Sixers win some fans back

John Armato, 33, was the second fan in line when the doors opened to the Wells Fargo Center for the 76ers game Wednesday night against Denver.

He's not one of those people, those crazies, with no life. He's got a wife, two daughters, a job, and his own business on the side. He was just so excited. He had not been back to a Sixers game in 11 years, not since they lost to the Lakers in the NBA championship in 2001, the pinnacle of the Allen Iverson era.

Like many area fans, Armato had given up on pro basketball, so much so that his wife of four years didn't even know he had followed the Sixers until she looked through his closet and saw his Iverson, Eric Snow, and Aaron McKie jerseys. (Allowing him a partial season-ticket package to the Phillies, on the other hand, had been part of the marriage contract.)

Armato has been watching the Sixers on television this season, along with tens of thousands of additional fans. TV ratings so far this season are up 64 percent: 80,000 households on average, up from 50,000 last season.

He was talking Sixers all the time. This team is young and exciting and, incredibly, winning. So it was his wife, Dana, who bought him the three-pack, a steal: two tickets in the lower level to three games for $117 - $19.50 each.

He invited a coworker from Gallagher Fluid Seals in King of Prussia to join him. Armato drove to the game straight from work and didn't even stop home in Norristown.

"I just wanted to get that, like, that smell back, of being here," he said in line. "I had to get here. I don't drink, so it's not that I wanted beer. I just wanted to go to my seat and take it all in again."

Doors opened at 6.

In he came.

They're new and hot

The Sixers are hot, 10-4, with new owners; a fabulous coach in Doug Collins; and a group of young, relentless, and talented players.

People are noticing. Fans are stirring. The key, of course, is getting fans in the door. Early in this new and abbreviated season, following a labor dispute, the Sixers have averaged about 14,000 a night, a dismal 26th out of 30 teams in the NBA.

Adam Aron, the new CEO, says those numbers are about to jump. He has worked hard to fill the arena again. It begins with putting a winning team on the floor. He's also slashed ticket prices, brought back dollar dog night, and made many other improvements. He says momentum is building and describes himself as ebullient.