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Has Indiana Become a Football State?


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While there probably are parts of the state where football is the biggest interest and draw, Indiana is still known for basketball.  Outside the state, basketball is definitely one of the first things that comes to mind when people think of Indiana.  Much like Texas and football, it's one of few states that has a sports identity like that.

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15 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

True words, Muda.  Football's post-season is far too long and dominated by private schools...

 

A number of little schools still dont have a football team (up here, Hebron, Kouts, Morgan Township, Westville, Marquette)

Damn few girls play football.....thousands play basketball

Basketball rules in Indiana. That wont change soon.

Come to Porter County.

I guess it depends what your criteria are for top sport in the state as a whole. I never considered that it had to be popular in every single school. Cost may be playing a bigger role than interest.

 

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2 hours ago, JeffO2 said:

I guess it depends what your criteria are for top sport in the state as a whole. I never considered that it had to be popular in every single school. Cost may be playing a bigger role than interest.

 

But pure numbers is why its  a basketball state.

How many football teams are there?  300

How many basketball teams are there 650, 700?.  How many Indiana basketball games are played every year. 

Not just games. Indiana basketball games.  Football is a one-day-a-week oddity. You live with basketball Noveber to March...

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1 hour ago, oldunclemark said:

But pure numbers is why its  a basketball state.

How many football teams are there?  300

How many basketball teams are there 650, 700?.  How many Indiana basketball games are played every year. 

Not just games. Indiana basketball games.  Football is a one-day-a-week oddity. You live with basketball Noveber to March...

Then every state is a basketball state and the NBA is more popular than the NFL? You could argue more kids participate on football teams. The bands are bigger. 

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1 hour ago, JeffO2 said:

Then every state is a basketball state and the NBA is more popular than the NFL? You could argue more kids participate on football teams. The bands are bigger. 

No, you cant argue that. More kids play basketball by far than play football if you include all the teams.

Band is not a sport.   Football is just a weekly fall diversion. Didnt even have a state tournament until the 70s. 

Basketball is bigger than football in most every state. Illinois, for sure. 

   But we're not every state.   Our entire rural makeup as a state is intertwined with basketball. 

To win the Indiana state basketball championship means far more than ANY OTHER SPORT, not just football.

To win the Indiana state basketball champions means more than winning the NCAA title.

In our state, Basketball is life, my man..    

 

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7 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

But pure numbers is why its  a basketball state.

How many football teams are there?  300

How many basketball teams are there 650, 700?.  How many Indiana basketball games are played every year. 

Not just games. Indiana basketball games.  Football is a one-day-a-week oddity. You live with basketball Noveber to March...

320 football playing schools. 404 boys basketball playing schools.

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4 minutes ago, Staxawax said:

320 football playing schools. 404 boys basketball playing schools.

If an average football team has 30 players (guessing on this) and the average basketball team has 10 (guessing again) then we’ve got 9600 kids playing football and 4040 playing basketball.  I’m not making any statement other than crunching these numbers (if those estimates are sensible ones - they might not be).

Curious how many D1 scholarships there are comparatively between the 2 sports and how those have tracked over the last 20 years.  Admittedly beyond my kin (or ambition) to try tracking it myself.

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On 2/6/2021 at 5:17 PM, Titan32 said:

I'm sure there are places in Indiana where basketball is still king...but I haven't been there.

Munster

Hammond

Gary

East Chicago

Crown Point

South Bend

Richmond

Muncie

New Albany

Jeffersonville

Seymour

Bloomington

Bedford

Washington

Rushville

Connersville

Marion

Anderson

Scottsburg

Madison

French Lick

Peru

Huntington

Rochester

Plymouth

St John 

Schererville

Dyer

Michigan City

Columbia City

Warsaw

New Castle

Batesville

Greensburg

 

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7 hours ago, DT said:

Munster

Hammond

Gary

East Chicago

Crown Point

South Bend

Richmond

Muncie

New Albany

Jeffersonville

Seymour

Bloomington

Bedford

Washington

Rushville

Connersville

Marion

Anderson

Scottsburg

Madison

French Lick

Peru

Huntington

Rochester

Plymouth

St John 

Schererville

Dyer

Michigan City

Columbia City

Warsaw

New Castle

Batesville

Greensburg

 

Rossville

Maconaquah

 

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8 hours ago, DT said:

Munster

Hammond

Gary

East Chicago

Crown Point

South Bend

Richmond

Muncie

New Albany

Jeffersonville

Seymour

Bloomington

Bedford

Washington

Rushville

Connersville

Marion

Anderson

Scottsburg

Madison

French Lick

Peru

Huntington

Rochester

Plymouth

St John 

Schererville

Dyer

Michigan City

Columbia City

Warsaw

New Castle

Batesville

Greensburg

 

That explains what happened to Munster. I'm glad they're good at something because it isn't football. Times change because that wasn't the case back in the day.

