Indiana Pacers' mascot Boomer made a brief-but-smashing appearance at a recent high school basketball game in suburban Indianapolis.
On Friday night, the blue-and-yellow cat bounced off a trampoline in the paint at New Palestine High School. He did a front flip in mid-flight and ripped the rim off the goal on his first dunk attempt in what was supposed to be a series of tries during a halftime show. When he landed, glass scattered on the floor as he raced toward a wall.
The crowd erupted, and some students rushed the court in celebration.
New Palestine athletic director Al Cooper was surprised at the sight of
Boomer breaking the backboard.
"For me, I was like, 'That just didn't really happen,'" Cooper said. "I was stunned and shocked."
"It
was one of those circumstances where it was unforeseeable that that was
going to be the case. We have breakaway rims. (Boomer) just hit it
perfectly, and it collapsed. Luckily, we had no injuries that were
pressing. We did have a young lady get a scratch, but it was nothing
more than a band-aid. That was it."
Cooper wasn't sure how the game between New Palestine and Triton Central would
continue, but after discussion with other school officials, they decided
to move play to an auxiliary gymnasium at the school.
Boomer signed autographs throughout the second half, and New Palestine went on to win, 70-45.
"You can look on it now . . . and kind of see the humor in it, " Cooper
said. It has certainly gotten a lot of attention. That was not our
intent – we were just trying to bring Boomer into our community and have
some fun."
Boomer is one of two mascots within the Pacers' organization, joining
Bowser, a blue-and-yellow dog. A description under the heading on
Boomer's online biography reads, "Type of Dunks" reads, "U name it . .
.he can do it!!!!"
The Pacers are expected to refund Boomer's appearance fee and pay to
replace the backboard. New Palestine is not scheduled to play at home
again until Feb. 3 against Shelbyville, so no schedule adjustments are
expected.
"We've never had this incident before," Pacers' spokesman Greg Schenkel said. "This is all new for us. He does 25 to 50 of these a year. . . We're working with the school to make sure everything is right. . . We're just trying to stay involved with them and let them know that we
appreciate their patience and understanding."
