Hornets Transformation Thread - Live Press Conference @ 12:30 PM (Updated 5/7 @ 11:49PM)

[Proudiddy]

Yeah, Tom Benson should get a lot of credit for being generous enough to give us the history back.  Not sure why Pelican fans are so bad.  What attachment do they have to Larry Johnson?  Muggsy Bogues?  Glen Rice?  Bobby Phills?  None.  They get to keep the Paul/West/Chandler years, which is what should've happened.

 

This. 

 

From what I see, it appears some of those Pelicans fans were non-Carolinians who just liked the team from its inception.  There's one douche on there that is from VA and now hates Charlotte for "stealing" the team's identity, lol.  SMH...

[Proudiddy]

I grew up going to Hornets games at the Hive, but I'm only 23 and was two weeks shy of my 9th birthday at the time of his death - why exactly did we retire his jersey? I remember when the story came out, but didn't really understand (or care that much, as a little kid) all of the nitty gritty.

 

To me it seems like him and the other Hornets player were racing at high speeds, and Phills could have easily killed the people in the car that he swerved and hit. It kind of seems odd to retire someone's jersey that did that, so I gotta be missing something.

 

Well, they didn't retire his jersey for how he died.  From what I remember as a teen at the time, he was coming into his own for us...  A great two-way player who was becoming an integral part of our team.  He was a key piece to those teams at the time.  Also, he seemed to be a really good guy off the court as well and was involved in the community.  So, being a good guy and a player coming into his prime, I never questioned why we retired his jersey.  On those teams that he was on, he was like the heart of them and as fans, you couldn't help but feel magnetized towards Bobby and his grit on-the-court.

[SuperJTheGreat]

S/O to Benson. Still a dbag tho.

[carpanfan96]

Interesting that they were able to get the full history, logos, uniforms and so forth from the 88-02 teams.

It means they can do something most name change relocation teams can't do and that's use the throw back uniforms.

Question is will the Hornets get lucky tonight with the Ping pong balls???

Sent from my iPhone using CarolinaHuddle

[SuperJTheGreat]

Lmao if we ever throw on Bobcats throwbacks I will die of laughter. Like which ones?!?

[Dorian Gray]

Lmao if we ever throw on Bobcats throwbacks I will die of laughter. Like which ones?!?

Good point.  I'd say go with the very first ones if you're ever going to do them.

 

Just because they're polar opposite of the Hornets.  I'd be happy to never see a Bobcats jersey again, TBH.

[Simon Says]

I've heard that Stern sold the team to Benson with an unwritten agreement that the team has to be renamed immediately so Charlotte could have their moniker back. Stern tried forcing Shinn into rebranding when he moved so Charlotte would keep the band for their new team but Shinn was a dick. Before he retired Stern wanted to give Charlotte their name back because he felt it left a black eye on his legacy that he allowed one of the most popular teams in the league to be moved, then watched Charlotte's new team flounder with little support.

Doesn't seem that far fetched. Benson owns the dirty Saints, don't be so quick to praise him. His hand may very well be tied in the whole situation.

[TheRed]

I don't think they are investing all this time and money in a re-brand just to wear Bobcats throwbacks. The Bobcats are done.

[Simon Says]

Pelicans fans are losing their minnnndddd

No they aren't...

In fact, they are laughing and calling you an inbred hick for posting stupid drivel all over their board.

[Simon Says]

I don't think they are investing all this time and money in a re-brand just to wear Bobcats throwbacks. The Bobcats are done.

The real reason they are doing it...

It is a business. Their goal is to make money. The Bobcats had bad ticket sales and possibly the worst merchandize sales in the league. By rebranding they get to tug on the ol' heart strings of old Hornets fans and sell a crap load of merchandize and tickets playing off the success of the old team.

That is why they rebranded.

[teeray]

Boom

[teeray]

I've heard that Stern sold the team to Benson with an unwritten agreement that the team has to be renamed immediately so Charlotte could have their moniker back. Stern tried forcing Shinn into rebranding when he moved so Charlotte would keep the band for their new team but Shinn was a dick. Before he retired Stern wanted to give Charlotte their name back because he felt it left a black eye on his legacy that he allowed one of the most popular teams in the league to be moved, then watched Charlotte's new team flounder with little support.

Doesn't seem that far fetched. Benson owns the dirty Saints, don't be so quick to praise him. His hand may very well be tied in the whole situation.

Although I don't usually believe in the "I heard" source on a message board, knowing how Stern operates this would not surprise me.

[FourthWard]

Enjoyed hearing that the Hornets rank #1 in full-season ticket sales for next year.  The Bobcats ranked 30th in merchandise sales, so in addition to giving the people what they wanted, it seems to have exceeded expectations from a business standpoint.  It would be silly to say that it was just fans or only business reasons for making the change as there was obviously multiple factors which in this case, can be called a "win-win."

[Jakob]

MFW someone on the pelicans forum just said I'm an unemployed redneck who has ruined the huddle.