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Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

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  • Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

    In fact I really like the way he spells out why the crowd was the way it was and properly put's it in perspective why the locals didn't just flock back in. Doesn't make anybody happy for sure, but what he say's makes sense.

    In fact I don't judge Bob articles because I know that Bob's job is to make us talk about Bob, which he is very good at doing. But in this case I think Bob is on the money here.

    http://www.indystar.com/article/2011...d-expectations

    Written by
    Bob Kravitz

    CHICAGO Sorry. My mistake.

    INDIANAPOLIS

    Maybe there will be more Indiana Pacers fans in the house for Game 6 on Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse.

    What? You don't think that's possible?

    The Pacers were supposed to get run out of United Center in Game 1 of this playoff series. Didn't happen. The Chicago Bulls were supposed to wake up and slap some sense into the Pacers in Game 2. Didn't happen. The Bulls were supposed to lay down the law in Game 3, show the world why they're the No. 1 seed. Didn't happen.

    Everybody outside the Indiana locker room seems to think there will be a Bulls coronation Tuesday night after the Pacers' 89-84 Game 4 victory Saturday, but after four copycat games, it's abundantly clear there's not that much difference between these teams.

    "We know (no NBA team has ever come back) down 3-0, but we know it's going to happen at some point, and we're trying to make it us, be that team,'' Indiana interim coach Frank Vogel said. "This is still a series.''

    Whatever happens Tuesday night in the Madhouse on Madison -- as opposed to the Madhouse Near Meridian, as was the case Saturday afternoon -- this was a victory the Pacers absolutely deserved. They've done too many good things, played the Bulls too tough in every game, to have history remember them as the victims of just another first-round sweep.

    The Bulls won the first three games by a total of 15 points. The Pacers won Saturday by five points. This thing isn't in the same area code as over. Though, just in case, Pacers president Larry Bird might ask commissioner David Stern to reduce the length of games to, say, 45 minutes the rest of the playoffs.

    "Let's face it, even though we were up 3-0, we are not playing good basketball,'' Chicago's Kyle Korver said. "Maybe it's time for a reality check.''

    Reality? Here's the reality: For all the grousing in Chicago about how the Bulls have "played down'' to their competition, these Pacers have come of age and are a whole lot better than most of us believed.

    There was so much good stuff Saturday -- for 45 minutes again -- it's hard to know where to start:

    Danny Granger continued to quiet his critics. Is he an alpha-dog superstar who's going to be Indiana's version of Derrick Rose? No. But when he's eventually surrounded by more scoring threats, he's going to be a special player.

    Jeff Foster forgot to check his birth certificate and acted like he was 25 years old again. It's not often a player scores two points and has that kind of impact on a game. And he didn't even maim Rose this time around. The Pacers' bench, which has been good all year, outscored Chicago's reserves 30-17.

    Roy Hibbert got mad and played mad, producing 16 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. Somebody in the Pacers organization has got to be responsible for firing up the big man every night with a well-timed insult. Maybe get an intern on it.

    For the first time all series, they shot more free throws than the Bulls. They didn't turn the ball over, except for the last few minutes -- and how often have I written the phrase, "except for the last few minutes'' in this series? The Bulls had no fast-break points.

    The only disappointment came not on the floor, but in the stands. What do you say? Sixty-forty Bulls fans? Sixty-five, thirty-five? At one point, I thought, "Wow, it'll be nice to leave the game and go hit the bars on Rush Street.'' The biggest surprise is we didn't see Oprah in the fieldhouse. This might have marked the first time the home team tried to shut up its home crowd.

    Embarrassing? Sure. Unexpected? Not really. (For Chicagoans who pay two months' mortgage for a seat at United Center, the fieldhouse is a bargain.) Disgraceful? Not in the least.

    During the first half, Pacers executive Rick Fuson angrily walked over to some reporters and, noting the sea of red, said, "I hope Indiana learns.''

    Please.

    You can't field a lousy and thoroughly irrelevant team for four-plus years, then have a decent two months and expect the entire city to reach for its wallets. It's like the Colts playoff game in 1999 when Tennessee Titans fans filled the RCA Dome, before the Colts really became the Colts. This is a small market, really a soft market, and you can't undo years of mediocrity and worse overnight, especially during these harsh economic times.

    Vogel, by comparison, had it right. When asked about the crowd, he smirked.

    "I only heard Pacers fans,'' he said. "I didn't see any red, only yellow and blue. I only heard Pacers chants. That's all I heard.''

    We keep waiting for the Bulls to look like the 62-victory team that rolled through the regular season. And it isn't happening.

    We keep waiting for the Pacers, who won just 37 games and only became better-than-average the last half of the season, to fall to pieces and look like they don't belong on the same court. And it isn't happening.

    What's to say they can't do this again in Game 6 at Chicago?

    Who knows? Maybe more Pacers fans will show up next time.


    Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

  • #2
    Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

    He makes strong, salient points.

    And yes this game was very comparable to the Titans game in 99. Young team, terrible for a solid stretch (the colts even longer), a weekend afternoon game with a city that isn't that far away (Chicago is only about 3 hours, like we wouldn't make that drive to see the number 1 seeded Pacers play if the roles were reversed?)

    The only way the two games don't compare?

