Rebrand Hornets

[John Morgan]

Being an asinine jerk is one thing (wouldn't be a message board without 'em), but honestly, mods...how is blatant, unfettered racism ok on your boards?

[Sapper]

It could be named after a rich black person and that pisses people off. It should be named after the white people who fought in the Hornets Nest Rebellion 200 years ago. Then we can feel good about it and really feel like its ours. Our ancestors are rolling over in their graves knowing our money and resources support a black owned business. We need to whitewash the Bobs so they belong to us. Derp Derp!

What about this movement has anything to do with race KT?

[MadHatter]

What about this movement has anything to do with race KT?

Everything is about race to KT.

If Jordan or Johnson were white....KT would want them run out of town. There is absolutely in any decision that these two made that even comes close to successful. they have screwed up EVERY draft pick we have had....they have made God Awful Trades.....they have almost made even worse trades (Jordan often backing out of "done deals" once the media informs him that we are getting raped)....in short they have managed to put together the absolute worst roster in the HISTORY of the NBA. We consistently get blown out by 25+ points a game.

He is wrong aboaut them just as he was wrong about Richardson....claimed JR was a racist and would NEVER support a black QB.

[thatlookseasy]

Being an asinine jerk is one thing (wouldn't be a message board without 'em), but honestly, mods...how is blatant, unfettered racism ok on your boards?

Considering very few mods even come on the NBA/ Bobcats forum, I doubt any of them read this post. Especially since it is 10 pages deep in a thread that consists mostly of a bitter back and forth "dialogue" revolving around the same points brought up on the first page

[King Taharqa]

If a rich local white man owned the Cats no one would be emboldened to tell them to rebrand. Any of you guys in their 12 losing seasons ask the Panthers to rebrand to the Hornets? And we've had a pro football team called the Hornets here before. Face it, the Bobs represent an upward mobility thatpeople resent. Which is why they yearn so bad to control something they have no power to. Stick Bruton Smith in the owners box and all that off the court hate goes away.

[Porn Shop Clerk]

the charlotte bubbacats

[NanuqoftheNorth]

What exactly so bad about the Bobcats name? Why people want to re brand? I don't get it.

Good question, thanks for asking. I think the best way to relate it to you is to compare a successful business with a less than successful business. In this case BMW and GM.

BMW builds a quality product that they sell a premium price, they even have a famous tag line they have used for as long as I can remember: "BMW, The Ultimate Driving Machine". When you hear it, you know what it means and you have a clear expectation of quality performance. BMW never lets any one of its models get so old it is not competitive in the market place. They can't always be number one in their full range of automobiles that they offer but their cars are competitive and they have a good business plan to rotate their vehicles on a regular basis so they never get too old. Because of this they seldom need to change model names. How long has the 3 series been around?

GM on the other hand tends to keep their models on the market longer and often beyond obsolescence. The results: Many of their products are not competitive and end up being sold at huge losses or to rental fleets. When they do get around to updating the model they have to re brand the car because the image is so tarnished after years of neglect the average consumer will not consider buying it. An example would be the Cruse/Cobalt/Caviler. Anyone know what Chevy's tag line is? Chevy Runs Deep! What they hell does that have to do with anything, are they building submarines?

Which of these qualities do the Bobcats most closely emulate?

Uncompetitive Product YIYO / Competitive Product YIYO

Giving it away / Commanding a premium price,

People not even considering the product / On a waiting list to purchase

I don't think it is difficult to see what GM already knows, you can only screw up a product for so many years before you have to re brand yourself. That doesn't mean when you do, it guarantees success, but it does bring in customers that otherwise would not consider your product. You still have to redesign your product, it needs to be competitive within the marketplace and hopefully you learn your lesson and develop a better business plan like BMW or you will be right back where you started within a few years.

.

[MadHatter]

If a rich local white man owned the Cats no one would be emboldened to tell them to rebrand. Any of you guys in their 12 losing seasons ask the Panthers to rebrand to the Hornets? And we've had a pro football team called the Hornets here before. Face it, the Bobs represent an upward mobility thatpeople resent. Which is why they yearn so bad to control something they have no power to. Stick Bruton Smith in the owners box and all that off the court hate goes away.

