A few of our writers, Eric DeLash and Mike Angelina reflected on the career and legacy of Allen Iverson. In honor of "The Answer", we share our thoughts and memories of the most beloved figure in Philadelphia sports this century:
Eric DeLash:
Allen Iverson, probably the biggest smallest superstar to ever the play the game of basketball. I can honestly say that AI was my first ever sports hero and it's bittersweet to see his number be retired on March 1st against the Wizards. Bittersweet in the sense that it officially closes an era, but also sweet to see his number rise to the rafters to join Doc, Chuck, and Wilt. So many memories come to mind when I think of Iverson, whether it was witnessing him step over Tyronn Lue en route to a Game 1 victory in the NBA Finals in 2001 or when I was in the Student Union of the University of Maryland when news broke that he had been traded to the Denver Nuggets for Andre Miller and Joe Smith. My all time favorite moment still is the crossover of Michael Jordan in his rookie year. Epic. All in all, when you look past the Coronas at Friday's, the BlackJack in Atlantic City, Practice, and Cornrows, know that Allen was the city's darling for a solid 10 years, and appropriately concluding with a farewell tour when everything thought it was done in 2010.
Mike Angelina:
It’s easy to love Allen Iverson for everything he gave on the court. Seriously, how could you not? He was the best player to don a Sixers jersey this century, and so to people under the age of 30, he is especially the face of the franchise, in their minds. But would it be wrong to love him for the “off-the-court” Iverson? For me, that’s what made him so loveable. No, not because I approved of or liked what he was doing. In some cases, he seems like a complete jerk. But he was so real.
Philadelphia had two sports icons at that time, Iverson and Donovan McNabb. McNabb was the “straight shooter”, or the “good boy” in a sense, especially in Iverson’s presence, but he did not nearly get the same love. We loved Iverson because of his “bad boy” side. I’d argue it’s what made him our favorite.
Think about it, that “I’m going to do whatever I want” translated to his game on the court. If he was fearless of the law, then don’t you think that helped make him fearless of being guarded by Michael Jordan or going into Los Angeles as a heavy underdog to face a team that was undefeated in the postseason and steal the show? So while they were not the greatest moments for humanity, but each moment of him staring in the face of the gigantic law and trying to top it, they made him top the much taller opponents he faced. Those moments contributed to why I love Allen Iverson. It made him fearless.
