Could Charlotte fall out of love with Panthers?

[CatMan72]

Charlotte may have soured on the Hornets, but it was Shinn who packed up and left because he wanted a new arena.

JR would NEVER move the team, but I do have concerns about what happens when JR passes, not just from a moving standpoint but from a general management standpoint...

[Cyberjag]

Really, If Shinn had kept the Hornets in Charlotte they would still be a big ticket? Dont think so people disliked Shinn and didnt want to pay to see his team play anymore. Shinn kept trading away the good players and not trying to contend (sounds familiar). If Richardson is hording money for a new stadium he is going to be in for a shock. BOA is only 15 years old taxpayers wont go for spending any money to help Richardson build a new one.

That is what the article is saying. Same thing Shinn did but without the scandals. Except Richardson will have PSL owner trouble if this happens.

The Hornets led the league in attendance all the way up to that last year, and that was long after they traded Mourning (couldn't keep both him and LJ), and Kobe (a high school rookie who already said he wouldn't play in Charlotte). They had a good team, had just got Barron Davis in the draft, and were set to make some real noise.

There is no doubt at all in my mind that if Shinn had not made the threats he did, and had he not been busted trying to coerce an employee into sex, that the Hornets would have continued with their local success.

Don't forget the shady dealings behind their move to New Orleans either. They didn't sell enough tickets, they didn't have the required deals in place regarding an arena, but still somehow they made it happen. That was all about Shinn wanting to move, not about Charlotte rejecting them.

Consider what it would have looked like if they Hornets had genuinely run out their welcome. Back then you could watch just about every Atlanta game on TV, and their arena was generally half-full. Same with a lot of other teams around the league. But the Hornets?

But since he's making his point about the Panthers as if they're grounded just in Charlotte, as opposed to across two states, and as if they're in a similar situation as the Hornets; then when the truth of that situation is exposed his entire point falls apart. Articles like this belong in Tabloids, not in a purported newspaper.

Peter St. Onge - proof that at the Observer, you can get paid to write about anything that might drum up controversy.

[Cyberjag]

Charlotte soured on Shinn, not the Hornets. Even he admits that.

We traded Mourning for Matt Geiger and Glenn Rice, and went to the playoffs on their backs. The trades where we sent Larry Johnson to New York and a draft pick to the Lakers got us Anthony Mason and Vlade Divacs. The next year we set a franchise record for victories.

Those were the only two big trades we made in franchise history, and they resulted in more success, not less. It's absurd to say that Charlotte got sick of the Hornets because of their performance.

And the sexual harassment lawsuit aside, don't forget how Shinn treated Michael Jordan when he wanted to buy in to the Hornets. You don't tell a basketball legend that he can give you money but can't get involved in the basketball without pissing off fans, and you particularly don't do it to someone like MJ.

And then there's the Arena. We were actually going to build it, but Pat McCrory messed that up when he demanded that Shinn sell the team as a condition for it being built.

The whole "sour" situation wasn't about the players, the team, or the league. It was all about Shinn and the Arena.

Let's not try to rewrite history in order to make a sloppy point about the Panthers, ok? That's tabloid journalism, not news.

(FWIW, I was a huge NBA fan and went to lots of Hornets games, but since the move fiasco the only game I have seen was the inaugural Bobcat's game. The NBA shit on their fans, and I just don't have time for them any more. Don't miss it either.)

[Happy Panther]

After we beat the Bucs some observer reported will write an article about rehiring Fox and building a new stadium.

[Cyberjag]

This same guy already wrote an article on that last week.

[Hotsauce]

Pack up the team, move it to Charleston (:

[MHS831]

What is to like about the NBA? Hey, what if some of the biggest names in the NFL decided to go to one team, take less money, and win championships? How do you pull for the Heat? How does anyone pull for the Yankees, who do the same thing and are willing to lose money every year?

The NFL might be the last true sport where small markets have a chance.

Remember when we drafted Kobe and everyone knew there was no chance he'd play here? We did it so we could trade for Vlade Divoc? An 18 year old kid refusing to play for the team that drafts him because the market is not big enough?

Football is perhaps the professional sport that has not been totally ruined by money. That is what JR is trying to preserve, and why I don't mind not going after TO, Boldin, etc.

[Squirrel]

Charlotte soured on Shinn, not the Hornets. Even he admits that.

We traded Mourning for Matt Geiger and Glenn Rice, and went to the playoffs on their backs. The trades where we sent Larry Johnson to New York and a draft pick to the Lakers got us Anthony Mason and Vlade Divacs. The next year we set a franchise record for victories.

Those were the only two big trades we made in franchise history, and they resulted in more success, not less. It's absurd to say that Charlotte got sick of the Hornets because of their performance.

And the sexual harassment lawsuit aside, don't forget how Shinn treated Michael Jordan when he wanted to buy in to the Hornets. You don't tell a basketball legend that he can give you money but can't get involved in the basketball without pissing off fans, and you particularly don't do it to someone like MJ.

And then there's the Arena. We were actually going to build it, but Pat McCrory messed that up when he demanded that Shinn sell the team as a condition for it being built.

The whole "sour" situation wasn't about the players, the team, or the league. It was all about Shinn and the Arena.

