Gary Troth recently went through boxes left behind by his late father, who died two decades ago. During this search, Troth rediscovered how passionate his father was about the Indiana Pacers.
Troth’s dad kept local newspaper box-score clippings and replica banners of the Pacers’ ABA Championships from the late 1960s and early 1970s. More importantly to Troth, these boxes held his father’s personality and love.
Troth has worked at Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s ticket office since 2018, and he has seen Pacers supporters grow from small but mighty to large and proud. He said Indiana’s run to the NBA Finals this season made him think of his father.
Troth smiled prior to Game 7 of the NBA Finals Sunday night as he remembered the first time he watched the Pacers play at Market Square Arena.
It was 1983, and Indiana was hosting the New York Knicks. His father bought him a soda and a hot dog, warning Troth not to spill it on anyone once they took their seats.
So what did he do?
He spilled his concessions all over a woman right in front of him — by accident, of course. And thus, a love affair between Troth and the Pacers was born.
Before Game 7 on Sunday night, Troth said he would cry if the Pacers won the NBA Championship. But it’s a good bet his emotions were running high even after Indiana lost the deciding game to the Oklahoma City Thunder 103-91. His memories with his father still remain, win or lose, and that’s the power of sports.
To many fans, it didn’t matter that the Pacers lost, they were just happy that a team from their city made it within fingertips of a league championship.
Unlike almost anything else, sports can bring people together. It often has nothing to do with the impressive feats professional athletes can pull off better than anyone watching at home could, but it often has everything to do with what a player, team or sport represents.
Within the confines of Gainbridge Fieldhouse’s watch party, it felt like a community, with Pacers fans packing the lobby and outside of the arena more than an hour before doors opened at 7.
Pre-game festivities in Oklahoma City weren’t set to begin until 8 p.m.
Leona Glazebrooks, a season-ticket holder since 2013, came with three friends to the watch party so she could experience what could have been the Pacers’ first NBA Championship in the heart of the city.
The retired primary school social studies teacher appreciated paying $5 for the tickets, citing the affordability as part of why she trusts the Pacers as an organization, not just the team on the floor.
Even though Indiana fell short at capturing its first NBA Championship in franchise history when the Thunder won, fans outside Gainbridge Fieldhouse remained hopeful after the game.
Ray Atwater was passionate. He wanted to deliver a message to not only Indianapolis natives, but to Tyrese Haliburton himself.
Haliburton strained his calf muscle earlier in the NBA Finals, and it is feared that Haliburton tore his achilles in the first quarter Sunday evening after starting the game with nine quick points.
“I don’t think people realize what Indiana is about. This is a family, this is a community,” Atwater said. “Tyrese, you’ve done something bigger than just play basketball, you’ve united these people.”
Jennifer Lee is proud to be from Indianapolis. So much so that when the Pacers are called “underdogs” — a term some Pacers’ fans use as one of endearment — Lee is offended.
“People wanna talk bad about Indy, but everybody keeps coming back,” she said.
Lee brought two of her children, Jaden and Jalen, to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Although she has memories of watching the Pacers play against Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls at Market Square Arena, which was demolished in 2001, she said the modern-day Pacers’ NBA Finals run is just as much for her children as it is for her.
Harold Keys went the whole nine yards to create an experience that his daughter, Harlie, won’t soon forget. He wore a backwards Pacers jersey with “Harlie’s Dad” in the place of where a last name would normally go. Harlie had the same type of jersey, but her name was front and center.
Both father and daughter had their cheeks painted with illustrations representing the Pacers and basketball. Harlie even painted her forehead.
She bounced up and down with glee just to get her photo taken. Harlie’s night was made before a moment of action in Game 7.
“I’m a basketball dad, and she’s my number one girl,” Harold said.
Though they aren’t quite children anymore, another generation of Pacers’ fans were experiencing Indiana’s first trip to the NBA Finals in their lifetime this season. Sunday night was the closest they had come to feeling like their fandom had paid off.
After the Pacers’ loss, Micah Wheeler and Grant Bork sat outside the Pennsylvania Street entrance at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. They’d spent the game at Wild Beaver Saloon a block away, but they wanted to be as close as possible to the Pacers’ hallowed grounds once the season was officially over.
The two looked dejected, but they were smiling often while defending their team. They were among many who remained hopeful.
Others spouted off their favorite Pacers’ memories in their lifetime.
Cedric Brewer’s favorite moment was a Victor Oladipo game-winning shot against the Boston Celtics in 2018.
Miles Norfleet still wears Paul George signature shoes he bought when George was the Pacers’ star player from 2010-2017. Pat Holliday, Norfleet’s close friend, memorized George’s 3-point shot from near half court against the Detroit Pistons in 2014.
All three young men said they could identify with the 2024-25 Pacers in the sense that the Pacers displayed resilience and heart throughout their playoff run.
Jalen Ashley, a 2025 Pike High School grad who has been a Pacers fan since he was 2, sees himself on the court when he’s watching his hometown team. And he means that literally, imagining himself playing in the NBA alongside this Pacers’ group that came one win away from winning the NBA Championship.
Maybe one day he will. Even if he doesn’t, just for one postseason run that united a city, Ashley felt like he could.
Mirror Indy, a nonprofit newsroom, is funded through grants and donations from individuals, foundations and organizations.
Kyle Smedley was an Indianapolis Press Club Foundation fellow working this summer with Mirror Indy. You can follow him on X @KyleSmedley03.
See more fan photos from Game 7
Photos: Pacers fans endure an emotional Game 7
Thousands gathered June 22 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse to watch the Indiana Pacers fight for the NBA championship in Oklahoma City.
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