Meet Boomer, the Indiana Pacers mascot: What kind of animal is he supposed to be?

The Indiana Pacers have a real chance of picking up the first NBA championship in team history this season, a major achievement for a team in one of the smallest markets in the league.

The Pacers won three ABA championships during the 1970s but they have never clinched the NBA title. The closest that they came was the 2000 NBA Finals appearance that ended in defeat to a Shaq and Kobe-inspired LA Lakers.

This is a great time to be a Pacers fan and an ever better to be the Pacers Boomer, the team’s iconic mascot that has been running wild throughout this historic playoff run. The Pacers Boomer combines two key parts of the Indiana state identity, but many NBA fans don’t even know what it is.

The Boomer is an anthropomorphic panther and the ‘Pacer’ element from the team’s name refers to two major sports events in the state. A ‘pacer’ is both a horses in harness racing and the name of the car that sets the speed during the famous Indianapolis 500.

Boomer was created in 1984 by a local artist, initially named ‘Boomer the Pacer’ before the name was tweaked in the 1990s. But it wasn’t until 2008 that the figure was actually brought to life and appeared ‘in person’ at Pacers games.

Since 2008 professional mascot performer Chris Widener has been the man inside the suit, the person tasked with creating the gameday atmosphere. It’s not clear exactly how much Widener is paid for the role but most NBA mascots earn between $25,000-$50,000 per year. Not bad for a few evenings’ work per week.

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