Bobcats Planet name: Ziggy
Real name (first only): John
Age: 42
Current City: Huntersville
Hometown: Charlotte
Occupation: Systems Analyst / SQL Developer / I.T. Geek

1) How did you choose your screen name?
At that time I was watching season 2 of the Wire (The best TV show ever) and there was a character named Ziggy that was fascinating. He was the ultimate underdog, Hence Ziggy (the BobcatsPlanet version) was born.

2) Could you tell us a little about where you grew up and about your family?
I grew up in Charlotte and had a very good childhood. At the time that I grew up (I'm sounding like an old geezer now) Kids all over the neighborhood were always outside playing and having a good time. There was always something fun to do and someone to play with. It was a good time to grow up.

3) Did you play in any sports or where you involved with any High School clubs and such?
I played pickup ball daily around the neighborhood whether it was 110 degrees or 14 degrees. I remember my friends and I shoveling snow off of the court so that we could play. It's odd, but I never tried out for the high school team.

4) What is your fondest memory of your teenage years?
There are so many, Hanging out with friends and family during the summer, getting my drivers license at 16, vacations to the beach. Nothing really extraordinary, but it was all good times.

5) What was your first job?
At 17 I worked at the old CharlotteTowne Cinema. Its long gone and I believe that a Home Depot & Target now sit where it used to be. It was fun job, you got to see all of the movies for free, you got to pilfer popcorn, the managment would let you have the movie posters ( I have an original Purple Rain movie poster somewhere in storage ) and of course you got to chat with all of the high school girls that came in to see the movies...That was a big plus in my book.

6) What lead to your dedicated following of the Bobcat's?
I was a rabid Hornets fan when they were in town. I supported them all the way from Dave Hoppen (shudder), through Alonzo Morning, until the final days of B-Diddy in Charlotte. Once Shinn packed up and moved, I still followed the NBA, but it was hard to get emotionally attached to it until the Bobcats came to town.

7) Could you tell us one of your favorite memories of the Bobcat's? The triple overtime victory against the Lakers tops the list, Adam Morrison going off for 26 points against the T-Wolves in the second half was fun (who knew that would be the pinnacle of his NBA career), I enjoyed Emeka's almost triple double against the Knicks a few years back (He was one lousy rebound away)

8 ) How did you find the Bobcats Planet and what keeps you active on the site?
I found it in December 2005 when I created it :-) I had a good friend that I worked with back then, and we would take a 15 minute break in the afternoons and sit outside and talk. During those 15 minutes we would usually debate politics, work, religion, the economy etc. At that time I was griping about creating yet another piece of code for some pinhead middle management banker, and he encouraged me to take some of my coding skills and create something fun that I would enjoy... And BobcatsPlanet was born!
What keeps me active is the great community, I truly believe that this site contains THE most diehard Bobcats fans out there.

9) What other sports teams do you follow?
NFL and Golf

10) When you're not on Bobcats Planet what could you likely be found doing with your spare time? Hanging out with my kids, helping with homework, teaching my son how to fish, going to see a movie, reading (I'm tyrying to teach my kids that you don't need a TV or videogame for entertainment, All you need is a good book).

11) If you could have one moment being part of the Bobcats organization, what would it be?
I would love to sit in at the draft workouts and listen in on discussions when they are evaluating potential draftees. That would be HUGE fun.

12) How many trips have you made to the Time Warner Cable Arena?
Maybe 20-ish total, I usually make it to about 4 or 5 games a year. With my kids' schedules (music lessons, dance lessons, sports, homework etc ) its hard to free myself up for a midweek game at 7pm

13) What is your worst fear?
Real Life fear:
My worst Real-Life fear is that something would happen to me like an accident or health problems and I wouldn't be around to see my kids grow up
Basketball fear:
My worst basketball fear is that the Bobcats will have decades of being irrelavant (see Bucks comma Milwaukee)

14) What type of hobbies do you enjoy?
Movies, Reading, Golf. Over the past few year I have gone from a casual golfer to insanely obsessed golfer back to somewhere in the middle. Golf can be more addictive than crack.

15) What's your favorite food?
A big juicy steak

16) Where are some of the places you've been, and where are some of your favorites.
Bahamas, Vegas, Just about all of the southern states and those on the East Coast. I'd like to make it up to Canada soon. My favorite place is anywhere with a beach, I can literally sit and stare at the ocean water all day and be happy.

17) What is one thing you've always wanted to do, but haven't done yet in your lifetime?
Be self employed... I'm working on that though ;-)

18 ) If you could live anywhere where would it be?
Bahamas

19) Name your favorite 3 Bobcats all time and explain the reason for one of them.
1. Gerald Wallace - nobody plays harder than him. He has to be #1
2. Jared Dudley - I'm glad that we got Boris and Raja, but I wish that we could have hung on to Dudley. He wasn't the most athletic, but he always seemed to be in the right place at the right time making the smart play.
3a. DJ Augustin - Have you seen this kid shoot the ball??
3b. Emeka Okafor - The first draft pick for the 'Cats. Emeka could move up to #1 on the list if just once or twice per season he would knock somebody on their ass. An elbow to the back of the head, A forearm to windpipe.... something.

20) Up to this date, what is one of your favorite Bobcats Planet memories?
There are a bunch, The 2009 draft chat was hilarious, The potentially Epic Sam Vincent photoshop thread, The Fire Sam Vincent thread, and the hundreds of Sean May jokes that are scattered all over the site

21) Anything else you'd like to add?
I'm glad that all of you guys like the site and I hope that it continues to grow with each season

Who would you like to nominate to be interviewed next? TheBeagle