To any avid sports fan, Indiana is known to be the home of two of the United States' largest pillars of the sports industry — basketball and racing.
For 53 consecutive years, Indiana has been the home of the Indiana Pacers. After surviving the American Basketball Association — National Basketball Association merger in 1976, the Pacers have continually provided quality basketball for a state that resonates with the "ball is life" mantra. It resonates down to even the high school level, where thousands of fans attend the annual state championships held at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Excluding four years during World War II, Indiana has been home to the Indianapolis 500 since inception in 1911. Known as The Greatest Spectacle in Racing, the Indy 500 routinely brings in over 275,000 fans. Generally held on Memorial Day weekend, the small, aptly-named town of Speedway, Indiana becomes the second-largest city by population in the state, according to numbers pulled from the 2010 census. It's a spectacle that should be witnessed by all at least once in their lifetime.
In an elegant display of Hoosier unity and pride, athletes and front office staff from the two sports often collaborate to create a memorable weekend for both court and track fans alike. Even the team's nickname is homage to Indianapolis' rich history of hosting the great race. According to Indianapolis attorney Richard D. Tinkham, the nickname "Pacers" was decided on through a collective decision of the original investors. The name was a combination of the state's rich history with the harness racing pacers and the pace car used for the running of the Indy 500.
During years of deep playoff runs, Indiana takes to the court on the same weekend as the historic race. The overlap has occurred nine times in franchise history, including a string of three consecutive years from 1998-2000. Of those nine times, the Pacers have played three games on the exact day of the 500, leading to an all-day sports bonanza for Hoosiers and tourists alike. The most recent instance of this happened on May 26, 2013, when fan-favorite Tony Kanaan notched his first victory at the 2.5-mile oval. Unfortunately, the Pacers fell to the Miami Heat 114-96, later that night at the Fieldhouse in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. For the game, workers at the Fieldhouse transformed the seats into a checkered flag with black and white shirts, designed to read, "Pacers and Racers."
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But the crossover doesn't stop there. During the annual Indy 500 Festival Parade, Pacers players can be seen hoisted high up in the rigged backseats of luxury convertibles, waving to fans that line the curbside. Oftentimes, IndyCar drivers can easily be spotted courtside while taking in a Pacers game. Additionally, Bankers Life Fieldhouse hosts an Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) Night during the season, where Hoosier-born drivers like Ed Carpenter and Conor Daly can be seen doing interviews and chatting with fans.
Pacers athletes participate in the numerous ceremonies that take prior to the race. Numerous Pacers have ridden in the 500 Festival Parade traditionally held the day prior to the race, most recently Domantas Sabonis in 2019.
In 2015, former Pacer Paul George had the honor of delivering the green flag to the officials atop the tower at IMS. George, along with Tori Gwyn, a kid from the Riley Children's Hospital, and former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee, flew in via helicopter to take in the sights and sounds of the spectacle.
In 2018, Victor Oladipo became the first-ever Pacer to have the honor of driving the pace car at the 500. The All-Star piloted a spiffy 2019 Corvette ZR1 around the track as the racers set to speed off.
"It was a crazy experience, they told me I did great," Oladipo told Pacers.com. "I think I personally did the best out of any pace car driver in history, but we're just going to keep that between me and y'all."
The friendly partnership between the Pacers and IMS isn't going anywhere any time soon. Just look at how the two organizations have collaborated in recent years.
The duo put their partnership into overdrive this season by collaborating on a racing-themed "City Edition" Pacers jersey worn during the 2019-20 season. The sleek design was created to mimic the style of racing suits, and including a checkered flag pattern printed into the dark blue stripe that runs along the right side of the jersey down through the shorts. The pattern echoes a finish line of sorts, honoring the famous yard of bricks that mark the finish line at the speedway. To boot, IndyCar drivers Charlie Kimball and Oliver Askew even modeled the jerseys during the unveiling at IMS.
"Sports in Indiana, all the way back to the 1900s here at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and basketball are such a Hoosier tradition," Kimball said in an interview with the IndyStar.
Despite the setbacks and differences this year due to the dynamic circumstances of COVID-19, the Pacers and Racers have had their important weekends align once again — three months later than usual.
The Pacers are once again battling with the Heat in a playoff series, with Game 3 scheduled for Saturday and Game 4 on Monday. Sandwiched between those two games is the 104th Running of the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday.
It's a pretty safe bet that nearly every Hoosier will tune into both events to continue the ongoing tradition of combining these legendary Indiana staples.