    The Pacers actually won.


    Comment


    • #3
      Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

      I thought this was a great article.

      I really hope we can force a game 6 to see if there is any difference. I honestly think there will be.

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

        Originally posted by KingGeorge View Post
        I thought this was a great article.

        I really hope we can force a game 6 to see if there is any difference. I honestly think there will be.
        Of course there will be. The game Thursday was probably 80-20 Pacer fans and that was at the start of a long weeekend.

        Next Thursday IF they can come back, it will be a weekday, probably an early start 7pm for us (6pm for them) and the city will probably have a pretty nice buzz about the team by then.

        This is all part of the process folks, we knew it would happen, just sucks that we got a bandwagoning fanbase that also happens to only be 3 hours away.


        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

          During the first half, Pacers executive Rick Fuson angrily walked over to some reporters and, noting the sea of red, said, "I hope Indiana learns.''

          Please.

          You can't field a lousy and thoroughly irrelevant team for four-plus years, then have a decent two months and expect the entire city to reach for its wallets.
          Exactly.

          Comment


          • #6
            Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

            Plus, I don't know exactly what Rick Fuson does, but me thinks he's going to get a talking to that his little sound bite made it out into the media. Not exactly the way to bring the casual fan back.


            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

              I actually thought this was a great article by Kravitz.

              I just want to say this somewhere in the midst of all these threads: I love this team. This might be my favorite Pacer team of all time. I am only 25 and saw a lot of great Reggie-led teams during my formative years, but this team has took us all for a ride this year that has felt special. Peaks and valleys galore. You think they turn the corner when Obie got the axe, they have a locker room meltdown, give some of the worst efforts I've ever seen out of a pro sports team (the Minnesota and Toronto games), and then pull through it and not only make the playoffs, but really made us believe in this team again. I love rooting for this team. I always have been on the "I just want to win, character doesn't mean all that much to me" bandwagon, but watching this group of guys, with this coach, just makes me proud of our team. This has been an incredibly enjoyable season for me as a fan, and I wasn't just spitting out BS when I said in another thread that I thought we could still win this series. I honestly think we can do it. I believe in this team. I'm proud to be a fan of this team, regardless of what happens.

              Comment


              • #8
                Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                Good article, and I agree with Fuson. I hope Indiana learns.
                It's a new day for Pacers Basketball.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                  He quoted himself more than he quoted the players he kept asking the same questions to during the post-game, but, like others have iterated, great write-up by the badger man.
                  You Got The Tony!!!!!!

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                    I agree with Fusion. It was a disgrace. I don't care what the reasons were, it was embarassing and disgusting. No reason is valid IMO. And just to be clear, I am not mad at the bulls fans, I am mad at the Pacers fans. Pacers fans had at least every opportunity to get the tickets that ended up in the hands of Bulls fans.
                    Last edited by Unclebuck; 04-24-2011, 07:47 AM.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                      Originally posted by Peck View Post
                      What's to say they can't do this again in Game 6 at Chicago?
                      Editors must be off for Easter...

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                        Originally posted by Bob View Post
                        Danny Granger continued to quiet his critics. Is he an alpha-dog superstar who's going to be Indiana's version of Derrick Rose? No. But when he's eventually surrounded by more scoring threats, he's going to be a special player.
                        And by "his critics," Bob means "me."

                        Originally posted by Bobby Badger
                        What's to say they can't do this again in Game 6 at Chicago?
                        I guaranty we won't win Game 6 at Chicago.
                        This space for rent.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                          Peck, I know you did not want the Bulls for exactly the way the game crowd turned out on Saturday but despite that are you pleased about the series? I know the Pacers are losing but I wanted the Pacers to have to play the hardest team in the playoffs in the
                          most difficult situations possible.
                          {o,o}
                          |)__)
                          -"-"-

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                            Originally posted by owl View Post
                            Peck, I know you did not want the Bulls for exactly the way the game crowd turned out on Saturday but despite that are you pleased about the series? I know the Pacers are losing but I wanted the Pacers to have to play the hardest team in the playoffs in the
                            most difficult situations possible.
                            Yes, I'm thrilled with the way our club has battled. This series has turned out to be far far more meaningful than I ever dreamed it could have been.

                            I wanted them to get playoff experiance & even had they been beaten soundly I always thought at least they could see what to prepare for when sometime in the future they might compete for a series.

                            Never did I dream that we'd make the 1st seed work like madmen & need superstar power to be able to slip past us in each game.

                            So is this a learning experiance? You bet, but instead of it being elementry school I feel like our guys are working on masters degree's.


                            Basketball isn't played with computers, spreadsheets, and simulations. ChicagoJ 4/21/13

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Kravitz article & suprise suprise it's not just about the crowd

                              Originally posted by Unclebuck View Post
                              I agree with Fusion. It was a disgrace. I don't care what the reasons were, it was embarassing and disgusting. No reason is valid IMO. And just to be clear, I am not mad at the bulls fans, I am mad at the Pacers fans. Pacers fans had at least every opportunity to get the tickets that ended up in the hands of Bulls fans.

                              Yep and they can't complain when people call Indianapolis a frontrunning sports town when it is a frontrunning sports town.

                              Its games like yesterday where it makes it crystal clear.

                              Comment

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