Since the name of this website encompasses basketball and politics alike, the musings of a governor on the Sixers feel like fair game. As has often been the case for one Chris Christie, he said something stupid today, this time about our favorite basketball team!
The quip comes courtesy of Politico NJ's Matt Friedman:
Christie on 76ers Camden facility: "The only thing the 76ers will do in Philadelphia once they move into Camden is lose."
— Matt Friedman (@MattFriedmanNJ) April 27, 2016
Christie's sports "fandom" is well-documented thanks to his high-profile relationship with Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. The sight of the two mourning losses together in the press box over the last few years remains a personal favorite of mine.
In more pressing matters, taking aim at the Sixers (joke or not, truthful or not) is incomprehensibly stupid on Christie's part. Given that he has already alienated/pushed away a lot of people on both sides of his state with his open admiration of the Cowboys, drawing more ire from Philly fans would seem to be ill-advised. And that's without considering the context of the Sixers building their practice facility in Camden to begin with. After courting the team with considerable tax breaks in order to draw construction to New Jersey, now you're going to mock them as an enterprise? Good call!
But hey, any time you can provide over $80 million in tax breaks to a team who doesn't play in your state and serves as nothing more than a job creator and punchline for your shitty jokes, you gotta do it. Kudos to the Sixers business department for finding a way to strike a deal with someone who openly loathes them, I suppose.