Turner's Block Fan Zone Causes a Stir

INDIANAPOLIS — The Turner Block Fan Zone is a select group of Pacers fans known for being the loudest section inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse. To be part of this exclusive group, fans must try out to earn season tickets and get chosen to join.

"Oh man. I remember being a kid watching Reggie Miller. That's how long it is, and Chuck person before that, being six, seven years old, all excited. You know, no idea that they weren't the best team, but to me, they were, and that's the most exciting thing now, is they have the opportunity to be the best team in the NBA," said Courtney Brooks, a first-year member of Turner's Block.

Brooks pays tribute to the past and present with his game-day Pacers outfit. He showed off his throwback jacket with an ABA logo worn over a Myles Turner jersey, noting that it was signed by Mr. Myles Turner himself.

"What I love most about the team is they have a brotherhood," Brooks said. "Watching the team, they say you can tell they are a family. Which is why they think they're playing so well."

Brooks also shared what it's like to get thousands of Pacers fans fired up: "So that with the drum crew, it's just the unison. Actually, one guy goes let's go Pacers - then all 80 others start going. Then it just, it's very contagious. You start to hear the other side of the arena, like the over-the-top chant. One guy starts it. Then the whole entire arena, 17,000 plus, you guys started that coming together. It's a beautiful thing."

Stephen Fellows, better known as Bacon Man, remembers the team's last run to the finals 25 years ago: "Now I'm 34 and I get to see it all over again, like it's just a whole new feeling. I get the chills just hearing this, talking about it."

Fellows has been a part of Turner's block for the past seven seasons and hasn't missed a game at Gainbridge this season.

"It's loud. Yeah. Loud all the time. It's loud. We're chanting. We're cheering like it's an unbelievable experience," Fellows added.

Ron Craft, another Turner's Block member, reflected on the group's history: "There’s a bunch of us that have been here for a really long time doing this. We went through the years that were really rough to be at those games where it's like the team's not doing well, it's a Tuesday night against another bad team. There's something else I would rather be doing. But you come because you got to be the spark for the building. We give the building the energy."

Now, with the chance for the Pacers to win an NBA Championship and take home the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy, these die-hard fans believe in their guys.