Introduction and Origin

Welcome to my new blog page, Forever 31! I'm a die-hard Indiana Pacers fan; I've been rocking with them since, as you probably already know, the days of Reggie Miller. This is the reply or similar that I will give when people ask me why I'm a Pacers fan. Yes, I've been asked that before.

Anyway, on to the origin of this page, and why I chose the name, Forever 31. I originally launched it as a YouTube channel, but being that I don't make a lot of YouTube videos, plus I believe I'm a slightly better blogger than vlogger, I deleted my channel and created this brand new blog page, which I wanted to start on months ago, but nevertheless, here it is.

The name was actually inspired by the clothing store, Forever 21 and of course, Reggie Miller's uniform number when he played, hence the name, Forever 31. Getting to know the game of basketball in the early 90s, I started off admiring the shooters. At that time, if you could shoot, you were the guy to me, so it should come as no surprise to what drew me to Reggie Miller. Not saying he was just a "shooter," Reggie was a pure scorer who could create his own shot when needed, but the name of his game was ping-ponging off screen and picks, and shooting jumpers. Now, I pay more attention to the well-rounded players, but I digress.

I started following the Pacers during their playoff battle with the Celtics in the 90s, but what sealed it for me was the night when Reggie shot lights out in New York in the '94 playoffs. Rarely do you see anyone put on that type of shooting exhibition. For me, it was one of the greatest and craziest moments I've ever seen in basketball.

The 8 points in 9 seconds against-- who else?-- the Knicks the following year was crazy as well, but it pales in comparison to the scoring slaughter that night in Madison Square Garden. It was difficult watching them make early playoff exits after battles with New York, Chicago, and Orlando (during the Shaquille O'Neal era) particularly the first two, but they finally got the monkey off their back when they played the Los Angeles Lakers for the championship in the 2000 NBA Finals.

Unfortunately, they fell short, losing to the Lakers in six games, and haven't back there since. However, perhaps not this year, but I have a feeling they will see the big stage called the Finals again sometime in the upcoming future, which will be a subject for another blog. In conclusion, I wanted to give a quick overview of what's to come from Forever 31. This blog is going to cover my analysis and opinion of everything about the Indiana Pacers.