Rebranding to the Hornets with Hornets sale in the future?

[joerrad]

How great would it be to have the Hornets re-branded with what looks to be their upcoming sale. The Hornets name then be shifted back to Charlotte!!!

[ziggy]

I'll disagree with the rebranding. I managed to build up a fairly substantial hate with the Hornets and George Shinn when they left town and I would have a really, REALLY difficult time pulling for that team or the teal and purple colors again.

[Scottley Crue]

I'll disagree with the rebranding. I managed to build up a fairly substantial hate with the Hornets and George Shinn when they left town and I would have a really, REALLY difficult time pulling for that team or the teal and purple colors again.

I'm with you, Ziggy. The Hornets haven't been here for a long time. They are in the past. This team should build it's own identity separate from the Hornets and it's doing that with the Bobcats.

[WAM9]

Agreed. I used to love the Hornets with all my soul but I wouldn't want to pull for them again.

It's like getting back with your old girlfriend. You always remember the reasons she was your EX girlfriend.

[Dcarnys]

Hearing about the team being renamed honestly is really getting old in my opinion.

[BlockParty]

I'd rather take a sharp stick in the eye over rooting for any team with Hornets in the name.

[Toocool]

Most of these BCP guys have survived through everything. Ziggy and co. survived the Bobcats era of the Fine Ham Biscuit and McInnis starting, Bickerstaff and watching Crash develop into an All-star. To rebrand the Bobcats back to the Hornets would be like destroying every good memory...and lots of bad ones that are the proof of their survival. I rather rebrand the Bobcats to something else, but not Hornets. That era of Shinn is gone.

It is a myth that Ziggy wasn't bald before the FHB era...just putting that out there.

[kickazzz2000]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5887687

[ziggy]

It is a myth that Ziggy wasn't bald before the FHB era...just putting that out there.

Sammy V made a whole lot of people pull there hair out that year :biggrin:

[IshHappens]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5887687
Haha, karma.

[ammofan]

Well I think the rebranding will happen, ESPECIALLY if the Hornets name is available. We may not want a change as diehard Bobcats fans but MJ and the team would realize that Charlotte still recognizes Charlotte Basketball as the Hornets, not the Bobcats. It would probably be in best interest of the team to change to the hornets again.

[IshHappens]

http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae320/AlDavisIsOld/hornets-lj-chris-paulcopy.jpg

:g:

[Dcarnys]

http://i983.photobucket.com/albums/ae320/AlDavisIsOld/hornets-lj-chris-paulcopy.jpg

:g:

Im not gonna lie, thats just too weird in so many different ways.

[BIGCatBobcat]

I think they did a great job rebranding from http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/8/85/Charlotte_Bobcats.svg to http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/a/a1/NewCharlotteBobcatsalternatelogo.gif

[Mustachio]

This has been discussed a billion times but i for one would welcome it. It makes sense. Hornets actually had historic significance here. If New Orleans is gonna get bought have them change brands and give us our name back. I personally wouldnt mind seeing them keep the new colors. kind of integrating our new team into our old one. 343

[Demon DeaCat]

I'd be for it. If we were to change our name, Hornets is the one I'd want. I know we can't un-do what happened in the past, but it would be gratifying in a nostalgic way to get our team back, so to speak. Of course I'm fine if we remain the Bobcats as well.

[Twan's Kin]

If we changed the name back to the Hornets, we'd have to get Kelly Tripucka to do some radio commentary for us. LOL.

[Brad]

I'd love to have the Hornets again, but with the Bobcats colors and a different look and feel.

