Today is Father’s Day so I wanted to write about my Dad. Since I had such a great childhood, it is hard to pick just one memory. However, tonight I am watching the NBA finals, the Lakers against the Celtics. During the pre-game player announcements, they showed video shots of the great 1980’s teams. One of the clips was of Julius Erving, also known as “Dr. J.”
When I was a child, I loved playing basketball and I loved the Philadelphia 76ers. In 1983, I was only 11 years old, and the 76ers were on their way to win a championship—27 years later, we are still waiting for ANY Philadelphia team to win a championship! In a first and last for Philadelphia sports, they had signed a free agent center, who actually put them over the top, Moses Malone (of course, they traded him the next year).
Even during the regular season, everyone knew that the 76ers would probably play the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship series. Well, the 76ers only played the Lakers two times during the regular season, once in LA, and once at home. The Lakers had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Kurt Rambis, James Worthy, and Pat Riley coaching. The 76ers had Moses Malone, Dr. J, Bobby Jones, Mo Cheeks, and Andrew Toney.
I loved the 76ers and I loved my Dad, and yes, I even loved my favorite uncle, Uncle Teddy, even though he is the biggest fair weather sports fan there is--at least he is not a "fair weather friend"--that guy has been there through the thick and the thin and would do anything for you--but he is absolutely a fair weather sports fan. Anyway, so what do you think one of my greatest childhood memories is? Remember, this was back when no one had any money, there was no Internet, no ESPN, and you listened to sporting events on AM radio. My Dad took me and Uncle Ted to see the one regular season home game that the 76ers had against the Lakers!!
It was January 5th, 1983, my 11th birthday, and we watched the 76ers beat the Lakers, in Overtime, 122-120, in a game that would become pretty famous. Kid’s interests are different today and they are pretty spoiled, but back then, it was a once in a lifetime event!
The old Spectrum was sold out and you couldn’t hear yourself think. We were sitting opposite the bench to the left if you are looking at the court. The really cool thing is that the 76ers won that night—but the really really cool thing is that we saw Dr. J. do one of the greatest dunks in NBA history over Michael Cooper—it was a game breaking moment. It plays on almost every highlight reel and has become a pretty famous shot. I remember the moment--I can still see the play happening in my head. My Dad, my Uncle Ted (a Lakers fan raised in Delaware), and I, saw this dunk and I will never forget it. This dunk became known as the “Rock the Cradle Slam Dunk,” and is even written about in Wikipedia under Julius Erving! "Erving's most memorable plays came in a 1983 regular season game, after a steal from the Los Angeles Lakers. He came down the court on a fast break and, swinging the ball back and forth before taking off on a Rock the Cradle Slam Dunk, slung the ball around behind his head and dunked over L.A.'s Michael Cooper. This dunk is generally regarded as one of the greatest dunks of all time."
You dads out there, be encouraged to take those special trips with your children---and make it memorable. Happy Father’s Day! Here it is…in the last seconds of the video, if you look in the stands to your right in the shot background, you can see approximately where we were sitting (you can't see us individually, but you can see the section)!!
When I was a child, I loved playing basketball and I loved the Philadelphia 76ers. In 1983, I was only 11 years old, and the 76ers were on their way to win a championship—27 years later, we are still waiting for ANY Philadelphia team to win a championship! In a first and last for Philadelphia sports, they had signed a free agent center, who actually put them over the top, Moses Malone (of course, they traded him the next year).
Even during the regular season, everyone knew that the 76ers would probably play the Los Angeles Lakers in the championship series. Well, the 76ers only played the Lakers two times during the regular season, once in LA, and once at home. The Lakers had Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Kurt Rambis, James Worthy, and Pat Riley coaching. The 76ers had Moses Malone, Dr. J, Bobby Jones, Mo Cheeks, and Andrew Toney.
I loved the 76ers and I loved my Dad, and yes, I even loved my favorite uncle, Uncle Teddy, even though he is the biggest fair weather sports fan there is--at least he is not a "fair weather friend"--that guy has been there through the thick and the thin and would do anything for you--but he is absolutely a fair weather sports fan. Anyway, so what do you think one of my greatest childhood memories is? Remember, this was back when no one had any money, there was no Internet, no ESPN, and you listened to sporting events on AM radio. My Dad took me and Uncle Ted to see the one regular season home game that the 76ers had against the Lakers!!
It was January 5th, 1983, my 11th birthday, and we watched the 76ers beat the Lakers, in Overtime, 122-120, in a game that would become pretty famous. Kid’s interests are different today and they are pretty spoiled, but back then, it was a once in a lifetime event!
The old Spectrum was sold out and you couldn’t hear yourself think. We were sitting opposite the bench to the left if you are looking at the court. The really cool thing is that the 76ers won that night—but the really really cool thing is that we saw Dr. J. do one of the greatest dunks in NBA history over Michael Cooper—it was a game breaking moment. It plays on almost every highlight reel and has become a pretty famous shot. I remember the moment--I can still see the play happening in my head. My Dad, my Uncle Ted (a Lakers fan raised in Delaware), and I, saw this dunk and I will never forget it. This dunk became known as the “Rock the Cradle Slam Dunk,” and is even written about in Wikipedia under Julius Erving! "Erving's most memorable plays came in a 1983 regular season game, after a steal from the Los Angeles Lakers. He came down the court on a fast break and, swinging the ball back and forth before taking off on a Rock the Cradle Slam Dunk, slung the ball around behind his head and dunked over L.A.'s Michael Cooper. This dunk is generally regarded as one of the greatest dunks of all time."
You dads out there, be encouraged to take those special trips with your children---and make it memorable. Happy Father’s Day! Here it is…in the last seconds of the video, if you look in the stands to your right in the shot background, you can see approximately where we were sitting (you can't see us individually, but you can see the section)!!
2 comments:
Very cool!
Very cool!
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