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Final Auditions Brought Color, Fun, Flair to the Fieldhouse
by Jeff Tzucker
August 29, 2012
On Wednesday night, nearly 100 fans of the Pacers—and Roy Hibbert, in particular—took center stage on the Practice Court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to be judged worthy or not of being in this year’s Area 55 squad.
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Dressed loudly, costumed, in groups or alone, they streamed through the doors to lay their fates in the hands of four judges, including the man himself, Roy Hibbert. Along with Roy, on hand to judge were Roy’s mom, Fox Sports Indiana’s Brooke Olzendam, and Pacers Director of Player Relations Heather Denton.
People came bearing flags, gifts, and begs. They brought energy, comedy, and creativity. They bought in, sold out, brought the house down and built it back up. A lucky few were even awarded the most coveted of prizes—a Golden Ticket granting immediate membership to Area 55 Season 3.
We had the lame duck Area 55 Season 2 president wheeled in by his loyal followers while he lazed in a wheelbarrow. We had an impersonation of Parks and Recreation characters. There was a Spiderman, a Blue Man, Yellow Man, Gumby, and Superman. There was a masked wrestler, a high school football player, comedians, thespians, and Chris Farley’s “Van Down By The River.”
There are too many to recount them all here, but all were memorable in their own way.
By the end of the night, 5 were awarded Golden Tickets while 50 more hang in the balance. They will have to wait until tomorrow to learn of their fate.
We will have more coverage on Thursday here at Pacers.com announcing final members and more video.