I am not a dream killer; I love dreams. Ask my parents, they’ll tell you I do way too much of it and I need to come back down to reality once in awhile.
Well, here I am, reality. And the reality of the situation in Northwest Indiana is that our chances to watch sports playoff action may soon have to wait until October.
Nothing against the Blackhawks, their run to the championship last year was incredible, and being part of the celebration and soaking in that euphoric feeling of a community together as one was one of the best experiences I have had up here.
But the reality of the situation is the Blackhawks are down 1-3, and face a St. Louis team that has embraced the role of giant killer at home.
So what do we do when the slog of the MLB season sets in (and it does, even for the players in the show), and that anxious period of waiting for Bears football sets in?
Well, can I interest you in the Pacers?
Wait… read my pitch first…
You want an underdog? You have one in the Pacers.
The Pacers are a seven seed taking on the second seed Toronto Raptors. There’s your underdog story. But the Pacers, deep down, are just as talented a team on offense as the Raptors, with a 1-2 punch of All-Star Paul George and always-a-threat Monta Ellis on the court. It reminds me of Butler circa 2010-11, a team that was always considered an “underdog” but in reality had two NBA stars on the team. Meaning, the seeds/numbers are a little misleading about the separation between these two disparate seeds.
They’re in Indiana, we’re in Indiana. Technically.
As Dej Loaf put it in the smash hit of the summer “Be Real,” let’s just be honest, let’s just be real. We have so many ties to Chicago here in Northwest Indiana that it really is considered a suburb of the Windy City, but the fact remains we have Indiana license plates and the Pacers have Indiana emblazoned across their jerseys.
And with the Bulls out of the picture, for now, why not root for “our” team?
Because we need something to cheer for.
The Cubs are awesome this year, yes. Their season looks to be a historical one, but the proverbial “hump” the Cubs are looking to get over won’t come until October. Heck, the White Sox may even be there this year too, but it doesn’t change anything.
We are looking for some all-or-nothing action “in the now,” and there’s a team just a couple hours south of us still in the trenches battling for a title.
I’ll be honest myself, the Pacers aren’t going to win a title this year. But they have a shot to beat LeBron James in the next round if they get past the Raptors.
And, honestly, no matter who you root for, who doesn’t want to see the King get dethroned every once in awhile?