Carolina or Charlotte “Hornets”? POLL

We asked this question a while back to our followers and got a resounding “NO” with a few “yes” from some of the South Carolinians supporters. Now that we a little larger fan base we like to reintroduce the question of whether or not you would prefer the NBA franchise in Charlotte to be called the Charlotte Hornets or switch things up and hope for larger fan support with the Carolina Hornets?

We at Bring Back The Buzz have our opinion but we will keep that to ourselves

‘Momentum Is Key’

Muggsy Bogues talked with the guys from WFNZ this week and gave his thoughts on how the Hornets name could reinvigorate a stagnant NBA scene in Charlotte.

 

Tricia “Mama Buzz” Kent’s letter to Michael Jordan

Dear Mr. Jordan,

 

I’m 50 years old. That makes us contemporaries in the same generation. I was graduating college and getting married just as you were hitting the big time. My husband and I moved to Charlotte in 1984 and had our oldest son the very year the Hornets first played. For years, our house was a sea of teal and purple punctuated by the occasional Bulls #23. The Hive was a celebration and late-night games on the radio a given. Birthdays and Christmas’ were all about the VHS of Space Jam, the latest Jordans or the video game. I watched our sons grow up loving the Hornets, following everything NBA, and looking up to you like some sort of superhero.

 

Please allow me tell you something about their generation that you and even your children might not realize in your insular world of super-stardom. The horror of 9/11 happened to them at the worst possible time. Our sons were 9 and 13 when suddenly all that was safe and predictable wasn’t. This is fact not melodrama.  Hormone’s hit, grades dropped and they and many of their friends retreated into the security of sports and music. At the bottom of the pit of the worst parenting year I can remember – they lost the Hornets.

 

I am not the least bit surprised that our sons, Scotty and Evan, started Bring Back the Buzz. For ten years they bemoaned, and wished, and what-ifed about their Hornets until they were old enough to take matters into their own hands. They had to try. They had to give it their best shot in order for those wonderful memories from their childhood to be redeemable. It is the one wrong out of many that perhaps they can have a chance to help make right.

 

As a Charlottean I have worked for 28 years in and around the “history” community. I could spend many pages telling you about the American Revolution and the Hornets moniker. I could iterate the countless teams, both professional and amateur that bore the Hornets name. I will always have a deep seated resentment for any and all who allowed Shinn to slink out of town and pilfer this city’s identity.

 

You, Mr. Jordan by virtue of your power and your money have the ability to return to this town a piece of its rightful heritage. That alone would be worth years of PR and marketing. Still, I must confess, what I really want is for you to give back this bit of joy to our sons and their generation, to the parents who bought your gear and to the now young adults who worshiped you and still defend you. With this singular act, you will in turn gain their loyalty and that of their children.

 

It’s now clear that New Orleans will be doing their part.

I call on you, Michael Jordan to step forward and be the hero one more time.

 

Bring Back the Buzz!

Tricia (Mama Buzz) Kent

 

Evan Kent’s Letter to Michael Jordan

Dear Mr. Jordan,

I was there at the first NBA game the Charlotte Coliseum had hosted since George Shinn took the Hornets to New Orleans. I was so pumped at the idea of the NBA coming back to the Queen City. It was October 20, 2003 and the Atlanta Hawks were hosting the Washington Wizards and we had just received the news that our team would be called the Bobcats. My parents were so excited they bought tickets for us to go. The old “Hornets game feeling” was back and I couldn’t resist it. I made a sign that said “Who are these guys? We want the Bobcats”. I walked into the Coliseum and everyone was adorned in Hornets apparel. Nostalgia had never had such a young victim. The memories flooded back, I could practically see Hugo running around the court with a deer head on a plaque to shatter the Buck’s reserve. I could hear the Buzz noise building in my head as the “Hive was Alive”. A swell of pride for my city was in my heart.

Nine years later you would never find a larger advocate for the name change. I’ve been to over ten Bobcats games in that time. I have sat in box seats, was in the arena for draft day when we got Adam Morrison. I’ve sat in the nose bleeds and bought jerseys. But I am embarrassed. Embarrassed of how detached I have become with the identity of a Bobcat. Not the Flight because we are “First In Flight”. Not the Spiders for an arena called “the Charlotte’s Web” and a cheerleading team called “the Black Widows”. Not the Cougars after the original ABA team but “BOB”cats for a man’s ego.

I pity every kid who misses out on what I had as a child. Nothing was like going to a Hornets game. It was a carnival; an atmosphere I have never seen again. Every Thanksgiving my brother and I would conspire on how to get our parents to take us to the game. I would get so giddy that I would ruin it every time and Scotty would get so mad because I couldn’t help but ask my parents if we were going. I know this is redundant but I will never forget the last game on TV. I will never forget listening to 1110 WBT the next morning and listening to their montage of Hornets sound bites. We all cried. They were gone. We didn’t just lose the team of that year. We lost every Hornet ever. We lost Larry Johnson, Alonzo Mourning, Vlade Divac, Muggsy Bogues, Baron Davis, David Wesley, Jamal Mashburn, Bobby Phills etc. I felt robbed of my identity and there was nothing I could do about it.

You have a chance Mr. Jordan to not just change NBA history but a city’s history. You have the ability to impact a community like you haven’t since you retired from the court. You have the ability to make a sacrifice and give us a gift that we will never forget.

Bring Back the Buzz!

Evan Kent

 

Nothing But Hornets

The Charlotte Observer asks readers in a new poll what nickname they favor for Charlotte’s NBA team. You know what to do. ‘Hornets’ has received 87 percent of the vote at the time of this posting.

The Charlotte Hornets Look Circa 2013

New Orleans designer BigDub81 from the Hornets Report came up with this awesome update of the Charlotte Hornets uniforms and logo. I have to say that those unis and the updated Hugo look sick!

 

Major Charlotte Sportswriter Changes Stance

Charlotte Observer sports columnist Tom Sorenson finally realized that the Bobcats brand in Charlotte was going nowhere and expressed his support for a name change in a blog post yesterday. Less than two months ago, he indicated his skepticism about a name change, saying that the Charlotte franchise should invest more in winning than rebranding. But for the NBA to succeed in Charlotte, it needs to do both.

To Tom’s credit, he did say that he respected the grassroots effort and is very responsive to fans’ emails. I would like to think that we persuaded him. Better late than never, welcome aboard Tom!