 

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9 hours ago, Lysander said:

If an average football team has 30 players (guessing on this) and the average basketball team has 10 (guessing again) then we’ve got 9600 kids playing football and 4040 playing basketball.  I’m not making any statement other than crunching these numbers (if those estimates are sensible ones - they might not be).

Curious how many D1 scholarships there are comparatively between the 2 sports and how those have tracked over the last 20 years.  Admittedly beyond my kin (or ambition) to try tracking it myself.

We'll know football has arrived if those schools start adding football. Maybe Texas 6-man or 8 man.

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Having pockets of basketball tradition or small schools that only play basketball hardly makes this a basketball state.  The perception of those outside the state may have shifted by now if it wasn't for the movie "Hoosiers".   The fading memories of Knight and Keady mostly just live on in the minds of die hard old timers.  Also, the memory of packed little Gyms, in any town with more than 500 people as the main social even in the community, is long gone.  Such is progress.

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On 2/7/2021 at 1:48 PM, Staxawax said:

Yep. It is still a “Hoosiers” experience for those small southern Indiana schools like Washington, Barr-Reeve and Linton-Stockton, although the Miners do it in football as well!

I hate to tell you this but Linton is a football town and has been for decades.  Barr Reeve doesn't have a football team.  There are 5 schools in Greene County where Linton is located.  Linton is the only one with a football team.

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36 minutes ago, Titan32 said:

Having pockets of basketball tradition or small schools that only play basketball hardly makes this a basketball state.  The perception of those outside the state may have shifted by now if it wasn't for the movie "Hoosiers".   The fading memories of Knight and Keady mostly just live on in the minds of die hard old timers.  Also, the memory of packed little Gyms, in any town with more than 500 people as the main social even in the community, is long gone.  Such is progress.

I admit to being a “die hard old timer” but the days when Bobby Knight might show up at an Indiana HS gym and the surrounding communities talk about it for generations are long, long gone......and never coming back.  

The magic is gone.  I hate to break the, now decades old, news but HS basketball and IU basketball are empty husks of what they were.

The last time I went to a HS game those in attendance were parents, a handful of students and a bunch of football players who had earlier been lifting down in the weight room.

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56 minutes ago, itiswhatitis said:

I hate to tell you this but Linton is a football town and has been for decades.  Barr Reeve doesn't have a football team.  There are 5 schools in Greene County where Linton is located.  Linton is the only one with a football team.

Why do you hate to tell me this?

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1 hour ago, itiswhatitis said:

I hate to tell you this but Linton is a football town and has been for decades.  Barr Reeve doesn't have a football team.  There are 5 schools in Greene County where Linton is located.  Linton is the only one with a football team.

... except for Eastern Greene.

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17 hours ago, oldunclemark said:

No, you cant argue that. More kids play basketball by far than play football if you include all the teams.

Band is not a sport.   Football is just a weekly fall diversion. Didnt even have a state tournament until the 70s. 

Basketball is bigger than football in most every state. Illinois, for sure. 

   But we're not every state.   Our entire rural makeup as a state is intertwined with basketball. 

To win the Indiana state basketball championship means far more than ANY OTHER SPORT, not just football.

To win the Indiana state basketball champions means more than winning the NCAA title.

In our state, Basketball is life, my man..    

 

Lots of opinions here

2 hours ago, Lysander said:

I admit to being a “die hard old timer” but the days when Bobby Knight might show up at an Indiana HS gym and the surrounding communities talk about it for generations are long, long gone......and never coming back.  

The magic is gone.  I hate to break the, now decades old, news but HS basketball and IU basketball are empty husks of what they were.

The last time I went to a HS game those in attendance were parents, a handful of students and a bunch of football players who had earlier been lifting down in the weight room.

But they still wear the 5 stars on their shorts like it was yesterday. 😂

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On 2/9/2021 at 10:50 AM, Lysander said:

The last time I went to a HS game those in attendance were parents, a handful of students and a bunch of football players who had earlier been lifting down in the weight room.

I'm not much of a basketball fan, but I have noticed our basketball team is a lot better when it is full of football players....  

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26 minutes ago, tango said:

I'm not much of a basketball fan, but I have noticed our basketball team is a lot better when it is full of football players....  

A lot better from last year.. Coach H is a good hire, even though we are 7-8. Can’t wait for the future for the Boy’s team

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13 hours ago, tango said:

I thought progress was electricity, school consolidation, church remodeling, second farm tractors....  

Don't get me wrong I ...LOVE basketball.  I have a kid who is pretty good at it right now....but it's not number 1 in our state in my view.

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