Pelicans News from Team's Spanish Broadcaster, Emilo Peralta

[amcoolio]

Do you not see how that would be just BEYOND confusing? I don't think the NBA would allow it to be honest.

It would be the same thing if we rebranded and then years later someone asks "Who scored the most points in Charlotte Hornets history?" and the answer could be Glenn Rice or it could be Gerald Wallace or Kemba Walker. Why have two different sets of "Charlotte Hornets" history, one for the Pelicans and one for the Charlotte Hornets.

[FlyGirl]

The name has nothing to do with the product on the court; we are in year 2 of a planned 5 year rebuild, where we stared from ground zero last year, so switching to the Hornets now as they start to gain steam and momentum would be a wise move, in my opinion.

The reasons for switching back to the Hornets name starts with $$$ (a lot more money would be brought in though merchandise) and ends with $$$ (a lot of new ticket sales and sponsorships from people/organizations who said they would support the team if they were the Hornets again).

The Hornets were HUGE in Charlotte in the 90's, more than the NFL and almost reaching the same level of fandom as college basketball. I mean they averaged 22,000 a night with the arena being sold out for years. Obviously that will never happen again (unless tickets become free) but unless you have experienced it its hard to explain. Its like if the Saints suddenly moved this year and you get a new NFL franchise...but several years later the Saints name becomes available. It would be a no brainier for you guys to take back the name.

This is exactly right. Like I said in the rebrand thread though, the possibility for Charlotte to get the Hornets name back is there, but the product on the court is what fans should be more concerned with. Merchandise brings in money but it's not the number one factor in team revenue or team success. But hey, you gotta be happy with being called the Hornets again right?

[RaisingTheBar]

It would be the same thing if we rebranded and then years later someone asks "Who scored the most points in Charlotte Hornets history?" and the answer could be Glenn Rice or it could be Gerald Wallace or Kemba Walker. Why have two different sets of "Charlotte Hornets" history, one for the Pelicans and one for the Charlotte Hornets.

Obviously you are biased because you are from Charlotte and want your old name back. Which is fine, I can understand and I really don't care if Charlotte takes it back, it would just be a very confusing and something I wouldn't want my team to be mistaken with for years and years and years to come.

[amcoolio]

This is exactly right. Like I said in the rebrand thread though, the possibility for Charlotte to get the Hornets name back is there, but the product on the court is what fans should be more concerned with. Merchandise brings in money but it's not the number one factor in team revenue or team success. But hey, you gotta be happy with being called the Hornets again right?

I disagree, for many people a brand is a big part of their livelyhood. I am an Panthers and Bobcats fan, and while times have been rough the past 4 years, I still proudly wear my colors and they take up a lot of my life, as I'm sure the Saints and Pelicans/Hornets do with you since you have 16000+ posts on a Hornets message board. So a brand change is a big deal to me, as it would be to you, and as it is to the legion of people in Charlotte who are showing up to Bobcats games in Hornets gear and buying ads in papers and such. And it has been proven in the NBA that a team can be really good on the floor but in the basement in terms of team revenue and merchandise, look at the Pacers or Hawks, who have been playoff staples but it has unable to translate into people giving a damn or selling merchandise.

[BallSoHard]

I'm not saying toss Hornets in the trash. I'm saying it's our history, just like goofy yearbook photos, scoring a touchdown in a meaningless game in the backyard, or falling asleep on maw-maw's couch. It's just in the past. Important but past.

I don't care if Charlotte gets whatever with their name. I am posing real costs to be posed against imagined and real benefits.

It's about people buying more Hornets stuff now. It's about buying more Pelicans and Hornets and Bobcats stuff or more Pelicans and Hornets stuff. Plus the absolute confusion if Chris Paul was a Hornet who never played for the Hornets. The Seattle.mess will hurt any efforts there.

It's not like this hasn't happened before. The Cleveland Browns/ Ravens saga.

[FlyGirl]

These are some replies to Bonnell's tweet about buying habits...

Rick Bonnell ‏@rick_bonnell
Bobcats will do polling of the Charlotte market. This isn't just about nickname; it's about whether change would affect buying habits.

Brandon Holmes ‏@BrandonCHolmes
@rick_bonnell the hornets left us, we need to stick with bobcats

Joey ‏@Southerntwist3r
@rick_bonnell IMO merchandise will fly off the shelf if we get the hornets back! Starting with me!

D. Cam ‏@ChefDCNC
@Southerntwist3r @rick_bonnell no it wont. People will dig their old stuff out of attic. Ever been to team store? They do great .

