I loved them then...I love them now.

[SIGCHI222]

I moved to NC in 1980.  Fortunate enough, through my Father's employer, I was at the very first Hornets game vs. Cleveland...loss, but no one cared.  No one.

Next game....December 14th, 1988, win against the Pacers.  Rapture.

Both games included moments of deafness.  Absolute, total deafness in which I could not communicate with my Father even basic sentences like, "That was awesome!"  The crowd noise was too loud to even think much less have a convo.

I averaged about 15 games a year for the first 4 years before joining the military in 1991.  Best entertainment a dollar could buy.

I am sorry to report that I never liked the Bobcats and only watched maybe 2 dozen games and only attended 14 games since their inception.

But, I watched every televised game last season that I could and will miss even less this year as the Hornets return to their rightful place.

To those of you under 30 that have made this happen with your petitions and social media push....I salute you.

To those of you over 40 that are like me...ain't this grand?

To MJ, even as a lifelong Dookie...you the man.

 

The 2014 draft, the 2014 FA, Big Al in 2013 and the re-branding have been a dream come true.

The Charlotte Hornets are my team, our team.  I cannot wait to be there opening night.

 

Don't care if any of you respond positive or negative but, after the Lance signing, I just had to throw out there that for the first time in 20 years, I think you will not be able to have a conversation with your Father if you take him to a Hornets game.

 

 

 

[TheMaulClaw]

I've always have been a Carolina guy.  Was raised as a boy in Fayetteville....dad was 82nd airborne.  Then after living abroad I found myself back in the Carolinas in Columbia.  Became a Gamecock fan.  Then in Charleston.  Lived in Charlotte for 5 years or so.  Mom still lives there and I visit frequently.  I'm a fine dining chef in Asheville at a restaurant owned by Brad Daugherty.  I bleed for the Carolinas.  Hornets to Bobcats back to Hornets.  Panthers.  Gamecocks.  Hurricanes for life.  Since a Tarheel signs my check....I don't hate them.

[lindseyjw14]

I tried to like the Bobcats, I really did. I was a young teenager when the Hornets left and it freaking sucked. I never hated anyone in my life until Shinn moved my Hornets, I hate that bastard. But once the Bobcats were announced u got really excited again, even though I still missed the Hornets. I remember watching the expansion draft and other events on tv. Then about halfway thru the first season they just kinda vanished. By the end of the first season I had completely lost interest. I didn't think or talk about them unless they were the butt of a joke. I didn't regain interest until Jordan bought them and the Hornets rebrand started to pick up steam. And my disinterest in the team had nothing to do with them not being good, that just made it easier to stop following. It was because Bob Johnson was the worst owner in pro sports. I grew up in Hickory, one hour away from the team, and I couldn't watch any of the games. I may have seen one or two games on tv. Johnson ruined interest in the team regionally with his stupid tv deal and limiting it to Charlotte. How can you get interested in a team, and a very bad one at that, when you can't even watch them?

And I hate to say this, but I really doubt the atmosphere at TWC will ever be like it was at the old coliseum. My dad or uncle used to take me to games every year and they'd make me wear ear plugs. I don't really remember the Muggsy, Zo, LJ era but I remember watching Baron Davis fly all over the place. And how loud it was and how the arena would literally shake. That place was much bigger and the design of the building amplified the acoustics. Also, when the Hornets came around they were the only professional franchise in the Carolinas. Charlotte really took off as a city in the 80s and when the Hornets came to town they a were the only ticket. That's the biggest reason the coliseum was always packed and rocking. If you wanted to see pro sports, you had to watch the Hornets. Everyone in the region finally had a pro team and they latched onto them. Look at Portland and OKC, it's the same thing. Their NBA team is the only pro team in the region and everyone loves them. Same atmospheres and popularity.

Now it's entirely different. The Hornets share the stage with the Panthers, and to a lesser extent the Hurricanes and Knights. The Panthers are, and will always be, the #1 team in town. The NFL has grown immensely and is the ticket. The Hornets will never recapture the way the region such to them before. They are playing second fiddle to the Panthers now.

Additionally, many people, right or wrong, will not pull for the team because of how the Hornets left and because they were formally the Bobcats. Then there's a very large number of people who bash the team because the owner is a UNC alumni and will not pull for them no matter what.

