Indy Eleven are simply stuck in neutral and no one can figure out how to put them back into drive

Indy Eleven are simply stuck in neutral and no one can figure out how to put them back into drive

My wife and I don't watch a lot of television shows. No more than anyone else. We tend to focus on one or two at a time and rotate them in and out based on our mood at the time. Comedy, drama, and medical dramas are a big hits given my history, but we tend to enjoy a variety of shows. 

The dramas, which are usually our genre of choice, tend to have a lot of twists and turns and unsuspecting parts. Nothing horror, of course, but rather real life dramas, medical dramas, etc. Things that could potentially be happening in real life tend to have us making comments like "We should watch Chicago Med when we get home" as we drive by a hospital.

For Indy Eleven, their 2023 season, which is seemingly looking like a repeat of the 2022 season, has been its own form of drama. It's hard to put a finger on it, but let's try and digest and comprehend what's been going on and what the potential solution could be.

Dude where's our form? 

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You ever rode a roller coaster and feel a bit of motion sickness after riding it? You might walk a little fun... you might even get sick. 

That is the best way to describe the feeling of watching Indy Eleven week to week. An uneven ride where after 90 minutes, you kind of feel dizzy and disoriented. You are happy to have experienced the ride, and you may have even enjoyed it, but the feeling afterward can leave you sick and worried about the next time you jump on,

That's the feeling after 90 minutes of Indy Eleven the last couple of weeks. A little fear, a little worry, and a little feeling sick to your stomach after the referee blows their whistle. 

So what is the reason for all of this? Well, let's rule out the obvious... you can't expect a team in any sport or any league of any level to win week to week. It just doesn't really work that way. However, you can hope for it and that's what fans of Indiana's team have been doing every week

Following the most recent result, a 1-2 loss to Memphis at home, Lowry continued to make arguments that the team was "tactically and technically the best on the field" a quote he has had at nearly every loss and near every draw. While confidence breeds results, the lack of understanding that holding 70 percent possession on your opponents, while good, and can prevent their chances, doesn't avoid the issue that they are still scoring and you aren't scoring while holding a massive majority of the time on the ball.

The solution? Find one 

It would be incredibly easy to say that firing Mark Lowry right now would fix everything. Indy Eleven could ride the coachless bounce that happens in the sport after a team lets go of their coach and they could surely make the playoffs. It's also easy to say that holding onto them would prove worthwhile as Lowry is clearly building a longer-term concept and needs players that fit his system. 

Whatever the case may be, the 2023 Indy Eleven season is seeming much like the 2022 Indy Eleven season. A squad built on talent and chances have shown neither more than halfway through the season. With each passing week, it looks more and more like the team either isn't what Mark wants, or, what he needs. Players like Pasher, when discussed by Lowry on Soccer Saturday, seem like what he truly wanted. 

So this squad begs the question, is this who we got or who was left? Is this truly the best team that can be built with the resources, resources that while thin over the building of Eleven Park have seemingly never been stronger from a financial standpoint. Supporters won't ride a wave of excuses as they begin to settle into a last-season playoff push that, even if secured, would most certainly lead to an early exit which would ask questions like "Was that really worth it?"

The larger question seems to be, is the lack of results hurting Indy Eleven long term? The eyes on the product here locally are already scattered when you consider that there is an NBA, NFL, ECHL, Indy 500, NCAA Tournaments, and other events that routinely come in. With the groundbreaking of Eleven Park and all of the negative attention it garnered with its financial aspects, it begs the question if the lack of results is more damaging to the commercial side of the club and not just the on-the-field product. 

That's not to say the season has lacked positives. Big results have come, most recently the Charleston Match lit a flame once again that was put out shortly thereafter. 

It seems like Indy Eleven are simply stuck in neutral and no one can figure out how to put them back into drive and until they do, we are left watching, waiting, and hoping that they will find the gas pedal once more