I even started a blog ... http://charlottehornets.wordpress.com/

[westbrook08]

If new orleans moves or even better,gets contracted,i not only want the name back but the team history too.Look,i love the bobcats just like you guys,but i remember being 11 years old when the hornets came to charlotte and how excited me and everyone else where.they're was a true love affair with the colors,hugo,mugsy,the hive,and ric flair doing recordings to pump the crowd up @ the arena.Having an NBA team in charlotte is still an honor,and we should all recognize that,but i will NEVER feel the way seeing a bobcats logo as i did the first time i saw the hornets one.I know alot of people say that they have a bad association with the name now because of shinn.But F*#k shinn,that was our team! I remember hoping and praying that we could get the new arena and that he would sell to jordan or bob johnson,and how much it hurt when my team left.To me,this rights 2 wrongs.It gives us our team back with the name,colors,new arena,and owner that we all wanted way back then,while giving a big middle finger to shinn,and it also takes the bob johnson era away from charlotte for good.We don't need to keep the bobcats name to feel like real fans.I think it will be kind of cool because those of us who lived through this can kind of talk about it like the AFL or ABA days older fans do.That's just how i feel,but i know some of you feel that way too!

[BlockParty]

Whether it is intentional or not (and I doubt that it is intentional), continuing to bring up the Hornets and contemplating using their name helps keep the 'legacy' of George Shinn alive. I hope New Orleans drops the name, though I doubt a team remains in NO for more than 3 years as it's just not financially possible to support 2 professional teams in a city that size when the threat of natural disaster will ALWAYS exist. Whenever the NBA leaves NO, I hope the name falls by the wayside.

We are the Bobcats, we've always been the Bobcats, the Hornets left Charlotte on their own, and the scumbag Shinn even paid $30M penalty to make it happen. Ironic that he got a $10M cut of the $300M Robert Johnson paid for the Charlotte franchise.

for all the Hornets fans..it's time to move on...It would be similar to wearing a John Riggins jersey every Sunday and talking about how good the Redskins running game is...news flash...the Redskins are only good if you compare them to the Panthers....we are in a different place now.

[adam187]

If new orleans moves or even better,gets contracted,i not only want the name back but the team history too.Look,i love the bobcats just like you guys,but i remember being 11 years old when the hornets came to charlotte and how excited me and everyone else where.they're was a true love affair with the colors,hugo,mugsy,the hive,and ric flair doing recordings to pump the crowd up @ the arena.Having an NBA team in charlotte is still an honor,and we should all recognize that,but i will NEVER feel the way seeing a bobcats logo as i did the first time i saw the hornets one.I know alot of people say that they have a bad association with the name now because of shinn.But F*#k shinn,that was our team! I remember hoping and praying that we could get the new arena and that he would sell to jordan or bob johnson,and how much it hurt when my team left.To me,this rights 2 wrongs.It gives us our team back with the name,colors,new arena,and owner that we all wanted way back then,while giving a big middle finger to shinn,and it also takes the bob johnson era away from charlotte for good.We don't need to keep the bobcats name to feel like real fans.I think it will be kind of cool because those of us who lived through this can kind of talk about it like the AFL or ABA days older fans do.That's just how i feel,but i know some of you feel that way too!

This is EXACTLY how I feel.

[WarioVsMooChicken]

The Bobcats, as a team and as a franchise, are not the Hornets in any sense. They are 2 totally seperate units. Believing that a simple change of label will have any effect on the experience is being dilusional. The Bobcats are NOT the Hornets, people need to stop being so biased towards a freaken name simply because they are nostalgic.

The name doesn't matter, the product does. It's sad to see so many "fans" worry about things that don't matter in the least.

[TheDorkLord]

As much as I loved the Hornets before Shinn screwed everything up I don't think I could deal with having the name back again. I look at the Charlotte Hornets as something in the past. Now, if we really wanted to go back and use an old name let's go with the Cougars. We would have a lot of young guys excited about coming to our games that never thought about being a Bobcats fan before.

