This articles conjures some deep emotions for me. I think becoming a fan during the very early 80's gives me a different perspective on things that are happening today. Pacers were a joke back then and I mean that very literally - there was a certain apathy and yet a very real disdain for not only the Pacers but also for their fans. The fans fell into two categories. Those who were fans during the glory days of the ABA. And the other group who were not around during the ABA were almost like rebels who must have been delusional. Being a Pacers fan during grade school, junior high and even high school certainly wasn't the cool thing to be. It certainly wasn't something I advertised
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Really bad old days
Pacers fans who think it's bad now weren't here in the early '80s
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
April 9, 2007
Fans who regard the Indiana Pacers' current state as rock-bottom either have short memories or aren't longtime residents of Indianapolis.
Otherwise, they would remember an era when the team routinely drew fewer than 5,000 fans for home games, lost more often than not and needed a telethon in 1977 to "save" the franchise. Even that charitable act didn't entirely help. Six years later, Herb and Mel Simon had to step in to prevent the Pacers from being moved to Sacramento.
Better times soon arrived, and the Pacers became a playoff regular. Between 1994-2004, they frequently were considered an NBA title contender.
They've regressed since the brawl in 2004, however, and this season might miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
It could be worse, however.
It was worse. Much worse.
The Pacers drew a season-low 12,288 fans for a Feb. 25 game against Sacramento, but that crowd would have been considered exceptional throughout the late 1970s and early '80s. Their 32 victories this season already are more than they had during a four-year run in the early '80s when they lost 234 of 328 games.
They averaged just 4,814 fans to Market Square Arena in 1982-83, bottoming out with a February game against Chicago for which just 2,745 fans showed up.
"It was almost like going out and playing in the park," said Jerry Sichting, the Martinsville High School and Purdue graduate who played for the Pacers from 1980-85. "There weren't too many fans and there wasn't much atmosphere."
For many games, brown curtains were drawn around the upper seating area at Market Square to block off the empty seats. Tickets were far less expensive than today, but still were difficult to sell -- or even give away.
Cookie and Woody English, season ticket holders since the inaugural season in 1967, often made futile attempts to do so.
"We used to have 10 tickets," Cookie said. "(In the early 1980s) you couldn't even give them away. You couldn't get anybody to go to games."
Premier teams such as Boston, Chicago or the Los Angeles Lakers drew fans during the bad times, but those games presented another problem.
"People came to see the opposing team," veteran stat crew member Bill Bevan said. "They rooted louder for the other team than for us."
Added Sichting: "There were a couple of times we beat the Celtics and it was like winning a road game."
The darkest days came during the regrettable era of owner Sam Nassi, a Los Angeles businessman who operated the Pacers on a shoestring budget from 1979-83. Nassi had made his fortune as a liquidator, and he nearly liquidated the Pacers into oblivion by his refusal to spend money.
Over time, the concept of a miserly, absentee owner drained the enthusiasm of fans. His tight-fisted ways extended beyond the player payroll, however.
Front office members went unpaid one summer. Bills went unpaid, too.
"I can remember very distinctly going into a hotel in New York," former coach and current radio commentator Bob "Slick" Leonard recalled. "We had all the players gathered in the lobby, but they wouldn't let us check in because we hadn't paid the bill from the month before."
The stat crew members also worked without pay one season during the Nassi era. They were given eight tickets per game instead, which most of them found difficult to distribute.
Today, they receive $40 and two tickets per game.
"It wasn't a happy time," crew member Bob Bernath said.
Still, those involved with the franchise recall those days with pride because of the all-for-one spirit.
Reggie Miller was just a gangly teenager trying to make his high school team. The Colts didn't arrive until 1984. The Pacers were the only major league show in town, and the few fans they had were fiercely loyal. Indianapolis was trying to become a major league city through Downtown development, and the Pacers were the leading symbol of the movement. Losing them would have been a major setback.
More than victories, the focus was on survival. Little kids had raided their piggy banks to donate money at the telethon, and it operated on thin ice until the Simons bought the franchise and Market Square Arena.
"There was a real danger for four or five teams to fold and I'm sure the Pacers were at the top of the list," Sichting said.
Besides, the general perception was that the teams tried hard but simply weren't good enough to win.
The Pacers had just one winning record and playoff appearance between 1975-86.
Expectations were so low then that at the end of a 1981 playoff appearance, when the Pacers were swept in a best-of-three series with Philadelphia, fans gave the players a standing ovation as they walked off the MSA court.
