kycavefan Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffO2 Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 23 hours ago, MarshallCounty said: Why not both? Of course both can be good with one still being better than the other. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffO2 Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldunclemark Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 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... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffO2 Posted February 8, 2021 Author Share Posted February 8, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldunclemark Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staxawax Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lysander Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest DT Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 (edited) 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 Edited February 9, 2021 by DT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muda69 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffO2 Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffO2 Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan32 Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itiswhatitis Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lysander Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Staxawax Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteEstonia Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Purdue Pete Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 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. 😂 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanteEstonia Posted February 9, 2021 Share Posted February 9, 2021 3 hours ago, Purdue Pete said: But they still wear the 5 stars on their shorts like it was yesterday. 😂 Like, seriously? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tango Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 On 2/9/2021 at 10:04 AM, Titan32 said: Such is progress. I thought progress was electricity, school consolidation, church remodeling, second farm tractors.... 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tango Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 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.... 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TigerFan20 Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lysander Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 1 hour 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.... Which is usually 10 practices after Thanksgiving for your kids these past few years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Titan32 Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MICFan34 Posted February 11, 2021 Share Posted February 11, 2021 I do think we see Indiana being a basketball state during tournament time. Sectionals/regionals/semistates are generally packed and have some pretty incredible atmospheres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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