The Rules of Pacers Digest
Hello everyone,
Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.
A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.
Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.
Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.
Rule #1
Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:
"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"
"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"
"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"
"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"
"He/she is just delusional"
"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"
"I'm going to take a moment to point and
/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*"
"Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good?"
In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.
We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.
Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.
That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.
A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.
There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.
Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.
In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.
Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.
If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!
All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.
Rule #2
If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.
The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.
The right places to do so are:
A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.
B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.
If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.
Rule #3
If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.
When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:
A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.
B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.
To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!
Rule #4
Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.
Rule #5
When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.
An example:
If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:
http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star
Rule #6
We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.
The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.
Rule #7
Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.
It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).
We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).
However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.
Rule #8
We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.
Rule #9
Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.
Rule #10
We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.
Rule #11
Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
Whether your are a long standing forum member or whether you have just registered today, it's a good idea to read and review the rules below so that you have a very good idea of what to expect when you come to Pacers Digest.
A quick note to new members: Your posts will not immediately show up when you make them. An administrator has to approve at least your first post before the forum software will later upgrade your account to the status of a fully-registered member. This usually happens within a couple of hours or so after your post(s) is/are approved, so you may need to be a little patient at first.
Why do we do this? So that it's more difficult for spammers (be they human or robot) to post, and so users who are banned cannot immediately re-register and start dousing people with verbal flames.
Below are the rules of Pacers Digest. After you have read them, you will have a very good sense of where we are coming from, what we expect, what we don't want to see, and how we react to things.
Rule #1
Pacers Digest is intended to be a place to discuss basketball without having to deal with the kinds of behaviors or attitudes that distract people from sticking with the discussion of the topics at hand. These unwanted distractions can come in many forms, and admittedly it can sometimes be tricky to pin down each and every kind that can rear its ugly head, but we feel that the following examples and explanations cover at least a good portion of that ground and should at least give people a pretty good idea of the kinds of things we actively discourage:
"Anyone who __________ is a liar / a fool / an idiot / a blind homer / has their head buried in the sand / a blind hater / doesn't know basketball / doesn't watch the games"
"People with intelligence will agree with me when I say that __________"
"Only stupid people think / believe / do ___________"
"I can't wait to hear something from PosterX when he/she sees that **insert a given incident or current event that will have probably upset or disappointed PosterX here**"
"He/she is just delusional"
"This thread is stupid / worthless / embarrassing"
"I'm going to take a moment to point and
/ laugh at PosterX / GroupOfPeopleY who thought / believed *insert though/belief here*""Remember when PosterX said OldCommentY that no longer looks good?
"In general, if a comment goes from purely on topic to something 'ad hominem' (personal jabs, personal shots, attacks, flames, however you want to call it, towards a person, or a group of people, or a given city/state/country of people), those are most likely going to be found intolerable.
We also dissuade passive aggressive behavior. This can be various things, but common examples include statements that are basically meant to imply someone is either stupid or otherwise incapable of holding a rational conversation. This can include (but is not limited to) laughing at someone's conclusions rather than offering an honest rebuttal, asking people what game they were watching, or another common problem is Poster X will say "that player isn't that bad" and then Poster Y will say something akin to "LOL you think that player is good". We're not going to tolerate those kinds of comments out of respect for the community at large and for the sake of trying to just have an honest conversation.
Now, does the above cover absolutely every single kind of distraction that is unwanted? Probably not, but you should by now have a good idea of the general types of things we will be discouraging. The above examples are meant to give you a good feel for / idea of what we're looking for. If something new or different than the above happens to come along and results in the same problem (that being, any other attitude or behavior that ultimately distracts from actually just discussing the topic at hand, or that is otherwise disrespectful to other posters), we can and we will take action to curb this as well, so please don't take this to mean that if you managed to technically avoid saying something exactly like one of the above examples that you are then somehow off the hook.
