A message to my OKC friends

[Harvey]

First, I'd like to say welcome to our site. Me and three other original members of this site purchased it from it's original owner for one reason. We love the NEW ORLEANS Hornets. We pay monthly fees to keep this site active so fans of the NEW ORLEANS Hornets can gather and exchange ideas.

You see, thats what it's all about for many of us. NEW ORLEANS.

Thank you for giving OUR team a warm welcome. Your care of our team in our time of tragedy is greatly appreciated. Of course you realize we've been through a traumatic ordeal with Katrina and now Rita. We are battered and tired. In spite of all of these real life issues, we love OUR teams. Of course you understand that we are emotional and protective of whats OURS. I may not like it, but OUR Hornets are in your temporary care. I can't change that. I would if I could. I'll try to make the best of a bad situation. Thats something we're becoming good at though.

I hope your stay here is a long and fun one. When the Hornets return to their home, we hope you come down to visit the new New Orleans and continue to support OUR team.

Are we getting ahead of ourselves? Maybe. Some of us waited a LONG time to get back into the NBA game. The Jazz left without rhyme or reason in the late 70s. It's been a long road back. The NEW ORLEANS fans on this site aren't likely to let go without a fight. Of course you understand. Sure, our dreams and wants may not come true, but give us the opportunity to hope while we rebuild our lives and our community.

Yeah, we'll be touchy and won't embrace many ideas which suggest a different fate for OUR team. Considering that this site is owned by 4 native NEW ORLEANEANS and has a majority membership from the region, I'm sure you'd expect as much. Thats just the way it's going to be.

To those of you who want things to be different, you have a couple of options. You can start your own site and promote any ideas that you wish. If you are paying the bills, that would be your right, just like it's our right here. Heck, you can even do what we did. If you like this site and want to run it as you see fit, bring cash and lots of it, we'll listen. Until then, enjoy your time on OUR NEW ORLEANS based site.

Thanks for your time and cooperation. Right now all we have is hope. We'd be remiss to our New Orleans based brothers who are looking for an escape if we'd allow that to be dashed here.

I speak on my own and not that of my 3 partners. Maybe they see things differently, maybe not. I know one thing. Most of us who are active owners, moderators, members, etc. on this site are bonded by one thing, NEW ORLEANS. Thats not likely to change.

[West Coast Hornet]

Is this part of the AA program?

I am also one of the site's part-owners, although I still have one more bill to pay to THE MAN.

I echo HH's sentiments. We are like a family here. We have our in-fighting (generally good natured), but we are all tightly bonded in this community. That's how much of New Orleans is.

I would like to welcome new fans to the site as well. I don't have much to add to HH's post, so I'll leave it at that and hope for the best.

[say-what]

I'll echo HH's sentiments and add the following.

With OUR sports teams go our hopes, dreams and visions of the future of NOLA and the entire SE Louisiana and Gulf Coast region (well with the way the Saints have been playing...... nevermind ). Anyway, understand that when someone from OKC comes here with dreams of the Hornets maybe staying permanently, you're trampling on the one thing that so many of us have been able to hold onto - our hope for the future, a future that includes the Hornets and the memories of the entertainment that they have provided. So please understand and respect our feelings on this issue. Our nerves may be frayed, but our spirit is not broken and we will fight for what is ours and show little tollerance for anything that suggests otherwise.

Please don't take my comments as suggesting that people from OKC are not welcomed. To the contrary, all fans of the Hornets, wherever they may reside and for whatever reasons they might be fans are welcome here. If there's one thing Southerners know, it's hospitality - but we also know how to deal with rude or unruly guests - so kick back and enjoy yourselves, we'll have plenty of time to discuss the team and a variety of other topics as well.

[BGH]

Although I may not be one of the owners of this site I am a Super Moderator of HR.com and a native of New Orleans. I haven't lived in New Orleans on a regular basis since 1987 but have been back numerous times since. I never wanted to leave New Orleans, but at the time I had no choice. Since that time I have have had to enjoy my teams from a far.

I remember being upset when the Jazz left. I was 8 at the time and I could not understand why they were leaving. I even threw away my one and only New Orleans Jazz t-shirt (could you imagine how much I could have gotten for that shirt on E-bay). Since that time I have seen New Orleans get passed over for a new NBA team. There were the expansions teams (Minnesota, Miami, Orlando, Dallas, Charlotte, Toronto, Vancouver). There were the teams that either relocated or threating to relocate, (Hawks 1982, T-Wolves 1994, Spurs and Rockets mid 90's and Grizzles 2001), the T-Wolves and Grizzles being the only teams the almost landed here.

Finally the Hornets moved here. Although we never wanted to take a team from another city, me and the others here were excited when the announcement came that Hornets were moving here. After 24 years we had a NBA team again.

There is a big fear here that the Hornets playing in OKC is another chance to lose our team out of no fault of our own. There is no way that an expansion team would come to New Orleans and if the Hornets move permanately OKC or anywhere else, unlike Charlotte, New Orleans would never get another team.

