The Orlando Magic are nearing the completion of their 27th year in the NBA. This season has not gone exactly how the team would have liked it in the end. They will fall short of the playoffs for the fourth straight year despite eclipsing the 30-win mark and showing general improvements from before.
The Magic enter an uncertain future with free agency likely playing a major role in the team reshaping its roster and moving on from the rebuild to competing for the Playoffs more seriously. There will be a lot of shifting.
The Magic though have had an interesting season of progress on the court. Off the court, the Magic have seen an average attendance of 17,525.8 fans through 37 games. That is 17th in the league, according to Basketball-Reference. And it is up from an average of 16,785.2 fans last year — a 4.4 percent increase.
Magic fans are engaged and interested in the team. The Amway Center is not sold out every game like it was during the hey days, but the Magic are a healthy franchise with a fan base hungry for winning.
Throughout the year, FOX Sports Florida has featured profiles on several Magic fans, telling their stories about how they became fans of the team and what the Magic means to them. From The Fat Guy to the Hat Lady to a couple whose first date occurred at a Magic game to a fan who grew up watching the team his entire life (I swear they did not interview me! . . . probably should have), these stories have ranged from heartwarming, to gut-wrenching to fun.
Fans express themselves in different ways.
On the next episode of Inside the Magic, airing on FOX Sports Florida following Thursday’s Magic game against the Indiana Pacers, FOX Sports Florida will compile all these stories into a 30-minute special.
It should be a fun half hour learning how other Magic fans express their fandom, including some high profile ones. Everyone from the early and mid-1990s should remember Dennis “Fat Guy” Salvagio running around the Orlando Arena.
While there certainly remains some frustration about how this season appears to be ending, Magic fan passion has remained pretty strong. The team is in a good place.
There are still problems of course. The losing has not helped keep the Amway Center full, although attendance has trended up this year. And whenever marquee teams come to the building, there is a crush of opposing fans — Saturday’s win over the Chicago Bulls looked awfully red. That is a problem for many small-market teams throughout the NBA.
Orlando fans are hungry for a winner. That much is clear too. Fans are passionate and frustrated by the season, but eager to see where the Magic go next.
What Thursday’s television program will show is how for many the passion runs deeper than wins and losses. Surely there are more stories out there than FOX Sports Florida can share.
