphia and his name was A.I.
When the front office staff decided that enough was enough, Iverson was traded to Denver, where he was paired with Carmelo Anthony, another prolific scorer. However, the same story happened in Denver. The team could not handle two mega-superstars and though they went through the season and made it to the playoffs, they couldn’t coexist and were bounced immediately. Iverson’s tumultuous career continued onto Detroit and then a brief stint in Memphis before he realized what was happening, that he was not wanted anymore in this league and that he was falling out of the elite status of the NBA that he had for so long.
A month ago, the Sixers front office, after seeing one of the worst starts in franchise history and also the worst attendance amount in franchise history, decided they needed a boost in everything about the Sixers. When they saw A.I. on the market, they decided he could be their inspiration and maybe doing something magical for the team.
Now, after reading all of this, you may think that I dislike Allen Iverson and that I’ve never been a fan of his. It is however the opposite. I was always a huge fan of the way Allen Iverson played and he is one of my favorite players of all time. However, I feel that he has drawn out his career too much and that he has not learned how to handle being older and still playing in the NBA. The old veterans of the NBA start understanding their place in the NBA by instead of running the show, helping run it. For example, Shaquille O’Neal is a great example of someone who was a dominant force in the NBA but is now an athlete who knows he’s a piece of the puzzle instead of the main cornerstone and he works towards the bigger goal.
I also don’t like that the Sixers use Allen Iverson to only stir marketing and attendance points. The use of him as a one-hit wonder is unfortunate and just tarnishes his career evermore. I will always remember Allen Iverson as his former self and I hope that he can find his place in the NBA and keep his Hall of Fame career intact.
Feel free to comment on this and I hope to post more on the BroadStreetHeroes blog for you guys. Have a great holiday season and a happy new year!!
Imran