[JayTeeBeeTee]

Being born and raised in Charlotte, the Hornets were my team. Were. Great name, I love the historical significance. But now the Bobcats are my team. I don't like the name. Bobcats aren't vicious animals being only slightly larger than domesticated cats and I've never seen one in Charlotte before. What do we have in Charlotte... Trees. The Area we live in is a Temperate Rainforest. We should be called the "Carolina Forest." Why not follow the Carolina Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes and go with "Carolina" again. I mean at least be the Carolina Bobcats b/c that's where they live, not in Charlotte. Plus Forest contains all the creatures of the world. We could all dress up like any animal we wanted to and have insane beast chants during the games! Also we could stimulate the economy in Charlotte by making them a "Green" NBA Franchise, but that's a longer story. Long Story Short, Green and Brown, Carolina Forest!!

[BlockParty]

As part of the City of Charlotte's deal with the NBA when they decided to build the Arena, CHARLOTTE has to be in the team's name. This brings brand identity to Charlotte from a nationwide perspective.

We are the Bobcats

[ND22]

I'm going to go off the ex-girlfriend thing. Sure, she shares some of the best memories of your life, hell you even got engaged. Then the wedding came and she bolted, and days later you found out she was sleeping with some guy named Pablo.

The Hornets are gone, and I think its best we moved on. A re-branding isn't going to change the team or how they play.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

Being born and raised in Charlotte, the Hornets were my team. Were. Great name, I love the historical significance. But now the Bobcats are my team. I don't like the name. Bobcats aren't vicious animals being only slightly larger than domesticated cats and I've never seen one in Charlotte before. What do we have in Charlotte... Trees. The Area we live in is a Temperate Rainforest. We should be called the "Carolina Forest." Why not follow the Carolina Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes and go with "Carolina" again. I mean at least be the Carolina Bobcats b/c that's where they live, not in Charlotte. Plus Forest contains all the creatures of the world. We could all dress up like any animal we wanted to and have insane beast chants during the games! Also we could stimulate the economy in Charlotte by making them a "Green" NBA Franchise, but that's a longer story. Long Story Short, Green and Brown, Carolina Forest!!I have discussed calling the team the "Carolina" Bobcats with guys on this forum in the past and they have told me it can't be done. They also don't like it. My reasoning for naming the team the Carolina Bobcats or whatever other nickname the team may have if changed is that calling the team Charlotte Bobcats kind of leaves out the other parts of the Carolinas the team is supposed to represent. I always hated that the Broncos of Denver Colorado were named after the city as opposed to the state of Colorado. When an NHL team came back to Colorado it was named after the state in the name first as opposed to the states biggest city. The MLB team also was named after the state being first in the name. It just seems that Charlotte Carolina is the only city at this time worthy of being a place for professional sports so why not allow the rest of the state to share the team through the name Carolina Bobcats? It just seems that is the way to make all of the Carolinas representative of the team. Since I am told that can not happen I will let this go but I do think it is all y'alls loss. It would definitely be better for marketing and I think people would take notice more.

I bring up the Broncos and Colorado because I grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

[teej]

It just seems that Charlotte Carolina is the only city at this time worthy of being a place for professional sports so why not allow the rest of the state to share the team through the name Carolina Bobcats?

Raliegh is a quality host of the Hurricanes, so that's not entirely true.

And legally, it cannot happen until 2034 I believe.

[Woodsy23]

i agree with rebranding. the name bobcats has brought nothing but failure in basketballing terms. but rebranding to the Hornets would be a step in the wrong direction, we need to rebrand and make a huge deal about it, get the wider community involved etc. Brand and name is Very important, and im sorry but Bobcats? really its the dumbest name ever we may aswell be called the 'Charlotte pussy cats'. I think Charlotte Devils has a ring to it and its Hardcore, passionate, and instills fear.

