from ESPN.com

[Sankofa]

Q: What is the difference between the D-League and the old CBA, the one Isiah Thomas owned and operated a decade ago?

A: The old CBA floundered for a couple years after Thomas sold it, then merged with the D-League three years ago. The only surviving franchises are the Sioux Falls Skyforce and the Idaho Stampede, although there is now a new team in Fort Wayne, Ind., known as the Mad Ants, who get the same type of strong local support the Fort Wayne Fury got in the old CBA days.

Is it true that The Mad Ants get strong support?

[Silencio]

Sure, if it's true that the Fury did.

My recollection, shooting an actual Fury game for a "we're your community bank"-type TV commercial, was that you could have shot a cannon through any row above #5 and no one would have been hurt.

[Morphine Child]

It's new so it's probably getting some support. That will go under after awhile like the CBA did here. I haven't made it to a game or anything yet so I don't really know what kind of draw they're getting. Personally, I don't want to go see a bunch of no-namers play, but now that I think about it, I think the Fury were able to draw people back in the day because they pulled in "legends" of Indiana like Damon Bailey, and Rick Barry was their coach for awhile. Oh, then there was Master P.

Though I do have to ask, how soon before we have Mad Ant Arena in the downtown next to the new baseball stadium? If there is a nice new complex people will have to come, right?

[echosauce1]

I remember having Fury tickets in high school and not being able to give them away to anybody.

I'm not sure about the Mad Ants since I don't really follow basketball (football is my game). I don't hear many people talking about them though at work, on the street, etc...

[tiny]

The Mad Ants get some support, and interest is growing.

(DISCLAIMER: I run the sound for the games. I'm a subcontractor, and not an employee of the team. Having said that, obviously, I'm rooting for them to succeed.)

The Ants attendance is as good as anyone in the D League (last I checked, they're in first place in attendance.) They average somewhere between 2500 and 3500 per game. The first game may have skewed that number, but there are strong and vocal supporters, that come to every game.

The crowds don't approach the Komets crowds, but are easily as good as the Fusion or the end of the Freedom....and this team appears to pay their bills, and will finish the season.

I wish their marketing was stronger, and they advertised more. But what advertising they do, they do well, and they're building on a firm foundation. The on-court promotions are all strong, and fun for the fans.

The team tends to be streaky, as they're learning how to play in the NBA, but Jeremy Richardson has already made the big show with the Memphis Grizzlies, and more will eventually be regular NBA players. The ball can be good at times, and disappointing at others. But anyone that saw the two-point win this past Sunday got their money's worth.

All in all, a good start to the return of professional basketball in Fort Wayne. I'm sure that when the Pistons started, they didn't fill the North Side gym....and they turned out all right.

Come out and check it out for yourself, sometime.....

[deek]

I think the biggest thing is the management...I was a strong supporter of the Freedom when they first started and I even stuck with them after they switched leagues...but then the Fusion came and I lost interest and with the recent talk of the Freedom coming back (and hearing on the radio this morning that they won't), I guess this fan has had his bridge burned enough.

I just don't think fans like to be dicked around like that. I think that if the team stays around for a few years, you may see more fans start coming out, but like most things, Fort Wayners have a wait and see attitude to this kind of stuff.

Unfortunately, I really don't like basketball, so I'll be waiting and seeing as well:)