Why I Am a Proud Indiana Pacers Fan

I grew up outside of Indianapolis as many of you know. It is right in the heart of a state that prides itself on “Hoosier Hysteria,” a crazed almost religious adoration of basketball. I, like many other Indiana boys, grew up loving the sport too. I played basketball starting at a very young age, got a hoop for my birthday, and supported my local teams. Those two local teams were the Indiana Hoosiers and the Indiana Pacers. I’m sure there will be plenty of time for future blogs on the Hoosiers, so today I will focus on my beloved Pacers and why they are a team so close to my heart.

My dad loved the Pacers. He was also born and raised in Indianapolis and had followed the Pacers long before I came around. My dad would take me to Pacer games at a young age. I remember the old Market Square Arena walking up with dad. I can even recall the smell of the now demolished building and the occasional taste of nachos during the game. Boomer, the Pacer Panther mascot, would run like a mad man from one corner of the arena to the other doing amazing stunts. But what I really remember were watching those Indiana Pacers with my dad.

There was the Dunking Dutchman Rik Smits. There was D-Squared (Dale Davis) and his “brother” Anthony Davis. They weren’t really brothers, but hey it sounded good. The soft-spoken reliable Derrick McKey reliably hoisted shots night after night, and sunk them. Mark Jackson had the passion and will to win, while dishing out assists to all the above. And then there was the hero: Reggie Miller. Reggie was by far the most beloved by fans. Not only would he always make three pointers and score the most points, but he was so CLUTCH! He defeated the Knicks and would go toe to toe with Michael Jordan of the Bulls. The guy could flat out ball. And he did it with such a polarizing swagger and bravado. If you lived in New York or Chicago, you hated him. If you lived in Indiana, he was the man.

So these were the Pacers I cheered for growing up. I would religiously listen to Bobby “Slick” Leonard and Mark Boyle broadcast games on the radio, I’d watch them on television, and I’d go to games at Market Square with my dad when we could. The Pacers were the heroes of my childhood and many others growing up in Indy. I’d continue to follow them through high school, where they lost to Shaq and Kobe in the NBA Finals, and on through college.

In college something weird happened. I went to Grove City College in Pennsylvania, which was about six hours away from my home in Indiana. Suddenly I was paying less and less attention to the Pacers. I still followed them and was a fairly good fan. They were even winning. But I didn’t have as strong as a connection with them as when I was a kid. Around my Sophomore year at Grove City, that’s when it happened. All Hell broke loose, and it would change the Pacers and the NBA for years.

The event has many names. “Malice at the Palace,” “The Brawl,” and countless others. I remember getting the news when I went back to my dorm room. “Did you hear about the Pacers?” No. Then I watched in horror as my childhood team became engrained in NBA infamy. The Pacers were wrapping up a game against the rival Detroit Pistons in Detroit. The Pacers were up 97-82 as the game winded down before Ron Artest fouled Ben Wallace. Wallace took exception and shoved Artest in the face. What followed was the biggest black eye on the Pacers organization for all time. Sure it reflected poorly on the Detroit Pistons fans throwing objects at the players and the Pistons too. But this was my team, and it was a very ugly shameful debacle.

No one knew at the time. But the Pacers would not recover from that terrible night for years. Some of the top players from the Pacers like Jermaine O’Neal and Stephen Jackson were suspended for many many games, which hurt the team. The suspensions were certainly warranted by the way. But the Pacers never made it back to the Finals. They never recovered from a terrible public relations nightmare. Off the court issues only cemented the view that this mid-2000’s Pacers team was a bunch of “thugs.”

And then they lost the fans. People stopped supporting the Pacers in Indiana. No one wanted their kids to go to a game supporting bullies and guys that could not be role models. I was among the casualties. Sure, I never stopped caring about the Pacers. But, like many Pacers fans, I’d had enough. I followed them much less closely. I was a Pacers fan, but in name only and would browse the scores occasionally from distant Pennsylvania.

Thankfully the story did not end there. The Pacers through good leadership and community perhaps civic duty over time purged the roster of all players that were involved in the brawl. From a business point, the Pacers had to clean up their image to get fans to come back to games again. Although it took several years and more losing seasons, the Pacers built a team the city and state could rally around again.

In 2011 Frank Vogel was promoted to head coach of the Pacers. Vogel’s unswerving positive attitude, charisma and uncanny coaching ability built confidence in a young Pacers team. The Pacers built a new team around younger players like Paul George, Lance Stephenson, and George Hill. Veterans such as Danny Granger and David West lead the team back to prominence and winning. Larry Bird, a proud Hoosier son, deserves a lot of credit for rebuilding a winning team that fans can be proud of during his tenure as President of the Pacers. It did not hurt to acquire a few players with Indiana connections such as George Hill, who went to Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis and attended IUPUI in Indy for college ball.

Now the Pacers have a team that Indiana and its fans are proud of. The Pacers have made the playoffs the last three years in a row. Last year they pushed the defending champion Miami Heat with Lebron James to Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals. That’s right. The Pacers were one game away from playing in the Finals again! This year the Pacers own the best record in the entire NBA as of today.

This is why I am proud to say I’m an Indiana Pacers fan. I have roots with the team from a young age. They have endured a lot with a terrible chapter everyone would like to forget. But fortunately the story does not end there. The next chapter is still being written. It is a story of redemption. I am proud to be a Pacers fan. And I cannot wait for them to beat the Heat and win an NBA championship.