That all having been said, our goal is to do so in a generally kind and respectful way, and that doesn't mean the moment we see something we don't like that somebody is going to be suspended or banned, either. It just means that at the very least we will probably say something about it, quite possibly snipping out the distracting parts of the post in question while leaving alone the parts that are actually just discussing the topics, and in the event of a repeating or excessive problem, then we will start issuing infractions to try to further discourage further repeat problems, and if it just never seems to improve, then finally suspensions or bans will come into play. We would prefer it never went that far, and most of the time for most of our posters, it won't ever have to.
A slip up every once and a while is pretty normal, but, again, when it becomes repetitive or excessive, something will be done. Something occasional is probably going to be let go (within reason), but when it starts to become habitual or otherwise a pattern, odds are very good that we will step in.
There's always a small minority that like to push people's buttons and/or test their own boundaries with regards to the administrators, and in the case of someone acting like that, please be aware that this is not a court of law, but a private website run by people who are simply trying to do the right thing as they see it. If we feel that you are a special case that needs to be dealt with in an exceptional way because your behavior isn't explicitly mirroring one of our above examples of what we generally discourage, we can and we will take atypical action to prevent this from continuing if you are not cooperative with us.
Also please be aware that you will not be given a pass simply by claiming that you were 'only joking,' because quite honestly, when someone really is just joking, for one thing most people tend to pick up on the joke, including the person or group that is the target of the joke, and for another thing, in the event where an honest joke gets taken seriously and it upsets or angers someone, the person who is truly 'only joking' will quite commonly go out of his / her way to apologize and will try to mend fences. People who are dishonest about their statements being 'jokes' do not do so, and in turn that becomes a clear sign of what is really going on. It's nothing new.
In any case, quite frankly, the overall quality and health of the entire forum's community is more important than any one troublesome user will ever be, regardless of exactly how a problem is exhibiting itself, and if it comes down to us having to make a choice between you versus the greater health and happiness of the entire community, the community of this forum will win every time.
Lastly, there are also some posters, who are generally great contributors and do not otherwise cause any problems, who sometimes feel it's their place to provoke or to otherwise 'mess with' that small minority of people described in the last paragraph, and while we possibly might understand why you might feel you WANT to do something like that, the truth is we can't actually tolerate that kind of behavior from you any more than we can tolerate the behavior from them. So if we feel that you are trying to provoke those other posters into doing or saying something that will get themselves into trouble, then we will start to view you as a problem as well, because of the same reason as before: The overall health of the forum comes first, and trying to stir the pot with someone like that doesn't help, it just makes it worse. Some will simply disagree with this philosophy, but if so, then so be it because ultimately we have to do what we think is best so long as it's up to us.
If you see a problem that we haven't addressed, the best and most appropriate course for a forum member to take here is to look over to the left of the post in question. See underneath that poster's name, avatar, and other info, down where there's a little triangle with an exclamation point (!) in it? Click that. That allows you to report the post to the admins so we can definitely notice it and give it a look to see what we feel we should do about it. Beyond that, obviously it's human nature sometimes to want to speak up to the poster in question who has bothered you, but we would ask that you try to refrain from doing so because quite often what happens is two or more posters all start going back and forth about the original offending post, and suddenly the entire thread is off topic or otherwise derailed. So while the urge to police it yourself is understandable, it's best to just report it to us and let us handle it. Thank you!
All of the above is going to be subject to a case by case basis, but generally and broadly speaking, this should give everyone a pretty good idea of how things will typically / most often be handled.
Rule #2
If the actions of an administrator inspire you to make a comment, criticism, or express a concern about it, there is a wrong place and a couple of right places to do so.
The wrong place is to do so in the original thread in which the administrator took action. For example, if a post gets an infraction, or a post gets deleted, or a comment within a larger post gets clipped out, in a thread discussing Paul George, the wrong thing to do is to distract from the discussion of Paul George by adding your off topic thoughts on what the administrator did.
The right places to do so are:
A) Start a thread about the specific incident you want to talk about on the Feedback board. This way you are able to express yourself in an area that doesn't throw another thread off topic, and this way others can add their two cents as well if they wish, and additionally if there's something that needs to be said by the administrators, that is where they will respond to it.
B) Send a private message to the administrators, and they can respond to you that way.
