Seven Great Things About Fort Wayne, Indiana

We wrote earlier today about a law-enforcement raid on the Fort Wayne, Ind., homes of former NFL tackle Jason Fabini and his brother Mike. Apparently our sentiments in that article—we indicated there that we had no desire to visit Fort Wayne—offended loyal Deadspin readers in that area.

From: Matt Jones To: The Staff

Just a tip: I know sensationalism is great for attracting audiences but being so dismissive of an entire community of a quarter million people for the sake of painting the illusion of marginal behavior based on the antics of a few characters under suspicion is reprehensible (re: Fabini/Fort Wayne story).

Maybe you should visit sometime. I'll even give you a personal tour.

Matthew Jones Water Resource Education Specialist Allen County Partnership for Water Quality

"When the well runs dry, we know the worth of water." -Benjamin Franklin, 'Poor Richards Almanac' 1746

From: Maggie F To: Jack Dickey

While you are entitled to your opinion, I don't appreciate your slam on Fort Wayne in your article on Jason Fabini. It was uncalled for and unnecessary. You just lost a reader.

Sincerely, Maggie

We regret that we may have created the impression that Fort Wayne, Ind., is nothing but crime scenes involving retired NFL players and their families. There's so much to love about Fort Wayne!

How 'bout those Fort Wayne Komets? I used to watch them as a kid, back when they were in the United Hockey League. They'd roll into New Haven and crush our beloved, upstart Knights. Little did I know that the Komets had one impressive history. They played for years in the International Hockey League, winning four Turner Cups. The UHL is no more, but the Komets endured—they won three more IHL titles before getting bumped up into the ECHL this year. They're 9-8-1 so far.

What about the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, where the Komets play? ( Nightmare Ant works there too.) Now this is a publicly financed stadium we can get behind. The building's been around since 1952. Good luck finding a luxury box there. That hasn't hurt its business, though: the Coliseum recently ranked 13th among similar-sized facilities in a .

Fort Wayne was one of only two northern industrial cities (along with Troy, N.Y.) to vote for populist reformer William Jennings Bryan in the election of 1896. Agrarianism! Silver-backed dollars! These are good things!

Have you heard about the Cork 'N Cleaver Restaurant? I sure hadn't. I've been dining out under the inexcusable misapprehension that food has no temple more hallowed than Le Bernardin or the French Laundry. Now I know better. This joint has flawless ratings on TripAdvisor and the best potatoes in town.

Long before there were any Detroit Pistons, there were the Fort Wayne Pistons. And they appeared in back-to-back NBA finals in 1955 and 1956. So, OK, they lost both finals, probably on the orders of gamblers. But still!

DeBrand Chocolatier has its headquarters in Fort Wayne. TripAdvisor member Belinda P writes, "They show you how they make chocolate, and give you samples, afterwards." Who doesn't like free chocolate? Can't beat that!

Is that seven things? I hope so. It's really all I've got.