<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><font size="2">Though it remains difficult for some to forget the disappointing end to last season, new Pacers Coach Jim O’Brien already is working to ensure it becomes a distant memory. </font> <font size="2">In the relatively short time he has been a member of the organization, O’Brien has kept busy meeting with numerous local community groups, businesses and, most importantly, fans. </font></p> <font size="2">“I’ve spoken to just about everybody that’s interested in listening,” O’Brien said. “It's been fun and a great way to meet people who are interested in the Pacers, or anyone who could be a potential fan at our games, or follow at home. It gives them a viewpoint of what I want to accomplish.” </font></p> <font size="2">And what he hopes to accomplish, among other things, is a return to the playoffs, which the Pacers missed for the first time in 10 years in 2006-07. O'Brien believes the team not only will win, but do so with a style more appealing to fans. </font></p> <font size="2">“We have the fans' interests in mind,” he said. “We’re trying to put a product on the floor that everyone can be proud of.” </font></p> <font size="2">It seems that sense of pride may have been lost in some recently, like 10-year season ticket holder Kim Harvey but with O’Brien's words still fresh in her mind after he spoke at a recent gathering at Legends in Conseco Fieldhouse, she is excited for the upcoming season. </font></p> <font size="2">“We’re the type of fans who, even if the team isn’t playing well, we’ve always been proud that our team is a bunch of good citizens and really great for the community and we lost some of that in the last couple years,” Harvey said. “But to know that we’ve got a coach that wants to lead us into restoring that is wonderful to hear.” </font></p> <font size="2">In fact, she believes more people need to hear O'Brien. </font></p> <font size="2">“I think it’s a great opportunity for everyone to be able to meet the man we just see in the newspaper stories and the occasional news clip and really get to hear more answers and learn a little bit more about him,” she said. "What I’ve learned, is that this is a real man and he said when he started his speech that, ‘This isn’t B.S. It’s real answers.’ And I think that’s the kind of person he’s going to be and I think that’s awesome.” </font></p> <font size="2">O’Brien also made a stop at the Downtown Kiwanis of Indianapolis last month to meet and speak with club members like Greg Fennig, who introduced the coach before his speech. </font></p> <font size="2">“I didn’t know him before that night,” Fennig said, “but after hearing what he had to say and talking to him, I’m excited about him and the season.”</div></font></p> Source: Pacers.com</p>