But the biggest reason is the advances in social media and technology. Most people today, especially younger, just bandwagon to the team with the biggest stars. Back in the 80/90s it was a true home court advantage and everyone there was pulling for the Hornets. Nowadays, even with the rebrand, there will always be thousands of Look A, BOS, NY, LeBron, Durant, etc. fans invading the arena. It's no longer where you sit at home and watch the Hornets or nothing at all, you can watch any team/game you want.

All that said...

A lot of the magic has returned. A simple name change, plus the team getting better, has brought back a lot of the buzz surrounding the team. Charlotte is the most excited they've been about the NBA since LJ & Zo left. Nobody cared about the Bobcats. Now the city is going crazy over the Hornets again. It's insane. The home crowd is going to be pretty full on a nightly bases and it will be loud and rocking again. Just don't expect it to be exactly like it was before, you'll set yourself up for disappointment.

[lindseyjw14]

Add:

I'm moving to Charlotte in September for a new job. Hopefully I'll have enough cash laying around to purchase a pair of season tickets. But I haven't even looked up prices yet. Hopefully they aren't too expensive for upper level seats, I won't be able to go to many games anyway. Just have a feeling if the Hornets are add good as they should be the season tickets are all gonna get snatched up at some point. Wanna go ahead and grab my pair.

[mrford]

i dont know. the TWC was pretty fuggin loud for the Magic playof series a couple years ago. i was at both games.

 

i do remember being able to get tickets for less than $1 for games. we would get 2 each and leave at halftime to go pound some brews and go back inside. atleast those days are behind us! 

[cbarrier90]

I know there are some on here and around the city that were actually disappointed when the name was changed for whatever reason, and in fairness to them, Charlotte really never gave the Bobcats a chance, even when they did attempt to put a good product on the floor. That is a shame, because it feels kind of like we "surrendered" and let the futility associated with the name win out instead of trying to change the culture. And I do agree that some leading the grassroots rebrand got a little too over zealous instead of just letting the pieces fall into place.

That said, Bob Johnson doomed the Bobcats before they ever took the court. It seemed the reaction to the Bobcats name wasn't particularly negative when it was announced, probably because we were just happy to be given a franchise, but fans were never invited to participate in that process, or anything else Cats related under the Johnson regime. At the time when the city was reeling, Bob Johnson never took the opportunity to connect with the city of Charlotte, probably because he wasn't aware of how to properly run a sports franchise. Contrast that with the Hornets rebrand, which doesn't happen if not for the fans getting it started.

Perhaps the most egregious error was the failed C-SET station which was the lone carrier of the Bobcats and shut down literally in the midst of one of the games and disappeared into infamy.

From there, the Bobcats were on NEWS 14 CAROLINA. Yes. A statewide 24 hour news station carried an NBA team's games, and it wasn't until the 08-09 season that the Bobcats were exclusively on the regional Fox Sports affiliate.

In the 4 initial seasons of the Bobcats, at the time they should have been building a relationship with Charlotte, they weren't involved with the community or the fan base, their merchandise didn't sell, the team wasn't good, and worst of all, even if you wanted to follow them, you couldn't find them on TV.

Sure, Jordan tried to make things right, but it was over before it started.

[carolina-chuck]

I was too young to follow the Hornets back then. Knew of them and liked them a lot, but as a kid there was other better kids thing out there for me.

When the Bobcats came, I was pretty excited. But, the name and colors never struck me. I kept up with the team every single year, but more with a left ear. The Okafor and Morrison picks pumped me up! Too bad it never worked out. The Bobcats were so terrible until the additions of Boris Diaw and Raja Bell. I finally saw glimpses how basketball was to be played.

I'm just glad that I'll get my first real chance of being a real Hornets fan, eventho I feel like I've always been one. This name, these colors, and logos pumps me up every time I look at it. Everything is falling into places so soon: name, draft, FA. I just hope the wins start to pile up. The SL cannot be anymore better too. Vonleh is looking good and Hairston could be a huge steal!!!

[Kurb]

I have an old starter hat that's about to brought out of retirement,

[NanceUSMC]

I LOVED Hornets basketball...  That place was electric...  Win or lose, the team WAS Charlotte...  We all could identify with a group of cast offs (in the beginning), that played like their hair was on fire... 

