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Fever Struggle To Survive
ByIf you have to give away 9,000 tickets to the biggest game in franchise history, that doesn’t say much for the support of the Indiana Fever. That was the scenario last Saturday when the Fever beat the Detroit Shock to advance to the WNBA Finals for the first time and Larry Bird bought out the balcony. Conseco Fieldhouse was nearly full, an announced sellout. The crowd was loud. The atmosphere was great. I was there, and it was an awesome celebration as the Fever were crowned Eastern Conference champions.
The Fever are not unique in struggling to attract paying fans. Steve Kerr of the Pheonix Suns front office gave away 7,000 tickets to game 1 of the WNBA Finals on Tuesday. The Mercury won the championship just two seasons ago.
Pacers owner Herb Simon came out this week with some more positive comments about the future of the Fever franchise. Simon says he will do everything he can to keep the team here. I hope so. The Fever offer a cheaper alternative for sports fans who can’t afford the Colts and Pacers. The basketball is entertaining. The players are classy ladies. They are involved in the community and easy to root for.
But this is professional basketball. The Fever has to pay for itself, even try to make money. This is not Title IX college basketball, where the women are legally required to get equal opportunities whether anyone shows up to watch or not. So the Fever will not survive just because women deserve a chance to have their own league or to provide a more diverse Indy sports landscape.
One problem is that most WNBA teams are tied to NBA teams but really should not be playing in NBA arenas. The season ticket and fan support is just not there. I’ve been surprised the Fever have not enjoyed more support. This is a great girls basketball state.
Will the Fever survive? A championship this season would help, and the playoff run to the Finals makes it hard for Simon to shut down the team. But paying fans in the stands is most important.
Rich Nye, Eyewitness Sports Reporter
Follow me @TheSportsGuy13 on Twitter.com