If this is done the wrong way, those comments will be deleted, and if it's a repeating problem then it may also receive an infraction as well.
Rule #3
If a poster is bothering you, and an administrator has not or will not deal with that poster to the extent that you would prefer, you have a powerful tool at your disposal, one that has recently been upgraded and is now better than ever: The ability to ignore a user.
When you ignore a user, you will unfortunately still see some hints of their existence (nothing we can do about that), however, it does the following key things:
A) Any post they make will be completely invisible as you scroll through a thread.
B) The new addition to this feature: If someone QUOTES a user you are ignoring, you do not have to read who it was, or what that poster said, unless you go out of your way to click on a link to find out who it is and what they said.
To utilize this feature, from any page on Pacers Digest, scroll to the top of the page, look to the top right where it says 'Settings' and click that. From the settings page, look to the left side of the page where it says 'My Settings', and look down from there until you see 'Edit Ignore List' and click that. From here, it will say 'Add a Member to Your List...' Beneath that, click in the text box to the right of 'User Name', type in or copy & paste the username of the poster you are ignoring, and once their name is in the box, look over to the far right and click the 'Okay' button. All done!
Rule #4
Regarding infractions, currently they carry a value of one point each, and that point will expire in 31 days. If at any point a poster is carrying three points at the same time, that poster will be suspended until the oldest of the three points expires.
Rule #5
When you share or paste content or articles from another website, you must include the URL/link back to where you found it, who wrote it, and what website it's from. Said content will be removed if this doesn't happen.
An example:
If I copy and paste an article from the Indianapolis Star website, I would post something like this:
http://www.linktothearticlegoeshere.com/article
Title of the Article
Author's Name
Indianapolis Star
Rule #6
We cannot tolerate illegal videos on Pacers Digest. This means do not share any links to them, do not mention any websites that host them or link to them, do not describe how to find them in any way, and do not ask about them. Posts doing anything of the sort will be removed, the offenders will be contacted privately, and if the problem becomes habitual, you will be suspended, and if it still persists, you will probably be banned.
The legal means of watching or listening to NBA games are NBA League Pass Broadband (for US, or for International; both cost money) and NBA Audio League Pass (which is free). Look for them on NBA.com.
Rule #7
Provocative statements in a signature, or as an avatar, or as the 'tagline' beneath a poster's username (where it says 'Member' or 'Administrator' by default, if it is not altered) are an unwanted distraction that will more than likely be removed on sight. There can be shades of gray to this, but in general this could be something political or religious that is likely going to provoke or upset people, or otherwise something that is mean-spirited at the expense of a poster, a group of people, or a population.
It may or may not go without saying, but this goes for threads and posts as well, particularly when it's not made on the off-topic board (Market Square).
We do make exceptions if we feel the content is both innocuous and unlikely to cause social problems on the forum (such as wishing someone a Merry Christmas or a Happy Easter), and we also also make exceptions if such topics come up with regards to a sports figure (such as the Lance Stephenson situation bringing up discussions of domestic abuse and the law, or when Jason Collins came out as gay and how that lead to some discussion about gay rights).
However, once the discussion seems to be more/mostly about the political issues instead of the sports figure or his specific situation, the thread is usually closed.
Rule #8
We prefer self-restraint and/or modesty when making jokes or off topic comments in a sports discussion thread. They can be fun, but sometimes they derail or distract from a topic, and we don't want to see that happen. If we feel it is a problem, we will either delete or move those posts from the thread.
Rule #9
Generally speaking, we try to be a "PG-13" rated board, and we don't want to see sexual content or similarly suggestive content. Vulgarity is a more muddled issue, though again we prefer things to lean more towards "PG-13" than "R". If we feel things have gone too far, we will step in.
Rule #10
We like small signatures, not big signatures. The bigger the signature, the more likely it is an annoying or distracting signature.
Rule #11
Do not advertise anything without talking about it with the administrators first. This includes advertising with your signature, with your avatar, through private messaging, and/or by making a thread or post.
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Ever notice how friendly folks are at a shootin' range??. -
Re: Pacer.Com good read on "foreign" fans
great read! Pinoy represent!
