Pacers becoming locals' dream, NBA's nightmare

May 17, 2012
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Somewhere in a dark room in New York City is a group of NBA marketers shaking, cradling themselves and pulling their hair out.

Why? The prospect of an Indiana Pacers vs. San Antonio Spurs NBA Finals.

The idea of two small-market teams and almost no marketable stars in the league’s crown jewel event is enough to make any NBA executive a little crazy right now.

Let’s face it, most sports fans outside Indianapolis—and quite a few within the city—couldn’t spot a Pacer if they passed one on the street.

The Spurs aren’t much better. Sure, they have one of the 50 greatest NBA players ever in Tim Duncan, but he’s enough to make a sports marketer—and many fans—launch a big yawn. The Spurs haven’t had star power since Eva Longoria divorced Tony Parker and left town.

The imminent flameout of two Los Angeles teams in the West is enough to bring NBA Commissioner David Stern to tears. There go about 10 million hoops fans out the door and to the beach.

It’s true that Oklahoma City represents another small-market candidate in the West, but they’ve got media magnets like Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. And who can resist James Harden’s hairdo and robust beard?

Almost any remaining East team—Miami, Philadelphia or Boston—are better for the league and its sponsors than Indiana.

Even if the nation isn’t, we Hoosiers are really starting to love this Pacers team. Note that playoff tickets are selling much faster than they were just a couple of weeks ago. And these days there aren’t nearly as many ticket giveaways, which were rampant through much of the regular season. I’ve noticed that the internal employee raffles for IBJ’s Pacers tickets have become much rarer.

Part of the rise in the team’s popularity might have to do with its no-name status and the national media’s indifference tainted with disdain.

Game two against the Heat had nothing to do with what the Pacers did right and everything to do with what Miami’s star-studded cast did wrong, according to ESPN analysts, and about every other pundit from L.A. to New York.

All this craziness probably explains Stern’s wacky interview during game one of the Pacers-Heat series when he suggested the league should start handing out Oscars instead of MVP awards.

Even on my smallish TV screen, I could almost read between his lines. “C’mon LeBron, stop flopping and start playing. If you don’t put this small-market dog to sleep, they could get in the last howl.”

The injury to Heat star Chris Bosh during game one and the Pacers upset victory in Miami on Tuesday surely had Stern and his minions reaching for the Alka-Seltzer. A Pacers win tonight at Bankers Life Fieldhouse will mean another round of plop plop fizz fizz for the league's marketers.

The re-birth of this once disgraced franchise should be a story sports fans nationwide would embrace. Larry Bird has led this franchise out of the darkness.

But joy in Hoosierland means grief in Gotham. This risen-from-the-ashes tale is making NBA executives, the TV networks and sponsors that profit from the league’s championship series tremble with fear.

And it’s making the smile on Hoosiers’ faces grow ever wider.

Who knows, another couple of victories and maybe even Bird’s ever-present frown will turn upside down.

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  • Pacers: NBA Nightmare
    gegjrMay 17, 2012 1:56 PM
    GO PACERS!!
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • Let's give Stern permanent indigestion
    JimMay 17, 2012 2:15 PM
    Amen Anthony...I am glad that people are supporting the Pacers again...Bird has done a remarkable job (as has the organization), and despite the fact that people were less than patient with the process, he stuck with the plan he had and it has worked...and you are right, David Stern is less than enthusiastic about the Pacers rise...he has said some things lately that are downright bizarre...saying he would have fined Vogel a lot more, while at the same time agreeing that what Vogel said was true and that flopping was "ruining" the game. I guess the thought that they are likely to get San Antonio or OKC as a finalist in the West, and that they could get Indiana in the East has made Mr. Stern delirious, and not in a good way. Regardless, as a fan from the ABA days, I could not be more pleased. Thanks Anthony, and Go Pacers!
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • Grass Roots Movement
    JW > FishersMay 17, 2012 4:06 PM
    For several obvious reasons Stern and others like him want Miami to win; however, if Indiana is the better team and they play on to take the series, I think a lot of people would take notice and like the fact that the NBA is a league offering fair and equal opportunity. People are attracted to the David verses Goliath type stories, heck just look at the popular movies like Hoosiers, Rudy and Secretariat. When I think of places rich in hoops tradition, I would say that Indiana certainly trumps South Florida. So, assuming Indiana wins, Stern and the NBA might feel they’d lose the battle, but albeit may very well win the war. (Of course, what’s that humorous cardinal rule, don’t ever AssUme anything…) Go Pacers!!!
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment
  • grizz fan
    joeMay 18, 2012 2:24 AM
    great article. i myself am a grizzlies fan and couldnt agree more with you about the nba wanting only large market teams in the finals. and the flopping is terrible in the league especially from the clippers. good luck to the pacers and keep grinding out the wins for the small market teams out there
    Reply to CommentFlag Comment

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  1. liek the rest of America

  2. These quaint,obsessed musings by the stalkers are certainly entertaining, but I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, all the yelping below has to do with Zak Brown.

