Why can't the Pacers?

IndyMac · Post #1 » by **IndyMac** » Sat Jul 4, 2009 7:46 pm

Why can't the Pacers draw fans from all of the state like the Colts do? I'm from Evansville, and there are almost no Pacer fans here, while the Cardinals and Colts both have huge followings. So, what's stopping the Pacers from drawing fans from nearby cities like Evansville, Ft. Wayne, Louisville, and Cincinnati? Is it competition from college basketball, lack of marketing effort by the Pacers, or is it just because the NBA is less popular overall?

basketballwacko2 · Post #2 » by **basketballwacko2** » Sat Jul 4, 2009 8:27 pm

If the pacers were in the NBA finals all the fair weather fans from all over would be wearing their Danny Granger jerseys and calling themselves big fans. Winning makes a team popular, players like Kobe and Wade have fans all over the country, people who've never even been to LA claim the lakers as their team, why not the clips? One word Kobe.

greenway84 · Post #3 » by **greenway84** » Sat Jul 4, 2009 8:34 pm

I live close now (anderson), but i use to live close to fort wayne and i went. so i cant say. being a basketball state, must hoosiers watch high school and college ball. so the pacers have a lot of competition. the colts dont. and the cardinals dont.

Post #4 » by **Miller4ever** » Sun Jul 5, 2009 12:13 am

Also, with 82 games, even with a smaller arena, it's difficult to fill up a space when you are a lackluster team with a lackluster schedule. We did have that sellout against Boston, where we creamed them.

Here's a Catch-22. Our players have claimed to do better with a large home crowd, but our home crowd only shows up when our team is doing well.

Post #5 » by **Gremz** » Sun Jul 5, 2009 10:09 am

Because of Jamaal Tinsley.

Indy4Life · Post #6 » by **Indy4Life** » Sun Jul 5, 2009 2:55 pm

The past few years there has been a complete lack of star power and personality on the team. the only publicity the Pacers have received has been who has been in trouble. Also, under Carlisle, the Pacers played very BORING basketball...

It looks to me like we are on the right track to turn the ship around, but there is still a long way to go. Winning, with class, and having an exciting run-n-gun team will draw fans.

Boneman2 · Post #7 » by **Boneman2** » Mon Jul 6, 2009 2:03 am

Agreed. Although we have yet to hit rock bottom, the fan support sure would indicate so.

For what it's worth the Pacers have decent fan bases in St. Louis, Louisville and Cincy. Lake County worships all things Chi-town. South Bend and Ft. Wayne have options (Cle-Det- Chi). A lot of our in-state support derives from the bottom half of Indiana but primarily thrives in Indy and the surrounding counties.

cdash · Post #8 » by **cdash** » Mon Jul 6, 2009 2:22 am

I'm from Evansville too, and there are some fans down there. Not as many as Colts fans, but that was the reverse of the situation in the late 90s. Nobody gave a **** about the Colts then, because they were terrible. Back then, there were lots of Pacer fans. Winning brings back the casual fans. They are there, and will come out when we are winning again.