"It was more of a struggle back then," said Bill York, the head of the Pacers' stat crew since the franchise was formed in 1967. "But everybody was on the same page and shooting for a better time."
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dl...plate=printart
Really bad old days
Pacers fans who think it's bad now weren't here in the early '80s
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
April 9, 2007
Fans who regard the Indiana Pacers' current state as rock-bottom either have short memories or aren't longtime residents of Indianapolis.
Otherwise, they would remember an era when the team routinely drew fewer than 5,000 fans for home games, lost more often than not and needed a telethon in 1977 to "save" the franchise. Even that charitable act didn't entirely help. Six years later, Herb and Mel Simon had to step in to prevent the Pacers from being moved to Sacramento.
Better times soon arrived, and the Pacers became a playoff regular. Between 1994-2004, they frequently were considered an NBA title contender.
They've regressed since the brawl in 2004, however, and this season might miss the playoffs for the first time in a decade.
It could be worse, however.
It was worse. Much worse.
The Pacers drew a season-low 12,288 fans for a Feb. 25 game against Sacramento, but that crowd would have been considered exceptional throughout the late 1970s and early '80s. Their 32 victories this season already are more than they had during a four-year run in the early '80s when they lost 234 of 328 games.
They averaged just 4,814 fans to Market Square Arena in 1982-83, bottoming out with a February game against Chicago for which just 2,745 fans showed up.
"It was almost like going out and playing in the park," said Jerry Sichting, the Martinsville High School and Purdue graduate who played for the Pacers from 1980-85. "There weren't too many fans and there wasn't much atmosphere."
For many games, brown curtains were drawn around the upper seating area at Market Square to block off the empty seats. Tickets were far less expensive than today, but still were difficult to sell -- or even give away.
Cookie and Woody English, season ticket holders since the inaugural season in 1967, often made futile attempts to do so.
"We used to have 10 tickets," Cookie said. "(In the early 1980s) you couldn't even give them away. You couldn't get anybody to go to games."
Premier teams such as Boston, Chicago or the Los Angeles Lakers drew fans during the bad times, but those games presented another problem.
"People came to see the opposing team," veteran stat crew member Bill Bevan said. "They rooted louder for the other team than for us."
Added Sichting: "There were a couple of times we beat the Celtics and it was like winning a road game."
The darkest days came during the regrettable era of owner Sam Nassi, a Los Angeles businessman who operated the Pacers on a shoestring budget from 1979-83. Nassi had made his fortune as a liquidator, and he nearly liquidated the Pacers into oblivion by his refusal to spend money.
Over time, the concept of a miserly, absentee owner drained the enthusiasm of fans. His tight-fisted ways extended beyond the player payroll, however.
Front office members went unpaid one summer. Bills went unpaid, too.
"I can remember very distinctly going into a hotel in New York," former coach and current radio commentator Bob "Slick" Leonard recalled. "We had all the players gathered in the lobby, but they wouldn't let us check in because we hadn't paid the bill from the month before."
The stat crew members also worked without pay one season during the Nassi era. They were given eight tickets per game instead, which most of them found difficult to distribute.
Today, they receive $40 and two tickets per game.
"It wasn't a happy time," crew member Bob Bernath said.
Still, those involved with the franchise recall those days with pride because of the all-for-one spirit.
Reggie Miller was just a gangly teenager trying to make his high school team. The Colts didn't arrive until 1984. The Pacers were the only major league show in town, and the few fans they had were fiercely loyal. Indianapolis was trying to become a major league city through Downtown development, and the Pacers were the leading symbol of the movement. Losing them would have been a major setback.
More than victories, the focus was on survival. Little kids had raided their piggy banks to donate money at the telethon, and it operated on thin ice until the Simons bought the franchise and Market Square Arena.
"There was a real danger for four or five teams to fold and I'm sure the Pacers were at the top of the list," Sichting said.
Besides, the general perception was that the teams tried hard but simply weren't good enough to win.
The Pacers had just one winning record and playoff appearance between 1975-86.
Expectations were so low then that at the end of a 1981 playoff appearance, when the Pacers were swept in a best-of-three series with Philadelphia, fans gave the players a standing ovation as they walked off the MSA court.
"It was more of a struggle back then," said Bill York, the head of the Pacers' stat crew since the franchise was formed in 1967. "But everybody was on the same page and shooting for a better time."
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