The Philadelphia 76ers are a sorry excuse for a professional basketball team. They’ve won 48 of their last 254 games. I’m fairly certain that I could suit up and play power forward for them and we’d win at about the same clip. In simplest terms, they suck, and have for years. But therein lies the rub: It’s all by design.
See, in the NBA, the worst teams are rewarded with the highest picks in the next year’s draft. Teams who aren’t good enough to realistically compete for the title have every incentive to hit the big red button and lose as many games as possible in hopes of securing a high pick and some top-line talent. The 76ers have taken that to the logical extreme: They’ve lost an unfathomable number of games over the last three years, and thus had a top-three pick in each of the last three drafts. It’s called “tanking,” and it works.
The 76ers brain trust has a mantra: Trust the Process. Yes, the team is terrible. But they’d like you to keep the faith; when the top-line talent they’ve harvested over the years matures, they’ll come back stronger. Trust the Process.
Over the last week or so, I’ve been slowly making my way through the stages of grief. Watching the election results unfold on Tuesday felt a bit like watching a national tragedy. I’m reminded of the feelings I had during the terrorist attacks in France almost exactly one year ago. That isn’t to say that a peaceful transition of power, regardless of one’s political ideology, compares to the loss of so many lives. But the feelings are similar: Anger, disbelief and disappointment, slowly replaced by hopelessness.
I’m now entering into the acceptance phase. Strange as it sounds, the 76ers give me a glimmer of hope. Our political system has long existed as a murky bipartisan mess, complicated by hidden agendas and backroom dealings. In part, that’s why Trump won: He’s a political outsider who tapped into Middle America’s mistrust of politicians. And ultimately, his election has blown the doors off the political barn; citizens are questioning the bipartisan system, our voting structure and the legitimacy of the establishment as a whole.
By electing someone who strikes me as a bigot and a blowhard, America seems to be tanking. Maybe, though, that should give us all hope. Maybe we need to hit rock bottom in order to really consider overhauling the system. For all of his faults, Trump certainly galvanizes strong feelings in all people — and people caring about issues is the first step toward change.
I’m reminded of getting shots at the doctor’s office and being told, “This will sting a bit.” The next four years are going to hurt, particularly for minorities and marginalized groups. We’re going to lose a lot of games. But maybe Trump’s election will serve as a hard reset for a system that isn’t inclined toward change. Maybe it’ll galvanize a reevaluation of our collective political priorities. Maybe we should trust in the process.
Jack Siglin is a senior physiology and neurobiology major. He can be reached at jsiglindbk@gmail.com.