There is also many of us that feel like when New Orleans was removed from the home jerseys and OKC was added to the team website was a slap to the face to the fans and victims of Katrina. It is not a knock to you city, but reverse it and think how it would be if OKC had an NBA team and OKC had a disaster and New Orleans held your team for a season. Think about if everything that happen to NO and it instead happened to OKC and you can see what were are going through.

We hope that you will be become adopted fans of the New Orleans Hornets (please understand that we will not use NO/OKC Hornets or OKC Hornets here) even when they return here next season.

I hope that one day that OKC will get its own team someday either through expansion or relocation (not the Hornets) and we will develop a special rivalry, but friendly, bond between our two cities and teams.

[Harvey]

There are a lot of things we are not happy about when it comes to the Hornets' current situation. The name issue is beyond reproach (just to name one). Unfortunately, most of these things are beyond our control.

One thing we will do is control what we can. There is plenty of heartache to go around OUTSIDE of this site. There isn't much I/we can do about that, we're experiencing tough times. What happens here is a different story.

That being said, WE (the people of New Orleans) will enjoy our site. No one is going to challenge that. I'm sure these words aren't really necessary, but I felt I should say them nevertheless. I'm positive that the OKC visitors we have here will be very sympathetic to our plight. I also believe they will understand and respect our situation. Anything less would be inconsiderate therefore, unacceptable. We aren't going to waste a bunch of time or effort debating this. It is what it is.

[OKCCowboy]

Wow, great posts all.

I was a little surprised to see this today only because some of us OKC folks have been around for a week or so and were already starting to feel welcome and a part of things here. That said, I appreciate it nonetheless.

Oklahomans are a special breed. From the Dust Bowl to April 19th to the countless tornadoes every spring (OK has more per capitia than any place IN THE WORLD), Oklahomans have dealt with their share of tragedy as well.

Make no mistake about it: OKC is VERY excited to host the Hornets this year. But I think we all know that's what it is... we're hosting NO's team. I want it to go well enough that OKC is the top destination for a team in the future. I know OKC can handle the NBA. If Memphis, Sacramento and Portland can, so can we.

In closing, I just want to thank you NO folks for letting us hang out and be a part of things. We're excited to be here and will support your team as best we can. Pardon the pun, but there's a lot of "buzz" about your team being here. We're excited. We'll be seen as a pro-level city now, even if it's just for a year. Thanks for everything and I look forward to being a season-ticket holder for the Hornets this year.

My new draft-day 2005 Hornets hat came today in the mail and it looks GREAT. I really love the color scheme of the Hornets.

[BallStalum96]

I will chime in here...

The fans from OKC are welcome here and I know that what the city is doing is a great thing to keep the team playing whilst NOLA gets back on its feet. I am a long time member of this board and I miss NOLA very much. I hope that with this move (temporarily) to OKC that the Hornets get exposure to another region of fgans that will continue to support and root for the team even after they come back. This is a good thing out of the very worst situation imaginable.

We love the Hornets because it represents the city of New Orleans and also because we love the game. It is the second most exciting game we play (hockey being number one in my book)The creatiuvity and improvisitation the players put out is unbelieveable. That is why I love the game and in abstract NOLA. Great jazz is a study in the unplanned. Jazz is to New Orleans as grass is to Baseball. you cant have one without the other.

I welcome our new fellow hornts fans Enjoy the team. Do well and support it. The NBA will take notice and OKC will get its own team . I think that is the perfect ending to this story. We all win. But I warn you, once you see the Hornets play, I think you will become a die hard and not want to root for another team.

Again I thank OKC for what they are doing It will be remembered

[whoah whoah]

figured i would add a lil bit.... please please please, speak your mind and voice your opinion, but please please please, be respectful of others... dont post anything just to annoy others or any stupid reason....

oh, and dont EVER let CO have a picture ofyou... he is "mr photoshop" around here.... just ask Kenny "say-what" Chesney

[Slidell Hornet]

I'm going to post some feelings, as well. Call it therapy...an outlet...whatever.

I'm a Charter Member of the site...one of the originals and I'm also a moderator here.

This storm has been disastrous and has touched the lives of everyone in and around New Orleans. Many have lost everything they own. Some lost their lives. Those of us who escaped catastrophic property damage have had our lives turned upside down. I'm dealing with insurance adjusters, FEMA, contractors, displaced and distraught family, and a temporary job relocation to Atlanta. There are food shortages, gas shortages, traffic everywhere and a disruption in commerce the likes of which I have never seen.

I haven't slept well since the miserable storm hit and I'm grumpy. The LAST thing I needed after all of this was the news of Tom Benson's covert attempt to permanently relocate the Saints to San Antonio and the news that the New Orleans Hornets would be known (purportedly temporarily) as the N.O./OKC Hornets. It was just too much for me to deal with on top of everything else that has stressed me and my family out over the last month.

But I'll deal with it. And if things turn out as I expect them to, the Hornets will be back where they belong by the start of the 2006-07 season. And if things go well for OKC, then it won't be too long before they get a team to call their own.

