By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-11-25 14:57:13 | Updated at 2024-11-26 19:59:56
1 day ago
Webster's Dictionary defines the word 'kerning' as, 'to adjust or specify the width of the side bearings [space] between certain pairs of adjacent characters [in this case, letters] in order to improve the appearance and legibility of composed text.'
While the Philadelphia 76ers may not have been aware of this word before Sunday night, they're well aware of it now after a rather unfortunate final score graphic was posted by the team.
The Sixers were wearing their retro uniforms in a game at home against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
To mark the occasion, the team decided to put out a series of tweets using retro colors and a certain font that served as an homage to the team's former home - the Spectrum - and its old identity.
But the final score graphic that the team sent out had one glaring error. The kerning between the letters 'f' and 'i' in the word 'final' wasn't wide enough.
The two letters appeared to blend together and looked like a letter 'a' instead - which made it look like the team spelled 'anal'.
The Philadelphia 76ers paid homage to their old arena with their uniforms and tweets Sunday
But the font choice on this graphic led to a mistake where the word 'final' looked like 'anal'
Social media jumped all over the team for its unfortunate error - especially as it came in the aftermath of a demoralizing loss.
'Shoulda went with Times New Roman,' wrote RapTV's Jake McGrady on X, formerly Twitter.
Lakers insider Anthony F. Irwin posted, 'Uh, might want to find a different font for "FINAL" next time.'
The Athletic's Carl Anka posted, 'Kerning is important,' while Washington Examiner writer Siraj Hashmi said, 'Hang it in the Louvre.'
Molly Morrison of Bleacher Report also chimed in, saying, 'font choices matter.' Someone responded to that tweet, saying, 'They knew exactly what they were doing and it’s shameless.'
One fan joked, 'Today was my first day as the guy in charge of font choices for the Philadelphia 76ers social media team and I think it went pretty well.'
'This game was A**,' joked another fan while a different post read, 'That does NOT read "final".'
Another post read, 'Explain to me how this gets thru proofreading.'
Fans laughed at the Sixers' careless mistake as their season of blunders continues
The Sixers - without stars Paul George (navy hoodie) and Joel Embiid (royal blue hoodie) - lost
The attention to detail off the court matched the effort on the court for the Sixers last night as they lost by 26 to the Clippers as Philadelphia's early season struggles continue to compound themselves.
The 3-13 Sixers shot 39.5 percent from the floor as superstars Joel Embiid and Paul George continue to miss time due to injury.
Rookie guard Jared McCain led the way for Philadelphia with 18 points and four assists while Tyrese Maxey contributed 17 points, four rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
The Clippers were led by James Harden - who dropped 23 points, two rebounds, and eight assists on his former team.
Philadelphia next plays host to the Houston Rockets.