Let's not try to rewrite history in order to make a sloppy point about the Panthers, ok? That's tabloid journalism, not news.

(FWIW, I was a huge NBA fan and went to lots of Hornets games, but since the move fiasco the only game I have seen was the inaugural Bobcat's game. The NBA shit on their fans, and I just don't have time for them any more. Don't miss it either.)

We are arguing over schematics. The coliseum thing didnt come up til 2000 before that it was the rape trial and before that it was trading Star players trading Rice to LA turned off alot of people too. But Shinn did burn his own bridge with the rape trial. But the most fire was the Arena. One was because the Hive wasnt that old and two people was sick of him by then. McCrory wanted to find a out so that he didnt have to face the wrath of voters. So he stipulated that Shinn had to sell the team.

Thing I was pointing out was people was already tired of Shinn before both the trial and Arena deals. He wouldnt sign players to extensions and kept trading Stars away.

No how does this compare to the Panthers. Im talking about common fans here. We just let most of our experiences high profile players go in the offseason excluding Smitty. I know this was a good move but most of the common fans looked at it as a bad deal. Now there is rumblings of a new stadium. With Richardson not spending money on fixing the WR corps and trying to get free agents he is getting the cheap owner label.

He is hording money for something. Im not so sure it is a new stadium or to buy some partners out. But if he tries to go to the tax payers to help build a new stadium. The fans will turn on him specially in this bad economic times.

[cookinbrak]

Pack up the team, move it to Charleston (:

Move it to Myrtle Beach. It's always full of people from somewhere else.

<and much closer to me...>

[jarhead]

They are gaining fan base but Panther fans will lose interest if we continue losing games.Charlotte is a melting pot of people from the north.We had a huge migration of people from Pittsburg and Buffalo when the steel mfg left the USA.The Redskins was the NFL team the media played on TV prior to the Panthers coming to Charlotte.

[Cyberjag]

We are arguing over schematics. The coliseum thing didnt come up til 2000 before that it was the rape trial and before that it was trading Star players trading Rice to LA turned off alot of people too. But Shinn did burn his own bridge with the rape trial. But the most fire was the Arena. One was because the Hive wasnt that old and two people was sick of him by then. McCrory wanted to find a out so that he didnt have to face the wrath of voters. So he stipulated that Shinn had to sell the team.

Thing I was pointing out was people was already tired of Shinn before both the trial and Arena deals. He wouldnt sign players to extensions and kept trading Stars away.

No how does this compare to the Panthers. Im talking about common fans here. We just let most of our experiences high profile players go in the offseason excluding Smitty. I know this was a good move but most of the common fans looked at it as a bad deal. Now there is rumblings of a new stadium. With Richardson not spending money on fixing the WR corps and trying to get free agents he is getting the cheap owner label.

He is hording money for something. Im not so sure it is a new stadium or to buy some partners out. But if he tries to go to the tax payers to help build a new stadium. The fans will turn on him specially in this bad economic times.

I disagree that the act of trading stars wore thin. It may have if the Hornets were not performing, but they were improving as a result of the trades. The Rice trade came after Shinn had pissed off the fan base, so it's not fair to say that it was a cause (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1015203/index.htm for reference).

Shinn poisoned the well here through personal acts, not because of how he managed the team. And even in that, the Hornets only had major trades involving three stars, which is hardly extraordinary.

But what if it was? To compare the Panthers to that is ignoring their entire franchise history. This is the first year that they've been cheap, and there are obvious special circumstances at work. Just last year they paid Peppers a million per game, does that seem like a franchise with a tight budget to you?

I know you're not a fair-weather guy, but this sure seems like a "what-have-you-done-for-me-lately" sort of thing you've got going on in this thread.

Consider this. The approach taken in the last few years wasn't working, and now we've gone through an extreme housecleaning. If it was all about money, Peppers wouldn't have gotten an offer and we would have tried to trade Smitty. If it was all about this year and this year only, we probably would have gotten a FA WR and cut Gettis. But we're playing for now and the future, and we've got the youngest team in the league.

The fact that it's competitive and poised to do well even if we get a 20% cap reduction next year should make you praise JR and Hurney, not compare them to a toad of an owner because they sacrificed next year for now.

[Squirrel]

Oh I agree with the salary dumping this year. Smart move in a uncap year. But not to address needs by signing players is what I question. But I still question Richardson objective. He is acting liking a man with only a dime to his name. Cut office staff earlier this year. Not want to extend Fox ( which is legit reason right now), Not signing any big name FA, not working on contracts with Dwill, Beason and Kalil.

Rumblings he wants to buy land near the stadium and with he ousted his kids. He is hording money is it for the pending lockout, new Stadium, parking lot or is he trying to buy a partner out? Something is going on and the only way to know is from Jerry's mouth.

I like the team think they will do well this season but we are going to have growing pains this season. Not to sure about the QB and WR positon but the rest is solid and are easy fixes next season if need be.

[iamcline]

Not sure I would understand the new stadium deal, I mean hell this one is barely hitting 15 years old.

[King Taharqa]

Football is perhaps the professional sport that has not been totally ruined by money. That is what JR is trying to preserve, and why I don't mind not going after TO, Boldin, etc.

What??? NFL owners are some of the greediest out there.