Fans in Faraway Lands
Passionate About the Pacers
Editor's Note: Based on the e-mail received through the various points of contact with Pacers.com, it is clear the team has a large following of international fans. We asked several to explain how and why they became Pacers fans and what avenues they rely upon to follow the team. What follows is a sampling of responses from Pacers fans around the globe. The submissions have been edited for English grammar.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hugo Zacarias Prado Yonzon IV
The Philippines
The Philippines is a basketball country, much as Indiana is the basketball state. We love basketball. It's everywhere here. We may be genetically limited from excelling in the sport, but that doesn't change the fact that we've got basketball courts everywhere. Makeshift hoops on every street corner, in a field, on blocked-off roads ... everywhere. For one, I felt an affinity for Indiana (natives) because of our mutual love for the sport.
The Pacers caught my attention when they eliminated Shaquille O'Neal and the Magic from the playoffs back in 1994. I was cheering for Orlando then. Indiana swept the Magic in the first round in masterful fashion. I followed them throughout the playoffs and was an immediate fan and would never recover. A jump-shooting team. A classic, old-school, jump-shooting team. Seeing them play was just incredible. It was the way I'd imagined basketball to be (we're a short race, and jumpers are an essential part of our game, ha ha). Note that back in 1994, cable wasn't prevalent in the Philippines. We would all gather outside the house of a lucky household that had a dish or UHF antenna, and watch games through the windows. The NBA, for the most part, was something we read about in the news. This was why I was initially a Shaq fan. He was all over the papers.
And this Reggie Miller ... I'd heard of him. Didn't pay him much attention. He wasn't overly athletic, wasn't an endorsement superstar, and from what little I had read about him, people hated him. He was the enemy. As an Orlando fan, he certainly was the enemy to me. But he was just too good, too wonderful to watch to ignore. And then came Game 5 against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. Trailing going into the fourth, the indomitable Reggie Miller scored a mind-boggling 25 points to keep the series interesting. 25 points in one quarter! And mostly from jumpers! Now that was basketball.
That was it. From that day forward I was a Miller and Indiana Pacers fan. An absolutely solid Indiana Pacers fan. From Donnie Walsh to Market Square Arena to Boomer, I loved everything about the Pacers.
Cable and the Internet made headway into the Philippines around 1996, better late than never. I would watch every televised game on ESPN (few and far between, as we all know), read the papers every day, and surfed the 'net for every bit of news. New uniforms, the change from Larry Brown to Larry Bird, the move to Conseco Fieldhouse ... I celebrated every bit of good news. Just the same way my heart broke every time we lost - or thought we'd lose, like trading away (Mark) Jackson and (Dale) Davis. My daily stops online are Pacers.com and The Indianapolis Star's Pacers page.
Because not all Indiana games are televised, I "watch" every game online (via NBA.com). I tore my hair out and bit my nails down to my bones watching the livestats updates in all the close games. If I was on the road or at a meeting, I'd sneak a peek at the scores under the table via GPRS on my phone. And then, barring that, there's my best friend GeeVee, who'd send me an SMS (or 'text', as we call it) if he was watching the game. He'd send me messages like, 'we're up by 10, a minute to go in the third. Artest had a great steal!' and I'd do the same if he wasn't able to watch. Of course, whenever we lost, we'd gripe and mope and swear bloody revenge next game.
It's funny. We watch the livestats update, then read the recap even when it's just a bare-bones article, then come back three or four hours after and read it when it's complete. Crazy? Yes. Indiana crazy.
I noticed that Indiana fans are true fans of the sport and of the team, more than any other team in the NBA. I know a lot of Lakers fans. Or Timberwolves fans. And they're not as "fanatical" as we are. A bunch of us go to Pacers.com. When I get a question posted on Pacers.com, they congratulate me. These guys are fans. My friends who are Lakers fans don't visit the website, or follow the game on their phones. Not in my experience. They just come to our pick-up games and brag about their team going 17-3 or something.
