From kittens to courtside: The origin story of 'Pacer Guy' Matt Asen
Matt Asen went viral during the Pacers' playoff win — but his journey as a courtside legend began nearly four decades ago with a pink flamingo and a few feral kittens. Feature story + podcast.
Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo stepped to the free-throw line for the first time on Tuesday night, ball in his left hand, locked in on the rim.
About 15 feet away, on the baseline — in the first seat to the left of the basket stanchion — was a Pacers fan with a creative new sign ready to be revealed.
Not just to the two-time NBA MVP or the sellout crowd at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. This one went viral instantly.
As Pacers fans counted aloud with each second Giannis held the ball, the fan turned a dial on his sign in sync — visualizing the moment, and adding fuel to the crowd.
That fan? He’s already a local legend.
He’s known as Flamingo Guy. Sign Guy. Pacer Guy.
He’s Matt Asen, a diehard Pacers fan who lives in Florida but travels up for big games — and across the globe to support the team, including in January when he joined them in Paris.
“I always get texted a lot when I’m on TV, but this was over the top,” Asen told Fieldhouse Files on Thursday. “I got texts and calls from Texas, St. Louis, Indiana, California, New York — and even people I haven’t heard from for a long time because the thing went viral. My friends said ‘You’re a virus now.’”
Asen has never lost his childhood spirit. He’s 72 years old, deals with nerve issues in his feet, and struggles to walk very far anymore. But he will happily make the flight from Fort Myers, Florida, to sit courtside in his usual seat.
“It's been 38 years so there's a whole two generations of fans that have grown up with me and they get to meet me and they get a thrill (with the flamingos),” he said.
Asen’s whole Pacers journey started with a kindle of kittens.
(Note: Asen is my latest guest on the Fieldhouse Files podcast. Listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.)
Back in 1987, he met Pacers owner Herb Simon in Sanibel.
“I had feral kittens in my restaurant and his (then) wife, Diane, was looking for kittens for Sarah and Rachel, who were young children then,” he said. “She came by my house and on my porch, I had a photo Dr. J and Larry Bird choking each other — a classic black-and-white photo when they got in the fight. And she said ‘Oh, you're a basketball fan.’
That led to a surprise invitation: a private jet trip to a playoff game in Atlanta the next night. “I had no comprehension of people even doing it,” Asen recalled.
That trip kicked off a decades-long bond with the Pacers organization.
“I went to the game, I yelled the referees, screamed and cheered for the Pacers and he said ‘Boy, you're a big fan.’ I said, ‘Yeah, as a matter of fact, I'm going up to Chicago this weekend to see the Bulls and the Knicks play because I was a Knicks fan at the time.
“Then he said ‘Come to Indiana. I'll get you in. We have a game Sunday.”