People don't support the Bobcats because they have an African America owner....so, it has nothing to do with the fact that the team SUCKS...and that every move the ownership has made has been a disaster....terrible draft picks....terrible trades....etc.

Most of us could care less about the color of a man's skin.....KT, that is ALL that you DO care about.

[cnssgo]

Bobcats can repair their image without rebrand by simply bringing in better talent though FA and the draft and possibly a new coach. All we need is a team that can be competitive yearly. I know the FO been failing to do that but the recent hire of Cho can improve that. We should be more concern bout signing good talent instead rebranding. How rebranding going do anything for us if the team still horribly suck? No one still won't go to games, we'll just be same sorry ass team with diff brand. Winning games and playoff game will improve attendance regardless of our brand.

[Sapper]

I don't think I have ever heard anyone say that they don't like the Bobcats because of black ownership.

The Hornets were loathed toward the end here because George Shinn (who is white btw) was hated.

The Bobcats aren't popular because management has sucked.

[Proudiddy]

It could be named after a rich black person and that pisses people off. It should be named after the white people who fought in the Hornets Nest Rebellion 200 years ago. Then we can feel good about it and really feel like its ours. Our ancestors are rolling over in their graves knowing our money and resources support a black owned business. We need to whitewash the Bobs so they belong to us. Derp Derp!

And you finally let it out KT.

We've agreed on so much over the years and yet, this time you throw me and many others under the bus for something that has nothing to do with race for us, but has everything to do with race for you.

I don't care who fought in that battle 200 some years ago that earned the "Hornets" reputation... They could've been Bob Johnson himself or Billy Bob Thornton. What resonates with me is the reputation of the people in this area and in this state. That those people who did fight were so feisty that they earned the reputation of a "Hornet's Nest."

That's something that everyone in this region can take pride in.

That's something that can unite people of the region. People like being recognized as tough, resilient, rebellious for the right reasons, etc. Black, white, green, yellow, orange... It doesn't matter. People can take pride in that reputation and that identity.

For you to bring race into the equation here is incredibly simple minded. You couldn't find someone more hyped when Bob Johnson bought the team. Although I initially liked the idea of the Bird group getting it because of his basketball experience in playing, coaching, and front office positions, I was stoked to have the first minority owner in sports. I liked the idea of people knowing North Carolina wasn't what they thought it was... We ARE progressive.

But, then BJ flailed and failed. Named the team after himself despite there being 2 other names in the running and he disregarded them to toot his own horn, CSET, TV14, horrible TV contracts, arena deal, poor marketing, little involvement in the community, and the list goes on.

It has nothing to do with being black, it has everything to do with him venturing into a business and making some idiotic mistakes. Not every businessman is able to succeed in pro sports and there are many stories that bare that out over the years from people of all walks of life.

BJ sucked as an owner, he made horrible decisions that still haunt the franchise to this day. He failed in this business venture. We were given a name and brand that was assigned to the team without the approval of fans. Which was fine, it was his team and I was rolling with it as long as he took us to success. He didn't.

MJ bought the team and a new era was started. So, why not signify moving forward from a horrible time with a rebrand to a name that involves the fans?

Again, I love the Royals. Flight possibly. And Hornets would be awesome if it became available. This "brand" has never been strong and despite our 8 years of existence, there is very poor brand recognition and loyalty. And for people that never gave Bob Johnson a chance, it is even more of a reason for them to remain unengaged and uninvolved as fans. For people like me who loved the opportunity Bob Johnson gave us with another franchise and was excited about his potential as an owner, it is sour grapes. It reminds me of all the failures and of how I've been alienated as a fan repeatedly. It reminds me of the money I PUT IN TO THIS FRANCHISE and how I was continuously disrespected and disregarded.

You can keep saying "we don't need fairweather fans" or "we don't need no fans that ain't charlotteans!" but you couldn't be further from the truth. As often as you want to refer to black or white... Let's talk about another important color. It's GREEN. You might recognize it from its appearances in our U.S. currency. And guess what, everyone got the same color money, and the Bobcats can use all they can get. Ask MJ.

So, if renaming it would be a bonus to a portion of loyal Bobcats fans such as myself and also bring in casual fans who won't give the Bobcats a chance and bring more profits and brand recognition. Do it. Otherwise, this forum will go from "Bobcats" to "NBA" in a few years because we will lose yet another team.