I noticed that we Pacers fans here are fans of tradition. Of loyalty. We know that the days of the jump-shooting team are numbered. Even Indiana no longer resembles the classic team of yore. The team which had one of the best pure shooters the game had ever seen, Chris Mullin, on the same floor as sleepy-eyed, smooth-shooting Sam Perkins, and Rik 'the Dunking Dutchman' Smits, who shot from the floor more often and more sweetly than he went for the jam. And of course, there's Reggie. We miss those days. In the 2000 Finals, it was flash vs. fundamentals. And we rabidly cheered on the classics. Maybe this year, we'll do it again. Hopefully.
Even if the team looks nothing like how it used to be, we're still fans. Reggie's loyalty has a lot to do with it. He took a pay cut after taking his team to the Finals while his other teammates left because they wanted more money. We've got that same kind of loyalty, I guess, through thick or thin. We don't jump ship just because our favorite player moves to another city. Maybe (now that) Reggie (has finally) retired, our fervor won't be the same. But right now, we're absolutely crazy about Jermaine (O'Neal) and even the "disciplined" Ron (Artest)! I have a feeling we'll be Pacers fans for a long time. Maybe a lifetime.
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Arno Bernard
Paris, France
I became a Reggie Miller fan before becoming a Pacers fan. I started getting interest for the NBA since Michael Jordan won his first NBA Title, back in the 1990-1991 season, when I was 10 years old. When he announced his retirement, I was truly hurt. I've never liked him the same way. In '94, I still was an NBA fan, but I had no "idol." As my favorite thing in basketball was 3-pointers and buzzer-beaters, my heart directly went to Reggie Miller. At that time, he wasn't really a superstar, and the Pacers were really underrated, and no one used to speak about that team. That's why, in search of something different, Reggie and the Pacers became my favorite player and team.
I spend almost 2 hours a day on NBA.com. I visit Pacers.com every day to read the news and report from the last game played. I always read the "Question of the Day" (when the subject is interesting ... that means eight times out of 10). I don't buy any merchandise because the international shipping is very expensive. I buy merchandise when I find it, and the Pacers are not really famous around here (not as much as in The Philippines, I guess!). I'm also following every player's game-by-game stats to see who's hot and who's not. I even read the pregame notes when I have time.
I just love this team. There's something in Indy that you can't find anywhere else. There, it doesn't smell like money or business. This is true basketball, and that's what is the most important. There's one thing really frustrating, it's that I (was never able to) watch Reggie play. That's what is really bad about being a long-distance fan. You can't watch games often, so you surf the web to get any little details that can make you imagine how it was.
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Iván Ortiz Adet
Santiago, Chile
It all started when I was entering high school. I didn’t care much about basketball until I saw a Michael Jordan game. Then my life changed. I felt, at first, an unfounded attraction for Reggie Miller's game. He was the only player in the East that could be a challenge for M.J. Then, I simply couldn't stop. And now, I think I’m Pacers fan No. 1 in Chile.
The only way I can fully follow Indiana, is by NBA.com and Pacers.com.
In my high school, two friends and I were real fans of Indiana. We were known as the "Pacers Trio." Of course my other friends are Lakers, Mavs or Spurs fans, so for NBA Finals 2000, we were really mad and, of course, we were the target of all type of bothers. But being a Pacers man has brought me and my folks a lot of satisfaction, as well. I’m really glad that you are taking care of all Pacers fans around the world!
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David Rimock
Montreal, Canada
I've been a Pacers fan ever since the 1998 playoff series between the Bulls and Pacers, which I believe went to seven games. Playoff time is the only time that basketball is consistently broadcast on cable in Canada and with hockey being so big here it's hard to get to know all the NBA teams. I didn't know much about basketball at the time except that Michael Jordan was the Wayne Gretzky of basketball. I was very impressed by the way Reggie Miller played vs. the Bulls and he immediately emerged as my favorite player. From then on, the Pacers were my team. I love being a Pacers fan because up here people either like the Lakers or the Raptors and I personally enjoying rooting for the underdog.
