The Super Bowl is making life really annoying for the Orlando Magic
For someone who lives just an hour away, I spend less time in Indianapolis than someone like Ben Gordon, who has to visit the city twice a year when his Detroit Pistons face the Indiana Pacers. And yet, there I was, shocked as ever on Sunday when people were warning me as I drove north of the city that there would be no parking and nowhere to even function as a normal, hungry adult due to the Super Bowl that is still a week away. Should've known not to set foot near the city before eating perhaps the worst dinner of my life.
The Orlando Magic? They didn't know they'd have a season until late November, and they had no idea they'd be playing in Indianapolis the day before Super Bowl until early December. By then it was too late because there are no hotel rooms available for miles. Even for millionaires.
The Orlando Sentinel relayed the Magic's situation:
"You guys can comment on that and save me my money," Van Gundy told reporters, referring to a potential fine from the league if he said something controversial. "But when you come out with the schedule in December and have a game in the Super Bowl city, lodging might be a problem."
The Magic had asked the NBA to be allowed to fly from Florida to Indianapolis on the day of the basketball game. According to league spokesman Tim Frank, NBA officials told the team they would consider the request and also would try to help the team find hotel rooms.
But the league could not acquire the hotel rooms and ultimately determined that the risk of bad weather or mechanical issues was too great to allow the Magic to fly in from Florida on gameday, Frank said.
The compromise? The Magic will fly from Cincinnati on Saturday. Which sounds about right, until you consider the fact that the same sort of weather issues that would be preventing a flight from placid Florida on Saturday into potentially snowy Indianapolis are still going to be in place flying from Cincinnati to Indianapolis. Perhaps worse, even. Planes have mechanical hiccups in Orlando just as often as they do in Cincinnati, but it snows way, way more in Cincinnati than it does in Orlando.
So, that lockout? Totally worth it, right NBA owners?
