Like many people, I’ve lost touch with the NBA over the last few years.
Once Reggie retired from the Pacers, I felt the team lost its heart and I lost my emotional attachment. A lot has changed with the organization since that last playoff run with Reggie. Who am I kidding, a lot has happened with the team since “The Brawl†and much of it hasn’t been good.
What I have decided to do now, is start over. They way I see things, the Simon brothers have taken a renewed interest in this team, Larry Bird has realized the problems within, and between the three of them they are re-starting this organization.
If the last few Pacer seasons had been the Batman Forever and the Batman and Robin for this franchise, then this season is Batman Begins.
Expectations both nationally and locally have been set low, yet there is excitement surrounding the Pacers. For lack of a better term, it’s a fresh familiarity. What I mean is people are excited about the purple and gold but they don’t know who’s wearing the colors. I am one of these people. Sure I know Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger, but the rest of the cast is largely unknown to me. I know we have “upgrades†at key positions, but it’s been so long since I followed, I can’t say that myself.
What I am going to start doing tonight, along with many of you long suffering Pacer fans, is renew my fandom. I am cashing out on my NBA bashing and starting all over with the franchise that taught me to embrace international culture (Detlef Schrempf and Rik Smits), showed me what a rifleman was (Chuck Person), and allowed me to win a spelling bee (R-E-G-G-I-E). No, it’s not going to be the same as
when the brothers Davis (not really brothers) were down low, posting up, setting picks, and dominating the paint, but I can accept change and embrace the new energy surrounding this organization.
Ladies and gentleman, my name is Dave, and I am a renewed Indiana Pacers fan. I ask that you stick with this team, as I plan on doing, for the rest of this season. Tonight will be my first true introduction to this team and for the rest of the season I will write about and follow them.
It is in Jim O’brien we trust.
(Editor’s Note: For a preview of tonight’s Indiana Pacers 2008-09 season tipoff against the Detroit Pistons, as well as TV and radio information, visit the Indiana Pacers official website.)
[tags]indiana pacers, nba[/tags]


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