Butler finally has the Indiana spotlight all to itself.
With the Hoosiers missing the NCAA tournament again, Notre Dame eliminated in the first round and Purdue ousted in the regional semifinals, the state's rabid basketball fans have rallied around the one team still playing.
``It's very satisfying because Butler did not and had not gotten the publicity that they deserved,'' says Bobby Plump, the former Bulldogs star better known for his 1954 game-winning shot that won the Indiana state championship and inspired the ``Hoosiers'' movie.
``When you're in the state with Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Butler's going to come up fourth in the advertising and getting your name in public,'' Plump said.
Not this week.
The Bulldogs' surprising Final four run has captured the imagination of a state rich in basketball tradition, winning converts with an old-school style that still plays well in Indiana.
Butler takes pride in its passing. It plays defense. Teammates enjoy sharing the credit and there's mutual respect between the players and 33-year-old coach Brad Stevens. By putting together a roster that has two-thirds of its players from within a 125-mile drive from campus, fans from all corners of Indiana can find somebody to root for.
From small towns like Connersville to Yorktown to bigger cities like Indy and Bloomington, blue Butler shirts are popping up everywhere. Even Indiana fans are joining the bandwagon.
``Today everyone in Indianapolis is a Butler Bulldog,'' Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard - an Indiana graduate - declared at a raucous pep rally this week that was more like an event for the NFL's Colts.
At Victory Field, home of Indy's minor-league baseball team, the words ``Go Dawgs'' have been scripted into the stands. At the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle, home of two Butler players and an assistant coach, growing crowds are asking more questions about Butler basketball.
``This is a tremendous basketball state and you remember all the years IU got to the Final Four, it captivated the state,'' said Indiana football coach Bill Lynch, a Butler Hall of Famer. ``I'm sure it would be the same way if Purdue got there, too. I remember when Indiana State went, that kind of came out of nowhere.''
The Sycamores' moment in the spotlight faded quickly after Larry Bird went on to the NBA while the Hoosiers used their success to maintain a firm grip on the state's No. 1 program for decades.
Until this week the Hoosiers were the only Indiana school to reach the Final Four since 1981.
Cindy Burzk and her husband, Jim, met at Indiana University and have been Hoosiers fans for more than four decades. On Saturday, they'll be Bulldogs fans.
``Since IU's not here, we're rooting for Butler,'' Burzk said.
The Bulldogs epitomize what Indiana fans like to see:
- Since 2000, they have won more conference titles than Purdue, Notre Dame and Indiana combined.
- They've won more overall games than the Big Three over the past 10 seasons.
- They've made more NCAA tournament tips (five), than the Boilermakers, Irish or Hoosiers since 2003.
- They graduate 90 percent of their players.
And they've done it all without producing a single NBA player.
Purists love it.
``You look at how they do it, and you see a team that really wants to play as a team, and no individuals that want to play as individuals,'' said 54-year-old Randy Parr, an Indianapolis attorney. ``That's extremely refreshing. It's a lot of fun.''
And it IS fun. Players scratch the ears of Blue II, their 60-plund bulldog mascot, before introductions - and the dog is a popular draw of its own this week. All week, strangers have been snapping pictures of Hinkle Fieldhouse, the venerable home of the Bulldogs, and some got a thrill by watching 60-year-old Billy Shepherd, the Bulldogs' career scoring leader, make five straight 3-pointers.
``It's hard to not jump on and follow a team that's doing pretty well,'' Butler center Matt Howard said. ``I think that's sort of human nature, and I can't say that I'm innocent of doing that before.''
Tickets for Saturday's game are in high demand, but the long-term implications may be a bigger boon for the 4,500-student school.
Butler's average attendance for men's basketball games this season was 6,852, more than 3,000 short of Hinkle's capacity. Mike Freeman, associate athletic director for external operations, said more fans are expressing interest in buying season tickets and he believes donations will increase.
Winning a national title, in their hometown, would do more than bring money and fame. It would give Butler a special place in Hoosier history and, perhaps, a ready-to-make movie script.
``Those guys in the movie, they played together,'' guard Ronald Nored said, referring to ``Hoosiers.'' ``They had some tough times at the beginning of the season and they overcame them. They were tougher because of them. I think we're tougher because of some of the losses we took earlier. We rallied around each other and stuck together, just like you saw in the movie.''
