Doomsday for the Philadelphia Spectrum
Friday, March 13, 2009 at 3:38PM 
I may head down to the Spectrum tonight, just to take a huge dump on the bathroom floor, just for old time sake. They probably still don’t have working stall doors or any toilet paper in there. I still have a bowl of Aunt Kate’s ham and bean soup in the refrigerator. I was saving it for a rare occasion such as this.
Tonight the Philadelphia 76ers will play the Chicago Bulls in the Philadelphia Spectrum. It is going to be the last major professional sporting event to take place in the arena before they stick dynamite in all of the toilets and blow that place to smithereens.
A ton of stuff happened at this arena. The famous last-second shot by Christian Laettner of Duke to beat Kentucky. (Man I hated him and more important, I hate Duke. One of my friends is called Duke. I think this is why I hate them so much.)
Wilt Chamberlain did something very unforgettable; he scored a Double-Triple-Double. Wilt had 22 points, 25 rebounds and 21 assists. To this day, no one has even come close to sniffing those numbers. It is rumored that Wilt hooked up with 12 of his over 3-thousand women that very night, in the concourse of the Spectrum. He was probably wearing Drakkar Noir and no pants.
Just let it all hang out there big fella!
Nothing will ever top the Sixers winning the title in 1983 and Moses Malone’s infamous quote “Fo, Fo, Fo!” for which he was very close to getting that prediction right. They only lost one game in route to the ‘83 championship.
I was only eight at the time, but I remember how much I loved that team: Doctor J, Moses, Bobby Jones, Mo Cheeks, Andrew Toney and crew. I still miss the Doctor J afro. It was one of a kind. Man he could fly through the air and his hair never seemed to move. It defied logic!
Andrew Toney, the Boston Strangler, He always seemed to have his best games against Boston and I couldn’t be more thankful. I really hated that team too. I loved Larry Bird, but hated him when he played the Sixers. Andrew Toney once score 25 points in the 4th quarter against them. That is freaking insane. It felt like he scored 50.
Of course there was the Stanley Cup championships of 1974 and 1975. The Broad Street Bullies...I wasn’t even born yet, but those guys are legends in Philadelphia. I don’t really get into hockey, but I do root for the Flyers. They have such a passionate (and crazy looking) fan base. Lots of mullets, tight black jeans, bright white high-top Velcro Reebok sneakers, turtle necks and exposed hickeys in that crowd.
My boy Sut is so freaking passionate about the Flyers and so is his hockey posse. I think they all wear Jofa Hockey helmets out to the bar to watch them play. This is why I really root for them, for Sut and his crew.
This is also the site of my first true tailgating experience. I went to go see U2 during their ZooTV tour. I got so freaking wrecked that I almost didn’t make it inside. This was the first time I was introduced to ‘shot gunning’ a beer.
Shot gunning a beer is where you poke a big hole towards the bottom of the can before opening the top of the can. Then you place the hole up to your mouth and open up the top. It explodes into your mouth in like 2 seconds. I think I did at least 10 shotguns and drank 5 beers casually before we went in. I could have swore U2 did a cover of I’m Bad, by LL Cool J. It was either that or Candy Girl by New Edition, I forget. Shotguns will do that to you.
R.I.P. Spectrum. What’s next, the demolition of the Philadelphia Art Museum? (Heck, for all I know that has already happened.)
Maybe they can just melt the head off of the Rocky statue…
Basketball, Sports 
Reader Comments (6)
Walt Walt Walt,
It is fantastic that they get rid of this dump. I just wanted to point out your huge error on women Wilt slept with. He claims to be over 25000. I also do not believe your friend Sut is a hockey fan any longer. I don't know why he gave up on his team but I guess he is just a quitter. God Bless Kate Smith...
The Whale
I don't know shit about this and am not even gonna play like I do...but I wanted to leave a comment anyway !!!
First time visitor from Cleveland, OH.
Good post. I love the Rocky statue. Didn't they move it recently.
I laughed out loud about your Spectrum bathroom comment.
The moved the Rocky Statue a couple of time. First, they moved it outside of the aforementioned Spectrum. Then, they moved it back to the Art museum but not at the top of the steps. People in the Art community HATE that thing, which makes it even better. People in Philadelphia follow a fictional character!!!
I don't care how crappy that place may have been it was the loudest arena I have ever been in. Concerts there were incredible (when you're not shotgunning beers) and Flyers Playoff Games were absolutely INSANE! I was there when they beat the Rangers in '97 to get into the cup and I am telling you it was so loud that I couldn't hear right for days. The new joint is nice and all but will never be as loud as the Spectrum.
I need to retract my last posting date...the Corestates, First Union, Wachovia whatever Center was open in '97...my bad. Spectrum Still rules.