INDIANAPOLIS — Seeing Gainbridge Fieldhouse during the finals, with gold shirts hung on every single seat, is an exciting sight. However, achieving that look requires significant effort from the game operations department, much of which is handled by interns.
This year, Kaiden Exline and Ra Thorns are seizing the experience of a lifetime as their internships have been extended thanks to the Pacers making the NBA Finals. For them, it’s been game on all day long.
"Something unique to right now is having both the Fever side and Pacers side going, "Exline, a senior at Indiana University Indianapolis and an intern for the Pacers said. "Last night there was a Fever game, and tonight is the Pacers game, so we have to convert everything from Blue and Red to Navy and Gold.”
The Pacers emphasize that the work done by interns is essential to the game environment.
"These interns are really the glue to our organization right now. They put on their headsets, run back and forth for us. I mean, these interns are working 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. most days while maintaining being full-time students,” Alyssa Nelson, the Pacers Game Operations Manager, said.
Both Exline and Thorns are sports management majors at Indiana University Indianapolis and have been fans for years. While they understood that considerable work went into the preparations for an NBA game, they have learned that teamwork is just as crucial behind the scenes as it is on the court.
"Being part of the game operations team, seeing all the pieces that everyone helps out on really stuck out to me," Thorns, a recent IU Indianapolis graduate and Pacers Intern, said. "None of this stuff that happens behind the scenes is a one-man show."
"I really learned a lot of time management skills and just the power of what an intern can do to a senior vice president. It truly does affect everything in every aspect of the game,” Exline said.
These lessons, learned through hands-on experience, have left the interns in awe.
"You know, when we made the finals, it was just crazy, a dream come true. I've been saying I am unfathomably blessed,” Thorns said.
"It's really an unreal experience,” Exline added.
The interns' positions will conclude once the season ends. The Pacers hire interns every year and recommend checking the website for updates on the next round of internships.
