Pacers = losers (in your childhood anyways)
Hoosiers = winners
Well my suspicion regarding out of area fans is really only about one thing : that the reason said team was chosen by said person is simple, winning.
If you were to take a worldwide poll/inventory/survey and write down the number of out of area fans each squad has, and compare the proportions to the number of in area fans each squad has, it would show that the successful teams are far more likely to attract out of area folks. In otherwords, people want to root for winners.
And certainly, I view folks in areas with literally no teams slightly differently than folks in markets with teams. Somebody in Germany pulling for the Dallas Cowboys is different than someone in Spokane, Washington (or the Bay) pulling for them.
But in your case, rooting for one of the 5 most successful NFL franchises, rooting for one of the 5 most successful NCAA basketball teams and rooting for one of the 5 most successful NBA franchises without ever having lived in either squad's area of influence except for the Hoosiers, it's pretty clear there's no coincidence there. Every fan of every team wants to root for a winner, so some take shortcuts.
And the saddest thing to me is that I believe deeply that folks who take these shortcuts are denying themselves (without even knowing it) much of the emotional side of sports.
These folks obviously may be perfectly good, wonderful people, but in the realm of sports, picking ones teams based largely on winning percentage is a character flaw I can't overlook. It removes these people from the category of "sports fan" in general to me.