Drafts past. Playoffs for other sports going on so question. Are the Carolina Hurricanes more relevant in the Carolina's now than the Hornets?

[Mr. Scot]

The NBA doesn't give a flying rat's ass about parity or competitiveness. All they care about is marketing.

The NFL made football the biggest sport in the country by setting up conditions where every team outside of Cleveland has a chance to win it all.  Thus, each year when a new season rolls around, fans everywhere are excited.

Frankly, the NBA reminds me of the WWE. You've got a few superstars and a bunch of jobbers. The difference is in wrestling, jobbers don't have fans hoping against hope that this is the year they win.

Maybe Vince McMahon should be the next NBA commissioner. He certainly understands the business model.

[Khyber53]

Hockey is never really relevant in North Carolina. If we get a national championship in it we give it a bump in notoriety just like we do when we win a national championship in lacrosse, figure skating, team handball or any other Yankee "sport."

Let's face it, in NC, the hierarchy of sports goes: College Basketball, NFL, NASCAR, College Football, NBA, MLB and the rest could be on ESPN 8 "the Ocho" for all we care. And there's a huge drop off between College Football and the NBA.

In short, it's great if the Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup, but it's not like we're going to be talking about it six months down the road, much less six years. ACC basketball tournaments and NCAA FInals, though, well those live on for decades here.

[Moo Daeng]

1 hour ago, Mr. Scot said:

The NBA doesn't give a flying rat's ass about parity or competitiveness. All they care about is marketing.

The NFL made football the biggest sport in the country by setting up conditions where every team outside of Cleveland has a chance to win it all.  Thus, each year when a new season rolls around, fans everywhere are excited.

Frankly, the NBA reminds me of the WWE. You've got a few superstars and a bunch of jobbers. The difference is in wrestling, jobbers don't have fans hoping against hope that this is the year they win.

Maybe Vince McMahon should be the next NBA commissioner. He certainly understands the business model.

Hit in the draft and you become the Cavs or Warriors. It's not impossible 

[Trill OG]

6 hours ago, Eazy-E said:

It’s not about relevance. Hockey isn’t nearly as popular as Basketball or Football in America. 

The Hurricanes are the most successful team in the Carolinas but they are probably the least popular. You could ask almost anyone and they will know who Kemba Walker and Cam Newton are. I doubt the majority can even name a Hurricanes player let alone know the Carolinas have a hockey team. It’s the sad truth unfortunately.

This!

[Palmetto]

14 hours ago, WarHeel said:

This. Too easy to create a super team. Takes the enjoyment out of the game for me.

And Anthony Davis will soon join forces with another super star 

Leaving the pelicans the dust of the NBA

[Hotsauce]

Surprised no one has brought up MLS (soccer). 

I grew up in NC, and moved to Atlanta a few years ago. A couple of years ago they got an MLS franchise Atlanta United.  There were a lot of naysayers predicting an MLS team wouldn’t have mass appeal. Last year United won the MLS cup (the big championship). Now, it’s one of the biggest sports appeals in the area. I know tons of people who wouldn’t go to a Falcons (yuck) or a hawks game, but will goto a United game. The fan base has grown tremendously over the last year or so.

I predict that MLS could potentially takeover US sports in the next 20 or so years.  NBA is garbage.  NFL is losing popularity.  MLB is hanging on, but is no where near what it used to be.  Another thing, soccer is the #1 sport in the world. 

Edit: The braves are on the rise in attendance and popularity with their new stadium. But I think MLB as a whole is a shell of what it used to be.

[ChibCU]

The Canes are more relevant in their sport than the Panthers are in theirs. And that's with a 10-year playoff drought!

[WOW!!]

Hell no.. If the Hornets were in the playoffs it would be a bigger deal.. Nobody talks about Hurricanes unless their in the playoffs.. We talk about the Hornets atleast during the regular season.  

[csuncc1989]

The hurricanes are more relevant than both the Hornets and the Panthers and they are actual winners of a championship.

[Palmetto]

24 minutes ago, WOW!! said:

Hell no.. If the Hornets were in the playoffs it would be a bigger deal.. Nobody talks about Hurricanes unless their in the playoffs.. We talk about the Hornets atleast during the regular season.  

Yea but the canes could win it all

People would just be excited to see the Hornets in the playoffs knowing a championship was out of the question 

[WOW!!]

Just now, Palmetto said:

Yea but the canes could win it all

People would just be excited to see the Hornets in the playoffs knowing a championship was out of the question 

Cool they win a title in the country 4th favorite sport.. That doesn't mean their more relevant or entrenched.. The Hornets built the Pro Sports market here.. Most of us grew up Hornets fans .. If the team was winning along with the entrenched memories it would rival the Panthers..

[Mr. Scot]

4 minutes ago, GOOGLE JIM BOB COOTER said:

the difference in parity between the nfl and the nba can be explained by the length of season and playoffs. also when controlling for length of season baseball and hockey show more parity than the nfl. odd that you would refer to a league that reduces random variance in outcomes as marketing-obsessed while singing the praises of a league that relies on a small sample size of games for it's "parity." i thought that in competitive sport the point was to determine the best team, not the luckiest.

source

It's more than just that.

Some years back, the NBA moved early playoff series from five games to seven games knowing that it would specifically benefit the Lakers. There was much ado made about it in sports media at the time.

Mind you, I'm not a basketball fan, but I have paid attention to a lot of things that have been said. That's how I know my opinion is a common one.

FYI: For the record, I'm not a hockey fan either so I don't really have a dog in this fight.

[ChibCU]

1 minute ago, GOOGLE JIM BOB COOTER said:

the difference in parity between the nfl and the nba can be explained by the length of season and playoffs. also when controlling for length of season baseball and hockey show more parity than the nfl. odd that you would refer to a league that reduces random variance in outcomes as marketing-obsessed while singing the praises of a league that relies on a small sample size of games for it's "parity." i thought that in competitive sport the point was to determine the best team, not the luckiest.

source

I think the point is that the NBA's parity deficiency is a result of a framework that allows for massive talent differences. Throw out the length of seasons and best-of-7 series, and you have an insane separation of talent.

[djp14]

Depends on how you look at it. As far as the Carolinas go, the Hurricanes are a relevant team playing an irrelevant sport.