Why doesn't Indianapolis have more sports franchises?

[W & C]

I don't know how accurate the list below is nor have i ever been to Cooper's Ale House, too far

Indianapolis Colts Bars | Team Bar Finder

[Serious Conversation]

Originally Posted by pjstroh

Indianapolis is not a sports town. It just isn't. Yes, people buy jerseys and go to the games but its not religion like it is in some cities. Walk into any neighborhood bar in Buffalo, NY in the off season and you'll find a table of arm-chair quarterbacks arguing for hours on end about last season and the upcoming season. Compare that to Indianapolis - a week after the Colts won the Superbowl it was already old news.

Pro-sports in Indy is a fun activity to do on the weekend - but its not something the residents here live and die for.

(Here's the unofficial way to identify sports towns.....go to Las Vegas or Florida where they have transplants from all over the country. The big sports towns will have their own satellite sports bars which cater to the die hard fans of the locality they came from. You'll find plenty of representation for Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinatti, Pittsburgh, Green Bay....but not Indianapolis. )

College sports are the religion in Indiana, especially basketball. While the Pacers and especially the Colts have a following, as a non-native, I always thought college basketball was bigger. Even then, I don't think the hype around IU/Purdue basketball even closely approaches the hype of Tennessee football. Tennessee is #1 in men's BB now, and even if they win the title, TN is still a football state. I've been to Butler, IU, and Indiana home basketball games - none of that approaches the atmosphere of an SEC football game.

[Ivory Lee Spurlock]

When I lived in Indiana, high school basketball was the big kahuna of Indiana sports. Whether the high school team was good or not, the town usually almost always supported the team by showing up for the games.

College basketball wasn't that big of a deal in Indiana until the 1970's when Bobby Knight took over and IU was good almost every year. In the 60's and early 70's, Muncie Central and Muncie Southside basketball games had higher attendence at home games than Ball State.

High School football wasn't that popular in Indiana. I don't remember ever seeing any high school footbal games on tv and I don't remember the state of Indiana having a high school football tournament. Channel 6 in Indianapolis would televise the Indianapolis City high school basketball tournament, and the state wide high school basketball tournament.

Lots of high schools in Indiana didn't even have a football team. Muncie Burris High School had a basketball team but no football team. In Delaware County, only Yorktown and Royerton were the only county schools that had a football team. The other 10 or 12 county schools had a basketball team, but no football team. I think the reason they gave was they didn't have enough money to purchase all the football equipment that was needed to make a team.

IU is never any good in football. Their best years, they are only so-so at best They haven't been to the Rose Bowl since 1967, and even that year they tied Michigan or Ohio State for the title and the only reason they got to go was because the other team had been to the Rose Bowl more recently than IU, who at that time, had never been to the Rose Bowl. I think IU (and Purdue, for that matter) would be more competitive in football if they played in the Mid America Conference with Ball State. At least they'd probably get invited to more bowl games.

[ischyros]

Originally Posted by Ivory Lee Spurlock

When I lived in Indiana, high school basketball was the big kahuna of Indiana sports. Whether the high school team was good or not, the town usually almost always supported the team by showing up for the games.

College basketball wasn't that big of a deal in Indiana until the 1970's when Bobby Knight took over and IU was good almost every year. In the 60's and early 70's, Muncie Central and Muncie Southside basketball games had higher attendence at home games than Ball State.

High School football wasn't that popular in Indiana. I don't remember ever seeing any high school footbal games on tv and I don't remember the state of Indiana having a high school football tournament. Channel 6 in Indianapolis would televise the Indianapolis City high school basketball tournament, and the state wide high school basketball tournament.

Lots of high schools in Indiana didn't even have a football team. Muncie Burris High School had a basketball team but no football team. In Delaware County, only Yorktown and Royerton were the only county schools that had a football team. The other 10 or 12 county schools had a basketball team, but no football team. I think the reason they gave was they didn't have enough money to purchase all the football equipment that was needed to make a team.

IU is never any good in football. Their best years, they are only so-so at best They haven't been to the Rose Bowl since 1967, and even that year they tied Michigan or Ohio State for the title and the only reason they got to go was because the other team had been to the Rose Bowl more recently than IU, who at that time, had never been to the Rose Bowl. I think IU (and Purdue, for that matter) would be more competitive in football if they played in the Mid America Conference with Ball State. At least they'd probably get invited to more bowl games.

High school basketball is still popular but I think going the class system really hurt it and it has never fully recovered.