[IshHappens]

If new orleans moves or even better,gets contracted,i not only want the name back but the team history too.Look,i love the bobcats just like you guys,but i remember being 11 years old when the hornets came to charlotte and how excited me and everyone else where.they're was a true love affair with the colors,hugo,mugsy,the hive,and ric flair doing recordings to pump the crowd up @ the arena.Having an NBA team in charlotte is still an honor,and we should all recognize that,but i will NEVER feel the way seeing a bobcats logo as i did the first time i saw the hornets one.I know alot of people say that they have a bad association with the name now because of shinn.But F*#k shinn,that was our team! I remember hoping and praying that we could get the new arena and that he would sell to jordan or bob johnson,and how much it hurt when my team left.To me,this rights 2 wrongs.It gives us our team back with the name,colors,new arena,and owner that we all wanted way back then,while giving a big middle finger to shinn,and it also takes the bob johnson era away from charlotte for good.We don't need to keep the bobcats name to feel like real fans.I think it will be kind of cool because those of us who lived through this can kind of talk about it like the AFL or ABA days older fans do.That's just how i feel,but i know some of you feel that way too!
This is pretty much my opinion too.

[BobCatsFanInTx]

Raleigh is a quality host of the Hurricanes, so that's not entirely true.

And legally, it cannot happen until 2034 I believe.On the first part you are correct about Raleigh being a quality host of the Hurricanes of the NHL and that could possibly open the door for MLB expansion. However to add to that point the Hurricanes like the Panthers had the intelligence to name their teams the CAROLINA Hurricanes and the CAROLINA Panthers. For a basketball team trying to forge it's own identity it seems to me to be a mistake to name the team Charlotte anything. The name Charlotte in NBA terms connects to the past when the Hornets were there.

Keeping the name CHARLOTTE till 2034 in my opinion was a mistake. The team could have been seen more as a team of all the Carolina's as opposed to just Charlotte. If the state was somehow going to add another NBA team in the near future I could see naming the team after the host city but it is not likely going to happen till we are all flying cars as opposed to driving them on the ground. When you all had the Hornets the name Charlotte made more sense since the team name had a connection to the city. The name Bobcats has no real connection to the city but it does have a connection to much of both Carolina's.

All in all it is no big deal but I think those involved with bringing the Bobcats to Charlotte and ALL the Carolina's dropped the ball by not naming the team the Carolina Bobcats.

[Demon DeaCat]

No offense to our South Carolina bretheren, but as a native North Carolinian, it's always been a pet peeve of mine that the two states are often lumped together as though they are one and the same. They are two different states, each with their own rich, but distinct, histories and identities. I would be opposed to the name "Carolina" on that basis. As long as it was the North Carolina whatever, I'd be fine with that.

[teej]

Keeping the name CHARLOTTE till 2034 in my opinion was a mistake. The team could have been seen more as a team of all the Carolina's as opposed to just Charlotte. If the state was somehow going to add another NBA team in the near future I could see naming the team after the host city but it is not likely going to happen till we are all flying cars as opposed to driving them on the ground. When you all had the Hornets the name Charlotte made more sense since the team name had a connection to the city. The name Bobcats has no real connection to the city but it does have a connection to much of both Carolina's.

When Shinn took the Hornets and Stern announced an expansion to Charlotte for '04, the lease agreement for the arena that was required to be built stipulated that, just as the new team could not leave the lease for 30 years without paying a heavy exit penalty, they would be named Charlotte for the entirety of the lease. Because Stern had already announced the team to Charlotte, the locals had all the bargaining chips on their side, and since Charlotte was the only one involved with the negotiations (only Charlotte tax raises for the building, etc.) the rest of the Carolinas had no voice in it. Also, if you look at all the major cities (which Charlotte wants to be), they all have city-named sports teams. The Los Angeles Lakers/Dodgers/Angels/Clippers/Kings, the New York Yankees/Giants/Jets/Mets/Knicks, the Dallas Cowboys/Mavericks/Stars, the Chicago Bulls/Bears/Cubs/White Sox, the Boston Red Sox/Celtics/Bruins, even the Atlanta Hawks/Thrashers/Falcons and most of all the Atlanta Braves, who have the largest reach as far as local fans. They do advertising from Alabama to Virginia! Only the minor-league cities (outside NE Patriots, Texas Rangers, and Colorado Rockies) name the team after the state/region. As with all other issues, if your team has enough history and winning, the fans will come regardless of the name.