Hi there, If you could for just a moment , indulge me and let me get this out of my system. If for no other reason than to reflect and see how far this organization has come....and how much farther it needs to go.

I grew up on the westside of Indy and like many people on the westside, my parents went to school at Washington High school,with Billy Keller and rooted for Steve Downing and Big Mac. My grandfather was friends with George's grandmother and my grandfather ran a welding shop off Washington street where at times when George was little he played basketball, behind my grandfather's shop.

So growing up, the game was always on channel 4 with Don Hein and others calling games. I was taken to games at the Fairgrounds and I can remember peering between people, standing up ,watching exhibiton games against NBA teams. The battles with Artis Gilmore, Dan Issel , Louie Dampier and the evil Kentucky Colonels! I can recall not understanding how George McGinnis could leave MY team. or how could Roger get old or Mel Daniels be traded? I was very young, but I can still see Slick and his wife running the telethon to save the team. I felt embarrassed and ashamed, that our team could fall to such depths.

Little did i know, the worse was yet to come. Sam Nassi, Mike Bantom, Dudley Bradley, Don Buse, Billy Knight, Clemon Johnson replaced my old Pacers. My grandfather and I would go to games against the Utah Jazz and Cleveland Cavs and there would be maybe 2500 people there. man, that was some bad basketball with Mickey Johnson shooting bricks and Sonar Joe Hassett as our long range threat. But eventually Nassi was bought out and the Simons saved the franchise.

Donnie Walsh was brought in and hope was making a comeback but a winning team and some good drafts were needed. Steve Stipanovich, Vern Fleming and Terence Stansbury would not do. Coaching experiments with Jack Ramsey, George Irvine, Dick Versace, Bob Hill, just seemed to frustrate me more. I hated seeing Chuck Person, Michael Williams and Detlef traded but the rewards were worth it. The Larry Brown teams, the Knicks, the Byron Scott shot, Mark Jackson, DD, Sam Mitchell.

These were Reggie's teams and they were mine. Larry Bird came and I was so sure this was it we were going to be the first ABA team to win a NBA championship, but some really, really bad calls killed us. The Knicks, Michael Jordan and finally the Lakers. But thru all of this I was proud, not satisfied, but proud of how we performed. Larry left and Isiah came. I liked what Isiah was selling, tough defensive minded teams but at the end of the day it was are you proud of the team on the court? The effort? The way they conducted their business. It just seemed like Donnie Walsh, a guy i shared a cig with one time in the tunnel of MSA, had lost his mojo.

Larry returned, kinda of and I don't know if I was getting old or what but I just did not like this team. Winning is one thing but there just was something I didn't like about these guys. Reggie was there, but not really. The brawl brought it all down. I hated the Pistons, their fans and Stern. What a sham, even though I didn't like what my team had become Ill be damned if we didn't get screwed in that deal.

So it was over. I had watched this franchise come full circle. Now, here I am, watching the rebirth of something, I hope. I see the effort, I hear the talk and others have noticed outside of the midwest. It is very easy to let it slip thru your fingers and I wish these Pacers could see and understand how freaking hard it is to get to this point. Hell, its just the start of the season but the playoffs last year reminded me of a young Pacer team that went against an older, veteran-laden team led by the Legend himself and played their hearts out. The next year was a step back, but it was the beginning of a great, great run of playoff teams. I can only hope this is the beginning of the same for these players and coaches. If anything I guess this was to remind me of hard and long the climb can be, but the slide is so easy and fast. The time is now. I hope these players understand this, because this fan does. Happy New Year. Go Pacers!

"Kinesiology is the study of human movement across a range of tasks including exercise, daily living, play, sport, and work. Course work integrates biological and behavioral approaches using biomechanical, physiological, psychological, and sociological perspectives to study human movement. Kinesiology promotes an understanding of the necessity of movement activities for physical and psychological health."

    Well considering  he is only a few credits shy of getting his degree in Kinesiology, I"ll take Donald Brown's words over others.

"I'll be all right," he said. "It's something I've had before in college. I know how to handle it. I'll be back (today)."

   It's a shame his day ended early. it looked like he was going to hang a 100 yards rushing on that Rams defense. 

Hopefully, Reggie Wayne's injury is just as minor. it was a relief to see him back out there. It was also a relief to not see the backup offense go for it on fourth down, when the game has already been decided. Unlike some franchises, this was a blowout but alot more professional. Great team win, bring on the 49er's. seeeeee ya.

      While reading posts about Gonzo and the nice problem we have of what the coaching the staff will do when he returns, I can remember back when he was drafted and at the time I was thinking, yep here's the guy who will replace Brandon Stokely and give back the slot receiver  we lost to injury/free agency.  As the season progressed, Gonzo's play was limited as he learned the playbook and learned to play within the offense(injuries also limited his time) but the more I seen him play the more I thought, this guy isnt  here to replace Stokely in the slot. Number 11 is here to replace Marvin Harrison.  I hated the thought  of  Marvin Harrison going, Unfortunately after seeing the erosion of his skills last season,  the writing was on the wall for all to see,    

    I have always been of the opinion that Austin Collie is a slot receiver.  I don't believe Pierre Garcon has looked comfortable in that position, he looks much more comfortable going deep , running post routes.  You can see his practice habits are paying off and he is not afraid to mix it up with trash talking corners.The confidence,I see in him, is something that cannot be taught and you either have that belief in yourself or not.  Familiarity breeds  confidence in what you are doing. Over and over, repetition reinforces what you believe. Plus the man has speed.  But during the course of games I have been watching, I feel like I am watching another young receiver I saw come on the scene.  A man who I've had the pleasure to watch a few Sundays now. But as with anything, time seems to fly. The rookie season has turned into his 9th season and the yards and td's have piled up,   The more I see of Garcon the more I see the eventual replacement for Reggie.                                                 

     Reggie is in his 9thseason and I have seen no signs of him slowing down.(even though speed has never been his game) He is a leader, on and off the field.  I know his game is different than Marvin Harrison's was....but age in the NFL seems to come overnight. Reggie signed a 6 year contract in 2006, which means he could be with us thru 2012.  But it is his 9th season and I believe the changing of the guard is coming and the grooming process has begun right before my eyes. 

     It is great to be a fan of an organization with it's eye to the future, a plan in place, a program that is constantly bringing pieces to fit into the puzzle of producing excellence on the field.  As a fan I hated to see Marvin's downfall last year. But if there wasn't a plan in place to replace players at positions where would this organization be?(check the 49ers from the 80's into the early 90's) Everyone gets old and slows down a little. In the NFL a little is alot.

    Gonzales,  Garcon and Collie. It's got a nice ring to it.