The Difference between Indiana and L.A.

First appeared on September 16th, 2012
in The Lebanon Reporter

So the Lakers start out 1-4 and Head Coach Mike Brown gets an unexpected vacation. And what can you really say, it is L.A. after all. There are no surprises here. The Pacers, with all their lofty preseason goals, have stumbled out to a 3-6 record and there is no groundswell to send Frank Vogel packing; even after a disappointing two point home loss to Toronto was followed by a game in Milwaukee where they trailed by 30 at one point. I suppose that’s the difference between Indiana and L.A.

A little Midwestern patience versus the ‘what have you done for me today’ mentality of the West Coast. The Lakers are masters at the art of sleepwalking through the regular season, winning just enough games to get a decent playoff seed before throwing themselves into winning a championship with everything they’ve got.

And yet this appears to be the mentality of the Pacers to this point. The trouble with following this blueprint is of course that the Pacers are not the Lakers. They do not have a rich championship pedigree or one of the largest fan bases in professional sports; and more to the point they don’t have Kobe Bryant. Such is the difference between Indiana and L.A.

So you have a franchise willing to can a coach a week into the regular season. One that has, with great regularity, made its name sending one aging All Star after another packing in favor of newer, younger models. A franchise that has amassed more championships than half the league combined. This is the difference between Indiana and L.A.

And so the Pacer fan waits. Patiently. His team will figure this out. They will discover that great defense begats steady offense. Their young coach will find a way to string some wins together and their sharpshooting small forward will return just in time to round himself into shape before the playoffs. There will be no panic inspired trades or front office demands. Such is the difference between Indiana and L.A.

For all Reggie Miller went through one can’t imagine a time when he would have felt it necessary to give his “blessing” to the hiring of a coach. In fact it’s unimaginable to think he’d have ever demanded a trade if the front office didn’t change coaches or turn the Earth on its axis trying to rebuild the roster. Pacer fans loved Thirty-One not for the championships he tallied, but for the memories he left behind. Memories of an underdog throwing unabashed uppercuts. But I suppose that’s the difference between Indiana and L.A.

And so we’ll remain the small market ne’er do wells. Sure we’ll still buy our tickets, eat our corndogs and be happy with maybe winning a first round series, maybe not. And while most days we’re just happy to have a little professional franchise to call our own, we’ll also be quick to tell you all about that one time we flirted with a championship. How in one fell swoop a franchise and a fan base both were taught the hard and cruel lesson that there’s more to winning an NBA Title than heart, hustle and desire.

How sometimes there are powers bigger than you at play. And so now when we tuck our children in at night we’re sure to remind them that sometimes in life the monsters under our beds may or may not have the authority to award the other team free throws and send your best players to the bench with foul trouble, and this is why we aren’t the lead story on SportsCenter. But such is the difference between Indiana and L.A.

© 2012 Eric Walker Williams