Philadelphia 76ers fan named a finalist for Fan of the Year Award

After 35 years of undying fandom, Philadelphia 76ers fan Lauren Gordon has been named a finalist for FanSided’s 2019 Fan of the Year Award.

Every year, FanSided places a call out to find the best fans in all of fans, with four of said fans becoming finalists for the Fan of the Year fan award.

Now how, you may ask, does Section 215’s parent blog go about making this list? Well, first off, that’s above my pay grade, but through the wizardry of what I assume to be a rigorous process, one of this year’s finalists just so happens to root for our (and her) hometown Philadelphia 76ers.

A ‘religiously’ follower since the 1982-83 NBA season, Lauren Gordon is a legit Sixers superfan.

Through the good (the early 80s), the bad (The Process), and the ugly (everything else minus Allen Iverson), Gordon has stuck by her team like a certified homer – even going so far as to write letters to the organization whenever she felt the need to air her grievances.

And unlike the modern-day blogger screaming into the void about potential trades, she actually got responses.

Now granted, in hindsight, it seems crazy to complain about a team featuring future Hall of Famer Charles Barkley. However, after watching Dr. J and Moses Malone bring a championship to South Philly in her first year as a fan, it’s understandable to feel less than enthusiastic about a mediocre team that ultimately finished out the season 36-46.

Frankly, I’m more impressed that she had the conviction to keep the letter for the better part of 30 years.

30 years – just think about that for a moment. That’s older than all but two members of this current Sixers squad have been alive. That’s older than all of the stadiums in Philly’s sports complex. Heck, that’s older than me. Lauren Gordon has been passionately supporting the Sixers since before my parents even got married.

If that isn’t worth a vote, I don’t know what is.

From Julius Erving and Charles Barkley, to Allen Iverson and Joel Embiid, Lauren Gordon has had dozens – hundreds – of opportunities to jump bandwagons to a more consistently successful basketball team, and yet, through it all, the losing, The Process, Markelle Fultz, she kept on bleeding Philadelphia 76ers red, white, and blue. That’s worth acknowledging.