Rob Thomson swing and miss, Sixers flat against the Celtics, and a plan to upgrade the Bell Ringer pregame ceremony once and for all

Drew Smith
November 16, 2023
Sixers, Phillies
0 Comments

Rob Thomson was the pregame ceremonial “Bell Ringer” last night before the Philadelphia 76ers ultimately lost to the Boston Celtics at the Wells Fargo Center, 117-107.

Rob Thomson: Philadelphia 76ers Bell Ringer

Ring that bell, Topper 🔔 pic.twitter.com/H6SOdFcFeI
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) November 16, 2023

Watching the video, appears that Rob Thomson actually missed the bell on his first attempt for a quick strike one swinging. Immediately, I got flashbacks of Nick Castellanos and Trea Turner chasing balls out of the zone in Game 6 and Game 7 of the NLCS against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Not Great, Topper.

There’s been a lot of chatter online that it was actually a check swing from Topper or a practice swing before the pitch clock actually started but all things considered, that’s clearly not the case. The opportunity was there to play it off but Topper’s facial expression after the miss was a dead giveaway.

Clearly, it wasn’t intentional and from that point forward, it was clear why Joel Embiid and company looked dead on the court last night. Forget being on the second night of a back-to-back, this was a direct relationship to the Rob Thomson’s blunders ringing the bell pregame.

That being said, we have to avoid these mistakes in the future. So here’s how to fix the “Bell Ringer Ceremony” once and for all. I would expect these upgrades to be the reason that the Philadelphia 76ers finally advance out of the second round of the playoffs.

The Bell Ringer Ceremony Needs an Upgrade

Honestly, I’m not even a fan of the entire “Bell Ringer” pregame ceremony for Sixers games these days. All hope is not lost, however. I don’t think the Sixers should completely remove it from games, but upgrades are definitely needed.

How to Fix the Bell Ringer Ceremony

First things first, we need a bigger bell. That bell, should be on the top of the Wells Fargo Center and there should be a huge rope that is released from the rafters pregame that falls down to half court.

The Sixers can run whoever they want out to half court to yank (pause) on that rope which would directly ring or at least trigger the bell on the top of The Well. That bell would ring so damn loud across the city you’d be able to hear it all the way up in the Great Northeast.

The sound would shake the walls of the Wells Fargo Center with an audio stream bursting through the speakers. Hell, I would even sync up the bell across the street at Citizens Bank Park too. Maybe even add a light flicker over at Lincoln Financial Field with a few Eagles “Caw Caws” in sync with the rings? Who knows, but the point here is that the possibilities are endless.

Make the entire thing a citywide battle cry to inform the citizens of Philadelphia that the 76ers are about to go to war in South Philly. That’s a fucking Bell Ringer, right? Right.

Immediately, the Sixers would have the best pregame ceremony in the league, stealing the crown back from the Sacramento Kings when they “Light the Beam”.