Last night, the Charlotte Bobcats went into New Orleans to face the Hornets. They came out with a win along with clinching their first postseason berth in the young franchise's history.
It was also fitting that they clinched as this may have been the final Bobcats-Hornets game with George Shinn as the owner in N'Awlins. It is being reported that Shinn has a deal in place to sell the team to local interests. Remember, it was Shinn who moved the Hornets from Charlotte to New Orleans.
If Shinn sells the team, how feasable is it for Charlotte to actually acquire the "Hornets" name back? If that could happen, it may bring back a resurgence of love back to the city.
For those non-Charlotteans, Shinn was a god in Charlotte in the late 1980s. He brought the NBA to town ... a burgeoning city with its first major pro sports franchise. The city was in love with this team as they led the league in attendance nearly every year for the first decade. The franchise ushered the color teal to the sports world ... as well as pinstripes to the NBA.
Then came the not-so-great times. Charlotte never had a bad season, but they never ascended to the Eastern Conference elite despite having an outstanding young corps of players. Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Kendall Gill, Muggsy Bogues, Johnny Newman and Dell Curry led the franchise to their first postseason -- which included eliminating the Boston Celtics in the first round. It was an exciting time. Well, except that they never got further. Shinn's cheap ways led to the franchise rotating stars to keep from paying them.
Shinn did pay Larry Johnson, the face of the franchise who was the first Hornet to be a national star. Then LJ hurt his back and wasn't the same player. That led to various trades, such as dealing LJ to the Knicks (basically for Anthony Mason), Zo to the Heat (basically for Glen Rice) and Gill to Seattle. They got decent players in return, but those guys turned into other players. Rice would be traded to the Lakers for Eddie Jones. Jones would be dealt to Miami for Jamaal Mashburn. Oh, and they also drafted and traded Kobe Bryant. Free agents froze out Charlotte as they weren't known as good spenders.
You must also factor in the Carolina Panthers factor. The Hornets were the only game in town when they ruled the roost. But the Panthers arrival in 1995 (and inprobably playoff run in 1996) made Charlotte an NFL crazy city and pushed the Hornets off the front page.
Shinn also had legal problems away from the court and fled to South Carolina. From that point on, he was more of an absentee owner. He refused to sell part of the team to North Carolina legend Michael Jordan because Shinn wanted total control of the franchise (MJ wanted basketball control). He would then sell part of the team to a swarmy Ray Woolridge who suddenly became the voice of the franchise.
From there, it got worse. Shinn demanded that Charlotte build him a new arena with all the luxury perks of many of the newer NBA arenas. At no cost to him. The city said no as the Charlotte Coliseum was less than 15 years old and was basically given to Shinn to use at his will. The city said they would build the arena, only if Shinn sold the team. So Shinn took his circus on to New Orleans and the NBA promising to put an expansion franchise back in Charlotte.
That's where the NBA gets sticky with Charlotte. The Bobcats still haven't been embraced by the city. Many people are still upset by the Hornets leaving and just can't get into a new team. Others have been turned off by the Bobcats' ownership's lack of linking the team to the community (something Shinn did well) and naming the franchise after himself.
That all may be changing. The Bobcats are in the playoffs for the first time ever and is finally getting some national love. Michael Jordan recently bought the franchise from Bob Johnson and is very open to a name change. How about "Hornets"?
Could it happen? Not likely. While Charlotte still identifies with the old Hornets, New Orleans identify with the new Hornets. Sure, the Cleveland Browns got to keep their name, logo and all of that when that franchise left ... just as Seattle got to keep the SuperSonics name, logo and all of that when they lost the team to Oklahoma City. But Charlotte got no such deal from the NBA about the Hornets, so everything left with the franchise to New Orleans.
Even though I wasn't a true blue Hornets fan (I was a Lakers fan before the Hornets arrived), I still feel pride from them because they represented my city. When they left, it hurt. I would attend Hornets games all the time (especially the one time a year when the Hornets came to town). To not have that past as part of the city sucks.
So hopefully a new precedent can be set and somehow we can get the Charlotte Hornets back in Charlotte again.
