Welcome Home, A.I.

We Philly fans get a bum rap.

All anybody in the national media ever talks about is how we booed Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny, how we chucked snowballs at Jimmy Johnson, and how tough we are on our athletes.

And while all of that is true, we don’t get any kind of credit in terms of the respect we have for the guys that wear the midnight green, orange and black, and red, white, and blue and bust it every time they hit the field, ice, or court.

Case in point: Allen Iverson.

“The Answer” made his first appearance in Philly last night as a member of the Denver Nuggets. Iverson was greeted by a lengthy standing ovation for the enormous crowd on hand at Wachovia Center .

Iverson was the prototypical Philly athlete – tough as nails, always gave 110% (unless we’re talking about practice), and played with a passion that could be fully appreciated by the equally passionate fans. Even though he wasn’t a Philly native by birth, he was one of us.

The respect was mutual. Iverson ran to center court and kissed the Sixers logo during warm ups, was almost overcome by emotion stirred from the ovation, and even spoke after the game about someday returning to the city, if only as a resident.

And that’s the difference – Iverson understood Philly fans and thrived here as guys like Bobby Clarke, Ron Hextall, Brian Dawkins, and the ’93 Phillies have before him. Them we love.

It’s the guys like J.D. Drew, Scott Rolen, Eric Lindros, and Ricky Watters who go through the motions but never really buy in then talk their way out of town (or never get here to begin with) that we boo. Vociferously, at that.

We’re not alone in that sentiment either. Other cities treat their athletes the same as we do, if not worse, but it’s always Philly that gets the negative publicity.

I guess that’s a burden we’ll continue to bear.

One more thing on Iverson. I gained a new respect for Iverson the man a few years ago. A friend of mine from high school named Tim was killed in an automobile accident. He was the manager of the car wash where the Sixers brought their cars for detailing. In fact, they used to ask for him by name.

Shortly after he died, Iverson was at the car wash and asked for Tim. Upon hearing what had happened, Iverson scratched a $25,000 check on the spot to his daughter. To Iverson, the money is insignificant. To the little girl who no longer has a father, it’s life-changing.

I have no real way to confirm the story, but I certainly believe it to be true. I’m also not sure how many athletes have that kind of heart. But if A.I. the Man is like A.I. the Basketball Player, heart isn’t something that should ever be questioned.