Unfortunately, no satellite provider in the Montreal region offers a package like NBA League Pass so there really is no way for me to watch Pacers games unless they are broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet, which is quite rare. I check up on Pacers.com virtually every day and read all the articles, box scores, etc.
Being a Pacers fan is great but I just wish it was possible for me to watch every Pacers game on TV instead of just reading about them or watching highlights. I would say that basketball coverage is very poor here in Canada considering the proximity to the U.S. and the fact that basketball is very popular here.
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Jacob Kofoed
Copenhagen, Denmark
In Denmark, we have very sparingly been able to watch the NBA on TV. Primarily, I used to watch it on a German broadcaster, which I was able to receive. After I was introduced to the NBA I often visited NBA.com when I was online.
Why did I become a Pacers-fan? Hmmm ... I am not quite sure, to be perfectly honest. I think it happened the way it always happens to me whenever I watch a new sport or get my eyes opened for it. The first athlete or team I watch in a "new" sport, I just say something like "well, they seem pretty good." And then it just happens that I keep following that team or athlete - no matter how good or bad he is. So since I watched them on TV for the first time I have kept my interest in the team. In that aspect I am a bit different than many others, which I like to call "followers" or "bandwagon people" - people who like a team just because anyone else does.
Now in the last two seasons the NBA has been broadcast live each Sunday on national TV. But unfortunately they are not about to show the Pacers in the near future - even though I have been mailing them all the time to try to change their minds. But then I just have to hope that the Pacers can keep a high level of performance so I can get to watch them go far in the playoffs. My other source - or should I say main source - of following the Pacers is through NBA.com (my homepage) on the Internet and I check Pacers.com more than once each day, to get all the news and features. I am thinking about subscribing to NBA TV when I get a computer that is just a bit faster.
As you might have expected, it is a bit more difficult being a Pacers fan in a little country like Denmark. In Denmark, basketball is a relatively "uncommon" or new sport to the broad public. But I hope that thing will change now that matches are shown on national TV. Being a long-distance fan, like a few of my friends are, we discuss basketball and play the virtual game that is offered by the NBA.com and ESPN.
I simply just admire the team and the organization as a whole. It really seems to me like it is a very well functioning organization. One of my biggest wishes is to visit Indianapolis and get to watch a Pacers game. My girlfriend has said that she would be happy to buy me two courtside tickets to a game if I pay for the trip, so it might not be that far away that you will get some new Danish spectators at Conseco Fieldhouse – hopefully!
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Jeff Decker
Joe Batt's Arm, Newfoundland, Canada
I starting playing recreational basketball back in 1997 and I started watching a little bit of ball on TV. I didn't become a basketball fan until 1998. It was the Pacers against the Bulls, and I really, really don't like M.J.! And so I became a Pacers fan because I wanted the Bulls to be put out. On May 25 (my birthday), when Reggie Miller hit that 3-pointer over M.J., that's when I became a Reggie Miller fan.
I watch sports channels that carry basketball games and watch the Pacers, and I also look at Pacers.com every day (my opening page for my browser), and I watch for highlights.
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Noel Yuseco
Manila, The Philippines
In the '80s, I was a Celtics fan and Larry Bird was my idol. In fact, during my varsity years, I wore No. 33. I still have great perimeter shooting. I learned that Larry grew up in and is still very much attached to Indiana, and that's how I began to realize how basketball is very much a part of Indiana.
When the Celtics' dynasty tapered off in the early '90s, I actually didn't have a team to follow. But when Larry Bird came out of retirement to coach the Pacers, that’s when it all started.
We get ESPN and Star Sports on cable and as long as the Pacers are doing well, the team gets a lot of international exposure. Otherwise, I'm connected to the Internet 24/7.
And here's one specific to the Philippines: why do you think there are so many Pacers fans there? It's a great team and a great organization. For a team that does not pay luxury tax, it gets tremendous mileage. That for me is a well-run organization. It’s also been consistently in the playoffs year after year (though we had a few scary moments lately).
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Federico Cinelli
Bologna, Italy
I live in a town which is very famous as "the city of basketball." We have two of the most competitive teams in Europe and when I learned what basketball means for the people of Indiana it was like love at first sight!
