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I took a basketball pilgrimage with a good friend of mine yesterday. We hit two Hoosier state basketball venues and I got to listen to the Western game on the 88.3 as we drove home. It’s funny though that in the last week, I have had the opportunity to attend 3 different college games from 3 different conferences at one might say was 3 different levels. I definitely enjoyed my time in Macomb last weekend, and I have played back Remy’s shot a number of times since I saw it in person last Saturday night. We left at 6:30 headed for Indy and Hinkle Field House. I have always wondered what it was really like inside ever since I saw Jimmy Chitwood sink the winning shot for Hickory in “Hoosiers” and after seeing it live a couple of times on ESPN. I was not disappointed. It is a huge barn of a building with rafters designed similar to bridge trusses allowing for a good view of the floor no matter where your seat is. It was built in the 1928, designed not only for use by Butler, but also for the Indiana State Basketball tournament. At that point its capacity was 15,000 and the floor ran north and south. A rehab in the 80’s created the alignment that you see in pictures and on TV today. It’s historical but its age truly limits things like the width of the hallways and concessions. It’s getting a 25 million dollar rehab which will help, but still there are limits to what can be done to expand the entrances and hallway access.
Some comparisons and comment regarding the Butler experience:
There are “Dog Pound” sections for students at the basket ends of the floor, but the area is limited by walls and overhang. The band occupies more than half of one end and the rest had about 40-50 students dressed in white dog pound shirts. At the other end was the same thing without the band, low bleachers that only stretched only a little further than halfway, with maybe 100 students max. That’s it for students! The rest end up sitting in the second level balcony area and are really removed from the action. The band was good, the students did cheer and made some noise, but the huge seating areas that reached to the rafters were pretty much filled with ticket fans sitting, yes sitting in seats with backs. The Butler cheerleaders were a tad bit better than Western’s but really not that much better. More on that later! There was a halftime/time out MC who got the crowd going and also served as the announcer for “games!” Say all you want about “rock, paper, scissors” but Butler brought a Tike Hike basket out at half time and had three kids ages 3-5 dunking. It was cute and in a way down right funny. They also had the half court shot contests, 3 shot contests, and other game “gimmicks” designed to create interest and enthusiasm. As far as I am concerned, nothing should be left off the table when it comes to time out entertainment. Announced attendance was 10,000 and could have been. But my key point is, most of the good seats were ticket seats and now reserved for students. If you ever took a game in at Robertson Memorial Field House (which was smaller than Hinkle) before it was razed, you understand the experience, razed floor and all. Finally, I thought the two people selling Butler jewelry was a quaint return to the simple life. Also, I had no idea that Butler is located in a north suburb of Indy, pretty much surrounded by residential and a large park. Buildings are all Indiana sand stone, and none are really more than 3 stories high, although there are some towers that are. It really reminded me of a larger Elmhurst or North Central College.
A stop at Mackey arena was next!
To be continued!
jc
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