Tom Benson, New Owner Of Hornets, Would Like To Change The Name "tomorrow"!

[Who Dat Pat]

This story is from yesterday. Although many in New Orleans have grown fond of Hornets, especially with all the fighting to keep the team over past 3 years, it looks like the purchase clears the way for Charlotte to get Hornets name back.

Earlier on Friday, Dan Devine relayed the news that the NBA had officially sold the New Orleans Hornets to the Tom Benson, who also owns the New Orleans Saints. Benson, not satisfied to be the owner of just one pro sports team with an area-appropriate nickname (as in, "When the Saints Go Marching In"), isn't happy with owning a team in New Orleans called "the Hornets." The team was originally named in tribute to North Carolina's steadfast, guerrilla-styled defense of its soon-to-be-state during the Revolutionary War, a defense which led to an English general referring to the area as "a veritable nest of hornets." Apparently Louisiana gave no such defense. Way to go, guys. Here's Benson's take on the name change:

Benson said he is also trying to change the name of the NBA team to better fit the ambiance, culture and charm of New Orleans. "We need to find a name like (Jazz)," Benson said, referring to New Orleans first NBA team that relocated to Salt Lake City in 1979. "Whether we can get that or let us use that, you've got to know we're working on it. We'd like to change it tomorrow. We have not gotten that approved, but we're not letting up on it, either. Because we've got a good relationship with the commissioner and his people and we're going to be on them daily to do something."

Sounds good to us. We've got some suggestions for Benson, though, considering that the nickname "Jazz" has already been taken by those Chinese Music (that's not an insult, check the link) purveyors in Utah. Here's a few suggestions:

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/tom-benson-orleans-hornets-owner-change-team-name-224908070.html

[ckad79]

First off, I was just searching Google about Tom Benson and an article came up, which was titled: "New Orleans Hornets owner Tom Benson is feeling invigorated and ready to go after an NBA title" Below that was a photo of Benson for the article.

I hate to see what he looks like when he isn't feeling invigorated! haha

First off, as far as the name change goes... Tom Benson gets it because he's from New Orleans and has a passion for the city and cares deeply about New Orleans. I think some people are arguing against keeping the Bobcats name because they have no connection to Charlotte and don't understand what the big deal is in a different name or any name for that matter.

To put it simple, it's one thing to cheer on your local team when it is struggling but cheer on a team still that represents your city compared to cheering on a team that is struggling but a team that you feel never really represented your city in any regard. Its almost like the Bobcats have to be good to be liked. The Hornets had to the Charlotte Hornets to be liked. That's the difference.

The Hornets struggled during many seasons in Charlotte, but the fans still showed because the Hornets were Charlotte's team. Whether people in Charlotte realized that they were or not, and how far they grew apart after the George Shinn fiasco, they were still their team.

Yes, people did fill the stands for a number of reasons. Having regional talent on the payroll like Muggsy from Wake Forest, Rex Champman from Kentucky, JR Reid from UNC, Dell Curry from Virginia Tech, etc, didn't hurt. BUT it also helped that team's name "the Hornets" was connected to the city's history and the city of Charlotte knew that "the Hornets" were there team.

The same can't be said for the Bobcats. People don't like changes. Just look at the Washington Wizards. The name change from the Bullets to the Wizards failed so badly that the team has resorted to changing their jerseys to look just like the old Bullets jersey. Who are they fooling? People hate the Wizards because its a name just as lame and as meaningless as the Bobcats.

Tom Benson gets it. It's one thing to cheer on a team that sucks that is YOUR team. It's another to cheer on a team that SUCKS that you feel no connection to. The people in New Orleans love their Saints because the Saints are New Orleans, right down to their black and gold uniforms. You can argue that people aren't "connected" to "the Bobcats" because we aren't winning, but it's more than that. It's sort of like having a child of your own. If your kid struggles, you'll still love them and support them. If its a neighbors kid and their not doing too well, you care - but only so much! haha

The Bobcats have always felt that that neighbor's kid. Part of it was Bob Johnson and Michael's fault for not selling the organization to the community better, but its a little late to do any sort of rebranding on a failed product. It's time to start over and preferable with something that has worked before.

If I was Michael, I'd start over. Now is a great time. You're coming off what could be the worst season in NBA history for any team. Why not dump the old name and start over fresh. You might have the top pick in the draft. Let's just say, "the Bobcats struggled. The Bobcats are no more. We are now the Hornets."

Its sort of like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers when they switched from the old orange uniforms to the new ones, made the logo more agressive, changed the coach, etc. It was like they were saying, "the old old pirate on the helmet was as pathetic as the old Bucs team. These are the new Bucs. Forget the past... we are are moving on".

I think Michael and the Bobcats need to move on. The Bobcats were a failed experiment. Let's wrap up the Bobcats and toss it out and start over fresh.

[King Taharqa]

As stated earlier, all rebrand info, comments, etc should go in the Rebrand thread. Spamming the board will only lead to me closing that one as well. Feel privileged, rebrand threads get CLOSED on GP in the main forum. I'm nice enough to let you guys continue the fantasy.