I’m writing this column right after the Indiana Pacers clinched a spot in the NBA Finals, something they haven’t done since 2000. They are taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder to play for a championship. Neither Indianapolis or Oklahoma City are media hubs, and neither place typically receives a ton of attention throughout the season, making this such a fun matchup for people who like rooting for the underdog.
Sports media is notorious for spending all its time talking about big market teams. No matter the sport, if you play in New York, Boston, Los Angeles or even Chicago, you’re bound to get a ton of attention. The big networks love when those teams are good, because so many fans and viewers live there.
If the people signing the media rights deals had their way, teams from those cities would play for a championship every year.
They loved it last fall, when the Yankees and Dodgers played in the World Series. The biggest markets playing on the grandest stage. For some people, it was a best case scenario. But for me, it was all just a bit too predictable.
No, give me two teams in the middle of America any day of the week. It just feels fresh and new and a lot more fun. This is the biggest thing that has happened in either one of those places in a long time. Fans there are real fans, not influenced by media attention or hype. Neither of those places get any hype, They have to fight for everything they get. It just means more.
It’s like living in northern New Mexico, specifically a place like Las Vegas. When something good happens here, it just means more than if it happens someplace like Albuquerque. It brings about a sense of pride to hear Las Vegas’ name mentioned, even if you don’t have anything to do with it personally.
People here feel a sense of community that gets lost in other places. It often feels like us against the world, so we rally around our own whenever we get the chance.
I’ve always associated myself with the underdog. It’s not always the easiest position to be in, but when the underdog succeeds, the sense of joy is unmatched. When a person or a team fights their way through adversity to achieve something great, it’s unbelievable.
It’s never about the size of the dog in the fight. It’s about the size of the fight in the dog. And often, when you have so many people fighting against you, it pushes you even further. That’s how it can feel sometimes living in a small town. We have to fight harder and push through more obstacles than people in bigger places, but when we reach our goals, it just means more.
I will be making sure to tune into each game of the NBA Finals over the next couple weeks. Even though I don’t have a vested interest in either team competing, I find it so compelling.
Fans of either Indiana or Oklahoma City will have their dreams come true and watch their team win a championship against all odds. And it will be a moment they will never forget.
The talking heads will even be forced to acknowledge them for a few days, before they inevitably return to their normal topics of conversation. Old habits die hard, I suppose. In their world, it’s still just flyover country.
Phil Scherer is the editor of the Las Vegas Optic. He can be reached at pscherer@orourkemediagroup.com.