After the Sixers’ ‘Abbott Elementary’ cameo, one of the show’s stars praised Philly sports fans: ‘They love that jawn’
Ralph, a Connecticut native, has been converted to Philly sports fandom herself and is welcoming LeBron James to the Sixers.
Despite being a Connecticut native, Sheryl Lee Ralph bleeds Eagles green.
On the latest episode of influencer and actor Jake Shane’s podcast, Therapuss, Ralph praised Philadelphia, particularly its sports teams and, of course, the fans.
“Let me tell you something, Philadelphians love Philadelphia,” Ralph said. “They love that jawn, yes.”
Ralph portrays veteran teacher Barbara Hughes on Abbott Elementary, the ABC sitcom about life in a Philly public school. The show has featured all sorts of Philly staples, including even shooting an episode at a live Phillies game.
This season is no different. Wednesday’s Season 6 premiere featured 76ers standouts Tyrese Maxey, VJ Edgecombe, and Jaylen Brown.
» READ MORE: Trio of Sixers star off the court in the Season 6 premiere of ‘Abbott Elementary’
But the Philly sports pride extends to the actors as well. Shane brings up what comes to many outsiders’ minds when they think of Philadelphia: the Eagles.
“They love the Eagles,” Ralph said. “They live it. They breathe it. They will paint themselves green for it.”
Ralph’s love and knowledge for the city and its teams did not come solely from working on Abbott Elementary, however. Her husband, Vincent Hughes, is a Pennsylvania state senator serving District 7, which encompasses part of Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties, so she said she “had better bleed green, too, yes.”
Shane even admitted that he has an affinity for the Birds now because of the passion of the fans in his life. He expressed his amazement about Philadelphia sports pride, saying that he has never seen anything like it. But the sports talk didn’t stop there. Ralph educated the Therapuss host about the Sixers.
“Baby, let me tell you something,” Ralph said. “Philadelphia, they have renamed it ‘LeBron-Adelphia’ because he has come in for the 76ers, and the 76ers are going to win this year. Just like New York won last year, the 76ers are going to ring all the bells and they’re going to win this year.”
“LeBron went to the Sixers?” Shane responded.
“Baby, where have you been?” Ralph said.
But, as has been well-publicized, he’s living in New York. The duo discussed how James was getting to and from practices and games, and Ralph suggested he could just hop on “that one-hour train” from New York, and “they might even give him a special train.”
Well, he isn’t quite doing that. James has been taking a helicopter to the Sixers’ facility in Camden as well as Xfinity Mobile Arena in South Philly since the preseason began.