D. Cam ‏@ChefDCNC
@rick_bonnell no one remembers what shinn did to us. Bob brought bball back. Why do we want to remember the shinn era?

D. Cam ‏@ChefDCNC
@BrandonCHolmes @rick_bonnell its the year 2025. Kids nostalgic about @bobcats start petition to change hornets to bobcats.#bringbackthecats

Johnny Kilroy ‏@JGibsTweetSpot
@rick_bonnell I bought 2 lower level season tickets today on the possibility that I can influence the Hornets decision. How's that 4 effect?

Bill Rosinski ‏@RosinskiBill
@rick_bonnell winning will affect buying habits.

D. Cam ‏@ChefDCNC
@JGibsTweetSpot @rick_bonnell you wouldnt have without the possibility?Why?Whats the difference? Same team different name. Early bandwagon?

[amcoolio]

Obviously you are biased because you are from Charlotte and want your old name back. Which is fine, I can understand and I really don't care if Charlotte takes it back, it would just be a very confusing and something I wouldn't want my team to be mistaken with for years and years and years to come.

I'm not trying to pick a fight, we both have NBA teams and I love your name and leaked logo and am happy for you guys. We have been called the Hornets ever since we came back into the nba, so being confused with another team is nothing new. I really think once the Pelicans, Supersonics, and Hornets settle in, 5-10 years down the road no one will be confused

[Ceedee M]

A question for everyone: Pelicans lovers and haters, Hornets lovers and haters.

How would you feel if next season Charlotte become the Hornets?

I hope they retire the name.

I have a friend who is working the unveiling and asked him if that was indeed the logo. He said NO.
It is not any of the logos we've seen thus far.
It is CLOSE to the one from the hat on TD but not exact.
Said there is a lot more red in the logo then the TD leak and the wingspan was not as large.

Of course they were not allowed to snap pics.... :\

Something similar to the pelican from the baseball team?



Please no. This is my greatest fear.

[42]

In the 90's when they were good and the Hornets. Which was more important?

And why toss out Hornets initially? Shinn. Hornets didn't trump that.

Just deal with what happens or educate yourself on what the real factor are instead of demanding some egocentric justice rather than looking at it from a the perspective of a guy that bought a team that relocated without agreement to leave history in Charlotte. He bought it. It's up to him and the other owners. I suggest you try to understand this rather than whine to citizens.

I can't help but laugh and those crying about this rebrand who were crying for one months ago. Hilarious. "But it's not what I waaaanted!"

Charlottle may be in for other surprises with a rebrand. You can never go home again. That's truth.

[WhoDatPelican]

@CeeDee I dont think it'll be like the baseball team. I think it's close to that hat on the 1st page (the leak from tiger droppings) with some changes. Thats what i am expecting anyway based on what i was told.

[FlyGirl]

I disagree, for many people a brand is a big part of their livelyhood. I am an Panthers and Bobcats fan, and while times have been rough the past 4 years, I still proudly wear my colors and they take up a lot of my life, as I'm sure the Saints and Pelicans/Hornets do with you since you have 16000+ posts on a Hornets message board. So a brand change is a big deal to me, as it would be to you, and as it is to the legion of people in Charlotte who are showing up to Bobcats games in Hornets gear and buying ads in papers and such. And it has been proven in the NBA that a team can be really good on the floor but in the basement in terms of team revenue and merchandise, look at the Pacers or Hawks, who have been playoff staples but it has unable to translate into people giving a damn or selling merchandise.

It takes up a lot of my spare time, not my life. I love my teams but their brand is not my life.

[FlyGirl]

Obviously you are biased because you are from Charlotte and want your old name back. Which is fine, I can understand and I really don't care if Charlotte takes it back, it would just be a very confusing and something I wouldn't want my team to be mistaken with for years and years and years to come.

You mean like they've been already? Especially where the media is concerned.

[BallSoHard]

THIS HAS HAPPENED BEFORE!!!

[FlyGirl]

I'm not trying to pick a fight, we both have NBA teams and I love your name and leaked logo and am happy for you guys. We have been called the Hornets ever since we came back into the nba, so being confused with another team is nothing new. I really think once the Pelicans, Supersonics, and Hornets settle in, 5-10 years down the road no one will be confused

Hornets have been gone from Charlotte for 10 years and it seems some are still confused so don't be too sure.

[42]

It's not like this hasn't happened before. The Cleveland Browns/ Ravens saga.