 

I wanted to love the Bobcats like I did the Hornets...  But from the beginning, I just couldn't...  I never watched a single game...  Never attended a game...  Watched the team being mismanaged from afar...  And, in the end, haven't watched a single NBA game since 2002...

 

Cynically, I didn't allow myself to believe the Hornets would return (in name anyway), so I continued to keep my distance...  But once the name changed, almost immediately I found myself looking for Hornet news...  Paying attention...  Wanting to know more, and be part of it again...  Funny how something as simple as a name change can spark something like that in a person...

 

For the first time in over a decade, I'm actually looking forward to NBA games again...

[Omega Atrocity]

I'm only 20, I was 8 when the Hornets moved and 10 when the Bobcats started. I hated the Bobcats nickname and horribly mismanaged organization as much as the next guy, but I still supported them. I've been to probably 5 Bobcat games (Charlotte is 3 hours away from me), 2 of them were this year. Not to cramp the spirit of this topic, but it always irritated me a little bit that people wouldn't support the Bobcats. Last year was a really exciting year for us, and this offseason has been very nice. Go Hornets!

[teeray]

I fell in love with the Hornets immediately. Kelly Tripucka dropping 22 a game was a boss.

Then the Gill, Zo, Johnson, Muggsy, and Curry era just bound me to the team like never before.

Then all the Shinn stuff started happening. I still loved the Hornets, but wasn't going to give that man any more of my money.

When the Bobcats arrived, I adopted them as my team but could never get back that same feeling I had with the Hornets. I never hated Bob Johnson the way other people did, but was discouraged when they gave the public a vote for the new name. I can't remember what name won, but I know it wasn't the Bobcats, and yet that is the name they adopted.

I don't know why I could never get as attached to them. It wasn't because they stunk, I loved the Braves in the 80's so I was accustomed to pulling for terrible teams. Perhaps it was because part of my heart was still with the Hornets.

Jordan taking over reinvigorated my support for the team, and now with the Hornets coming back, the team being a playoff team, the signing of Lance Stephenson, has me more excited for this franchise than ever before.

Can't wait for next season!!!

[asknoquarter]

I am 27 and I was at the perfect age when the Hornets were at their best.  I lived (still do) in Asheville and going to Hornets games as a kid was so much fun.  I remember being so excited anytime I was able to watch a Hornets game.  It was my first NBA team I loved although I was an MJ fan I would pull for the Hornets when they played.  I never was into the Bobcats for much of the same reasons I don't care about the Panthers.  1.) They weren't my team (being the Panthers weren't around when I started loving football) and 2.) Wasn't impressed with the moves they made in the early years.

 

The Hornets being back has be interested in the NBA again(much to my wife's chagrin).  I don't think the timing could be better.  The NBA is at the peak of it's popularity since the mid 90's when it was at it's best.  I am getting my team back, at a time when they are actually going to be good, and Michael Jordan owns the team. 

 

I am excited that my son will get to grow up watching the Charlotte Hornets and hopefully it is as magical to him as it was for me when I was young.  The memories and nostalgia alone will make the Hornets the ONLY NBA team I will ever care about.  I realize I am pulling for laundry and a city, but frankly I don't care.

 

 

 

**Interesting thing I was thinking about, what if Orlando takes Okafor instead of Howard in 2004.  Do you think we ever get our Hornets back?

[Jase]

The hornets played their first game when I was 4. As soon as I figured out the game, I loved them.

Now my daughter will be the exact same age when the new hornets start playing.

Sent from my iPhone while admiring feet using CarolinaHuddle

[davos]

My fam had season tickets at the coliseum though out the 90s so I remember a crazy amount of awesome moments.  

 

The BBQ they sold there wasn't the best but I always remember running up to those vender booths.  I don't know why that always sticks in my mind.  

 

Right now, it's is up there with the most excited I've ever been for basketball in Charlotte.  

 

Even though I'm not in Charlotte anymore, I still rock the gear and am definitely trying to make it back for a few games.   

 

Shhhh....but I may be more excited about the NBA than the NFL for the first time in a longggggg ass time.