Bill Simmons Clarifies What He Meant When He Compared The Boston Garden To The Black Panther

So this quote has been making the rounds on Twitter all day. You’re not going to believe this but folks are having a field day with the Boston Garden being compared to The Black Panther. Who could have ever seen that coming? In 2018 no less!

My bigger problem isn’t comparing a white crowd to a black superhero. Simmons has made his bones on pop culture references, that’s his bag, it’s whatever. But to say there are no other good professional sports crowds is a WILD claim. Yes, the Garden crowd has been electric this postseason. Certainly the loudest I’ve heard that building in 28 years of life and it’s clearly worked to the benefit of the Celtics. But considering the Seahawks 12th man was a national story for years within the past decade it feels extreme disingenuous to say this never happens in pro sports anymore.

Especially when you go a step closer in the same league and realize the Warriors crowd has become as daunting for road teams as any fan base in any sport since they started their run. And that’s not a knock on the Warriors fans, I remember them showing up in droves and being great during the Jason Richardson & Baron Davis days. But since they’ve become a juggernaut their fans have also stepped it up a notch. When Steph is shooting threes and jogging back on defense before the ball is even fully out of his hand and that crowd starts cranking those “Waaaaaaaar-ioooooorrrrsss” chants opposing teams tend to fall apart. And this doesn’t even mention most NHL crowds.

But since we are fair and unbiased journalists over here, I decided to reach out to Bill so he could clarify what he meant in this piece. The internet is such a vicious and ruthless place these days no one wants to let a guy defend himself. That cannot be said about Barstool Sports. Take it away, Billy Boy.