  3. It's evident that Moffett was pushing the right buttons and corporate America is now trying to squash him. He just wanted to withdraw the free pilot services provided to the company by the pilots to try and put some pressure on a company that has not been interested in negotiating a contract in over 5 years. The company does not provide a contract because not having one has saved them a bundle of money. Shame on any Republic pilots not standing behind their union leader just because things are getting tough, can you not see such strategic moves by the company as putting the last union president in a corporate position and into THEIR pocket. Do you really believe the last union president is so appalled at the attempts by Moffett, do you not remember his oppositions to the company? We stood behind him. It has been proven over and over again for thousands of years without fail, a man cannot serve two masters. Anyone that believes people vote contrary to their paycheck and livelihood deserve to be taken advantage of, the recent statements by the former union president are laughable as he denounces the current union president from his new corporate position. Have you ever seen a drafted sports player score points for his previous team, it cannot be done, he is not on the pilots side anymore, he gets his money a different way now than you and I do, and he should not be allowed to remain on the seniority list. A drafted player brings strength, credibility, tactical knowledge, and a strategic advantage to his NEW team, he would not be drafted or paid were it otherwise. We are all forced to choose only one side to play for and support, not doing so has many references in life such as insider trading and shaving points, all illegal for good reason. This basic fact is why corporate moguls, scientist, and engineers all sign non-discloser agreements and non-compete clauses, as protection in case they are lured into switching sides as our former union president has done. No NFL coach ever drafted a player so that both teams could benefit and better understand each other, they are recruited to win the game against that former team, period. Likewise the company does not recruit the former union president by accident or mutual understanding, its strategy. Don't confuse playing the game with good sportsman-like conduct in support of common business and prosperity goals, with the requirement to only play for one side. Good men we all love and favor fall subject to this manipulation, often without their knowledge, and it is not a betrayal of their friendship to oppose them when they switch sides. If we did not love and trust them, they would not have been chosen and lured to the other side in the first place. The deception by the drafted player is not made at a conscious level, it's just human nature and it's all about money and power which corrupts our ability to be objective and loyal to two masters. This is why our court system created the defense attorney, and why our military created counter intelligence. Its strategy and its propaganda, and it works, and that's why the "powers to be" manipulate the chess pieces by sometimes changing their colors. Some players know they are being manipulated when their color is changed, but it brings them more money and power so they do not care. The rest have good intentions but do not even realize they are being manipulated. This tactic is also known by another name, Divide and Conquer. In battle sending an imperfect message with an imperfect team is obviously not ideal, but it's still being sent by YOUR team, your union leader, a leader that has common goals and common rewards with you, they are the best, because we have elected them to do a job for us. If you are not backing Moffett but believing the spin by those that have recently switched sides, you are taking food out of your own mouth. Showing unity and backing an imperfect situation still results in taking just as much ground, it's about unity and bargaining power. It's not necessary to wait around for that perfect attack because it will never come, the company will spin and attempt to destroy anyone that gets in their way. Ultimately it's not about any specific attack anyway, ASAP or whatever it makes no difference, it is and always has been only about power. If this company cared about safety it would not build pairings with 8 hour overnights, come on, are you that naive? Besides, do you really think Hoffa cares, no, he got a call from corporate America and was squeezed into denouncing Moffett. If he didn't they would spin the safety card against him and the Teamsters National with implication for truckers, future contracts, insurance rates etc...saying something like the Teamsters use safety as a bargaining chip, blah blah blah... Do you really think any pilot is going to do something unsafe for the contract, absolutely not, the only ones threatening safety here is the company with reduced rest, fatigue, and poverty. Do you not find it odd that Hoffa and the Teamsters are opposing a Teamster president publicly? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and work with one of their own? Why did they not sit down and help him strategize, correct any mistakes, and charge ahead? Would the Teamsters National not normally support and leverage a contract for all those pilots that have been paying Teamster dues, isn't that why we have all been paying Teamster dues in the first place? I sure haven't been paying dues so that the Teamsters National could come along and write this kind of an article undercutting our union leader and our unity. Whose side is the Teamsters National really on, it's obviously not the Republic pilots side.

  4. No matter what Moffatt does the company is going to spin it like he is the terrorist and brainwash people like you into believing it, wake up, back your players that are trying to change things for you and your livelihood. Where has Hoffa been for the last 6 years, except collecting our dues. Seriously, do you really think an FO going for upgrade, signed off by a checkairman ready for the upgrade, who then fails, is not even capable of returning as a First Officer.

  5. whoa!

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