So welcome, OKC fans. Understand and excuse my grumpiness if it comes through in my posts. Tell me if I read too much into statements about the temporary digs in OKC, but also give me a wide berth and understand the stress I (and everyone dealing with the aftermath of the storm for that matter) am under.

Mother Nature has thrown us all together for this season.

Let's make the best of it so that the outcome is positive for both cities...the Hornets back in New Orleans where they belong and OKC impressive as a potential NBA relocation site.

[mattokstate]

I know for one that Oklahomans are excited to help in anyway we can. A lot of people around here like to think that when we barrow or use something of someone else’s that we give it back to them in better shape than when we were trusted with it. I hope that holds true with the Hornets this season. And like a past post said hopefully this experience will make the Hornets stronger for when they return to NO and bring notice from the NBA of OKC.

[GrandAdmiral]

I'll go ahead and piggy back what my other three partners have already posted. First of all, we do welcome you, despite the bickering you all may have heard from us. We are one big family here and we (as owners and mods) are here if you have any concerns. Do not take our biases to mean that we are not. We're firm, but we're fair and if there's one thing we all have in common is our love for this team. We're not here for money (although we gladly accept donations ), we're fans. And as the season goes on, you'll see just how big fans we are.

Now don't get me wrong, we're really ****ed. We understand the notions of business and marketing, but right now we don't care about that. We feel that the Hornets'/NBA's move was just another kick to a community already down and trying to get up. And we just don't think it is fair.

Did I mention San Antonio is trying to steal the Saints? Tom Benson is the devil.

Enjoy the team. Enjoy the season. Can't say I'll be able to give them much support with only six or seven games, but I do look forward to their return in 06 - 07. I look forward to engaging in some mighty good basketball talk.

Welcome to HR.com. You're officially coullions!

[Defuz]

My 2c worth on this whole thing......Well, firstly, I'm an active member of the board, a season ticket holder from day one, and a cop in Covington, one of the many small towns in the New Orleans area. Does that make me HR.com security ???

I will echo much of what has already been said....

1) Welcome to the board
2) We regard the Hornets-regardless of the name before them-as our team
3) We hate the way it's played out
4) We will be sensitive towards those that want to poach the team or discount our ability to keep them here.
5) Emotions & stress levels around here and with those connected to the New Orleans/Gulf Coast region are at an all-time high, so please forgive the occasional outburst
6) As W-W said, whatever the heck you do......do not let COCajun get a picture of you or any of your kin
7) Please be tollerant of Comrade WCH as he's a rabid liberal/commie type that loves to spout off about the virtues of communism. But beyond that, he's kind-a okay.....I guess.....ish...:hehehmn:

My biggest fear is that some will try to let this whole affair descend into a war of words between fans from our two cities. I honestly believe that the Hornets will be back here a year or so from now, and when I read those who rabidly promote them leaving, then I WILL react accordingly..... We're talkin' jail-time here folks....

I try to look at the positive side of things. The chance to make our city better, safer and stronger than it's ever been. The chance for us to form a bond with y'all from OK-City......A bond that can be extended into the years ahead. The chance for The Hornets to get a bigger fan-base. The ability for our team to be in a stable atmosphere which will promote their ability to improve as a team, and to stay finacially viable. The chance for OK-City to promote its viability as a pro-sports team city that will be first on the NBA's list for a future team.

The opportunities for success are many. The opportunities to fall into hatred and discontent are many too, but I trust that the more level-headed amongst us will put an end to that from both sides.

So once again, welcome to all, and let's look forward to a great season this year.

GO 'NOO CITY' HORNETS

[Harvey]

My biggest fear is that some will try to let this whole affair descend into a war of words between fans from our two cities.

Fear not, thats not going to happen.

[Trueblood]

I don't have much time to post but great posts by all.

OKC, if you have any questions regarding the business of bball and the salary cap, feel free to ask me. They don't call me the capologist for nothing.

I hope and pray that NOLA bounces back strong and keeps this team and that you guys can get a relocated one asap. Enjoy your time here and let's talk hoops.

[GrandAdmiral]

Fear not, thats not going to happen.

Nope. Not going to happen. We went through that already and it's not going to happen again.

[Defuz]

Nope. Not going to happen. We went through that already and it's not going to happen again.

Glad to hear it. But are we still stuck with COCajun?

[West Coast Hornet]

Glad to hear it. But are we still stuck with COCajun?

I can send him to the Gulag, if you want!

[BallStalum96]

I can send him to the Gulag, if you want!

SO SAY WE ALL !!!!!

[Defuz]

:hehehmn: ..................lovin' it

[whoah whoah]

I can send him to the Gulag, if you want!

how about san antonio? ha, send him and Harv, and the saints will beback in new orleans in NO time...

[Pasta Man]

Okie fans,

I hope you enjoy our team as much as we do, they may not win a lot of games but they do give a good effort and are a young group. Let us know how CP3 (Chris Paul) skills look in person.

peace out,
Pastaman