It was also fitting that they clinched as this may have been the final Bobcats-Hornets game with George Shinn as the owner in N'Awlins. It is being reported that Shinn has a deal in place to sell the team to local interests. Remember, it was Shinn who moved the Hornets from Charlotte to New Orleans.
If Shinn sells the team, how feasable is it for Charlotte to actually acquire the "Hornets" name back? If that could happen, it may bring back a resurgence of love back to the city.
For those non-Charlotteans, Shinn was a god in Charlotte in the late 1980s. He brought the NBA to town ... a burgeoning city with its first major pro sports franchise. The city was in love with this team as they led the league in attendance nearly every year for the first decade. The franchise ushered the color teal to the sports world ... as well as pinstripes to the NBA.
Then came the not-so-great times. Charlotte never had a bad season, but they never ascended to the Eastern Conference elite despite having an outstanding young corps of players. Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Kendall Gill, Muggsy Bogues, Johnny Newman and Dell Curry led the franchise to their first postseason -- which included eliminating the Boston Celtics in the first round. It was an exciting time. Well, except that they never got further. Shinn's cheap ways led to the franchise rotating stars to keep from paying them.
Shinn did pay Larry Johnson, the face of the franchise who was the first Hornet to be a national star. Then LJ hurt his back and wasn't the same player. That led to various trades, such as dealing LJ to the Knicks (basically for Anthony Mason), Zo to the Heat (basically for Glen Rice) and Gill to Seattle. They got decent players in return, but those guys turned into other players. Rice would be traded to the Lakers for Eddie Jones. Jones would be dealt to Miami for Jamaal Mashburn. Oh, and they also drafted and traded Kobe Bryant. Free agents froze out Charlotte as they weren't known as good spenders.
You must also factor in the Carolina Panthers factor. The Hornets were the only game in town when they ruled the roost. But the Panthers arrival in 1995 (and inprobably playoff run in 1996) made Charlotte an NFL crazy city and pushed the Hornets off the front page.
Shinn also had legal problems away from the court and fled to South Carolina. From that point on, he was more of an absentee owner. He refused to sell part of the team to North Carolina legend Michael Jordan because Shinn wanted total control of the franchise (MJ wanted basketball control). He would then sell part of the team to a swarmy Ray Woolridge who suddenly became the voice of the franchise.
From there, it got worse. Shinn demanded that Charlotte build him a new arena with all the luxury perks of many of the newer NBA arenas. At no cost to him. The city said no as the Charlotte Coliseum was less than 15 years old and was basically given to Shinn to use at his will. The city said they would build the arena, only if Shinn sold the team. So Shinn took his circus on to New Orleans and the NBA promising to put an expansion franchise back in Charlotte.
That's where the NBA gets sticky with Charlotte. The Bobcats still haven't been embraced by the city. Many people are still upset by the Hornets leaving and just can't get into a new team. Others have been turned off by the Bobcats' ownership's lack of linking the team to the community (something Shinn did well) and naming the franchise after himself.
That all may be changing. The Bobcats are in the playoffs for the first time ever and is finally getting some national love. Michael Jordan recently bought the franchise from Bob Johnson and is very open to a name change. How about "Hornets"?
Could it happen? Not likely. While Charlotte still identifies with the old Hornets, New Orleans identify with the new Hornets. Sure, the Cleveland Browns got to keep their name, logo and all of that when that franchise left ... just as Seattle got to keep the SuperSonics name, logo and all of that when they lost the team to Oklahoma City. But Charlotte got no such deal from the NBA about the Hornets, so everything left with the franchise to New Orleans.
Even though I wasn't a true blue Hornets fan (I was a Lakers fan before the Hornets arrived), I still feel pride from them because they represented my city. When they left, it hurt. I would attend Hornets games all the time (especially the one time a year when the Hornets came to town). To not have that past as part of the city sucks.
So hopefully a new precedent can be set and somehow we can get the Charlotte Hornets back in Charlotte again.
1 comment:
This would be awesome. I was a huge Hornets fan, love the colors, love the logo, love the relationship with the city. I love this idea. I believe this would help management reconnect with the city. Let's make this happen.
Tell New Orleans to get "Jazz" back from Utah and make them find a new logo.
Post a Comment