I started to watch basketball on TV when when I was a little child and I became a Pacers fan in 1989; now, I’m 25. I remember I was very impressed by Reggie Miller when he started to play with Indiana. I loved his style of play, I was charmed by his shooting style and I don't need tell you to what I felt when I saw Miller scoring eight points in the final 8.9 seconds against the Knicks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. That was the most incredible thing I ever seen on a basketball court.
I have read every box score since '89 in a local NBA magazine and, when I could afford it, in the imported ones.
I have a couple of Reggie's jerseys in my wardrobe that I used to wear on the court. When I played with my friends, I remember the strange expression on their faces because everybody was wearing Jordan's, Magic's or Bird's jersey and I was the only one with a Pacers jersey! I didn't care. I continued to play and I don't know why, maybe it was the jersey or maybe it was just me but I felt like no one could beat me with that jersey on. I don't wear them anymore; they are too precious and I don't want to ruin them because they are part of my adolescence.
I have been in the U.S a couple of times. I lived in Florida for about a year so I had few chances to watch a couple of games live in Orlando and Miami. Now, I’m constantly logged at Pacers.com, watch the highlights of every game, read every article, read every box score and game recap, plus I have the satellite dish so I can grab some games every now and then. I’ve heard also a few games on the radio thanks to Real Player! -
Re: Pacer.Com good read on "foreign" fans
denyfizle,
I knew you were Pinoy too with Jaworski as your avatar.
Zach Yonzon is a long time friend of mine but I just recently found out that he's a Pacers fan as well.Comment
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Re: Pacer.Com good read on "foreign" fans
ah for real u still in manila? musta hoops jan. used to play for lasalle in hischool and was teammates with paul artadi for as bout 5 years before i moved here. i got an eric menk jersey ginebra last year and i wear it a lot. yea Indy is like manila in terms of hoops knowledge and ppl here love their sports!Comment
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Re: Pacer.Com good read on "foreign" fans
Yup, am still Manila based. The hoops scene is pretty good, although the PBA is practically dead with no one watching the games live and the tv ratings at their lowest ever. Would you believe some of the teams even pay people to watch? Shell just took a leave of absence so the league will be without one team next year. Artadi is doing pretty well in the PBA although he's fast gaining a reputation as a pretty good point guard with absolutely no offensive skills.
The UAAP is the biggest and most exciting league right now. FEU is lording it over everyone, with UE and Ateneo in second place. Your Alma Mater is in third.
Most of the people here are still Lakers fans. A number of Boston fans as well and since Detroit won the championship two years ago, there are a number of Pistons fans as well.
I personally know three other Pacers fans in the city, and one of them is my wife.
Ha.
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Re: Pacer.Com good read on "foreign" fans
that is so sad I remember back then we used to have to resort to scalpers for Ginebra tickets. I guess that Atenean Noli Eala messed it all up hehe. I got to talk to Artadi a year ago and he did mention the transition and that he was kinda small for the league. O well, atleast he made it that far.
To be honest with you I never did like the Pacers til I moved here to Indy. I was never a Laker fan though. I never was a fan of showtime. I always was 'old-skoolish'. The first autobio book I ever read was Larry Bird's "Drive". I was a Celtic fan then.. then the Bulls and after they disbanded it was all Iverson for me. But when I saw how Ron Artest plays live it reminded me of the Ginebra greats Rudy Distrito (wanted in Vegas hehe) Jawo, Locsin and just how tha game is played back home. No blood no foul! I was never a fan of the FIL-AM invasion and I even preached back then that it will destroy the PBA. We lost our identity in a way. We tried to play like NBA when our own style was almost good enough to get the gold during the Jawo led Philippine team. I was @ Conseco during Reggie's last game, it was a tearjerker, much like when the Big J said goodbye. And yea, you won't find a nicer stadium than Conseco Fieldhouse!!!
I'm glad there's Filipinos back home supporting the Pacers. When you swing by over here feel free to hit me up, I have season tickets and would glad to share the live experience with fellow Pacer fans from my lupang hinirang. YngatComment
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