Oh and a few questions to chew on:

How come only Bob counts as a black owner and MJ doesn't?

Does changing the name from Bobcats turn MJ into a white guy?

[King Taharqa]

Diddy 99% of your posts are pessimistic swipes at the Bobs, including the thread you just made. The other day you were on some fug the Bobs, fug Mr. Johnson blah, blah. You're not a LOYAL fan. Loyal fans dont try to whitewash the teams they love. Loyal fans arent as self defeatist and insecure as you act towards the Bobs. Ever ask the Panthers for a rebrand? Hell no. No matter how you spin it, the nostalgists will be remembered as quitters and sellouts to Charlottes team. Us true Bob fans are beneath you, you claim we dont exist.

[NanuqoftheNorth]

Bobcats can repair their image without rebrand by simply bringing in better talent though FA and the draft and possibly a new coach. All we need is a team that can be competitive yearly. I know the FO been failing to do that but the recent hire of Cho can improve that. We should be more concern bout signing good talent instead rebranding. How rebranding going do anything for us if the team still horribly suck? No one still won't go to games, we'll just be same sorry ass team with diff brand. Winning games and playoff game will improve attendance regardless of our brand.

cnssgo, to an extent that is true, just like if GM started building higher quality vehicles (they are) more people would consider the brand. Still there are people that all they have heard for years from their friends is how GM sucks and took a bailout. They are never going to consider buying GM ever. Suggest a Honda and not only will they buy it, they will pay more for it, even though the performance of the two cars may be essentially the same. That is greater profit for similiar product. If that happens often enough which brand will fail?

In the Bobcats case the re branding cost has to be considered but the renewed excitement generated and all the new gear sales, especially during the first Christmas would be a big boost to the bottom line. It may even pay for itself over the course of only a few years, maybe less. If we were lucky enough to get Davis, it would be the perfect time to make the switch. Each event feeding off the other would create the sort of synergy this team hasn't experience since its inaugural season.

Then again, it could all be a big failure. It is fun to discuss (for most of us) but there are no guarantees. You could be right.

[Proudiddy]

Go back and search the forum history KT, then let me know how your "99% of your posts are pessimistic swipes at the Bobs" statement holds up. It doesn't. I've posted about news with the franchise, draft news, player rumors, etc. Numerous threads that didn't mention anything about us sucking or any negativity whatsoever.

I have been a loyal fan and will continue to do so but again, this season has been a tipping point of my frustrations with our team. And as a fan, and a fan that has spent money to support this franchise, I can speak on the things I don't like and my worries and concerns with our team. You're entitled to your opinion, but it's clear that you aren't looking at things objectively here.

You also failed to answer any of my questions and instead just resorted to insulting me again which is why I gave up on this thread/issue and only replied because you brought race into it. Which is also insulting.

In reply to the rest of your vitriol:

What exactly do you mean "whitewash"?

As far as my "f*ck list" this was it:

F*ck Bob Johnson.

F*ck the Brand.

F*ck the f*cking elementary school drawn logo and corny ass construction cone orange that fills it in.

F*ck anyone that isn't willing to change or make changes to make MY TEAM better, more profitable, and more successful.

I didn't say f*ck the Bobcats. I said the brand, the logo, and colors which combined still do not encompass or define a brand.

I'm pissed. Being a fan is frustrating. If I didn't care, I wouldn't be here. If I said f*ck the team and stopped cheering, hoping, and caring, then you would have a case. You don't.

Also, you might want to take into account that the "f*ck list" came about after you repeatedly insulted me and basically anyone else unhappy with our team's current situation as well as anyone who wasn't born and raised in Charlotte.

I wouldn't be as fiery and persistent about things if I didn't care and wasn't an active fan of this team. But, if that argument makes you feel like you're getting somewhere, feel free to carry on. I'll just know to ignore it. Seriously man, you know you're stirring the pot here and you know most of what you're saying is loaded just to piss people off and hopefully shut them up or make them lose all credibility when they snap.

You know and I know the truth, and I really wish you would discuss this like an adult with your peers and fellow fans rather than troll and insult people. You're better than that man.