False. The organization relocated but the franchise was inactivated. The expansion team reacrivated the franchise.

The Ravens have no claim on Jim Brown. None.

[BallSoHard]

False. The organization relocated but the franchise was inactivated. The expansion team reacrivated the franchise.

The Ravens have no claim on Jim Brown. None.

Interesting, thanks!

[amcoolio]

Hornets have been gone from Charlotte for 10 years and it seems some are still confused so don't be too sure.

Well hopefully with them being the Hornets again (I could go either way...I like our Bobcats name, but I think a name change is inevitable a this point) and New Orleans being something completely different and refreshing the confusion will stop in the media. We were just called the Hornets a couple weeks ago by ESPN and they never tried to correct it

[Big-EZ]

Exactly. I'm still a high schooler and of course I'm the only one who likes it. That's also because at Brother Martin, I'm probably the largest Hornets fan- bar none. And one of few at all. It's sad but will change with winning times. I remember when the name was first leaked, all I heard about the name Pelicans was followed by a sarcastic joke, teachers included!!

It's sick how fair weather the youth is. All my "friends" are Lakers, Heat, Knicks, Bulls fans. I get an endless arguments and fights and this name just escalated it all. Doesn't matter though, still love it. Love the name and ignorance they display.

I go to Brother Martin and I follow the team daily. So do the guys I sit with. Spreading the love to LSU next year...

[FlyGirl]

Well hopefully with them being the Hornets again (I could go either way...I like our Bobcats name, but I think a name change is inevitable a this point) and New Orleans being something completely different and refreshing the confusion will stop in the media. We were just called the Hornets a couple weeks ago by ESPN and they never tried to correct it

I can understand them calling the Charlotte Bobcats the Charlotte Hornets because that was the name of the city's team once. Even if it was 10 years ago. When ESPN called you Hornets a few weeks ago they didn't say New Orleans Hornets though did they?

[Kurgan]

I'm asking cos i don't really know all the story behind it (only that shinn relocated because of poor attendance or something of the like) but if the hornets were (and are) so dear to charlotte fans, why did the team relocate in the first place? I mean, a team that is bad, with passionate fans will still have a good attendance. Something to do with arenas?

[Jgib23]

re: Charlotte Hornets

Most of you don't know and might not care but the Hornets in Charlotte goes deeper than an NBA team.

Charlotte has been called the Hornets Nest since the revolutionary war.
Charlotte had a minor league baseball team 100 years ago that played here forever named the Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte had a World Football league team named the Charlotte Hornets
Charlotte-Mecklenburgs Flag is a Hornets Nest
The Highest Civilian Award in the City of Charlotte is called the "Order of the Hornet"
Charlotte has a park called Hornets Nest Park
Charlotte has a school named Hornets Nest Elementary
Charlotte Polices Cars have a Hornets Nest on them
Charlotte Police Badge is in the Shape of a Hornets Nest.
ETC,ETC, ETC

In Charlotte- the Hornets moniker means more than a basketball team.

Bobcats = a guy from Washington DC named Bob who invested in a team in Charlotte and named the team after himself, failed miserably and left town..

The decision for most in Charlotte is an easy win for Charlotte Hornets... We just have to cross our fingers that MJ is convinced the financial impact is greater than the risk.

[Ceedee M]

@CeeDee I dont think it'll be like the baseball team. I think it's close to that hat on the 1st page (the leak from tiger droppings) with some changes. Thats what i am expecting anyway based on what i was told.

Oh, okay. That is a little relief. Both look plain as heck. Either Benson is really plain or really cheap. Our colors were very unique, maybe second to the Lakers. Now we will look like the Wizards, Detroit, Clippers, etc. Sorry for the side rant.

[42]

Interesting, thanks!

Yeah, it was like a twisted-up expansion into Baltimore (with no Colts blathering).

I'd hope that Seattle and OKC end up this way.

[Snarly]

Charlotte Hornets fan talking about the Hornets brand like it has a long meaningful history.

[Jgib23]

I'm asking cos i don't really know all the story behind it (only that shinn relocated because of poor attendance or something of the like) but if the hornets were (and are) so dear to charlotte fans, why did the team relocate in the first place? I mean, a team that is bad, with passionate fans will still have a good attendance. Something to do with arenas?

In short.. he raped a cheerleader, disappeared from the public, demanded a new arena or threatened to leave, applied for relocation as a threat- threats wasn't well rec'd in CLT, relocation was denied, Chose Ray Woolridge over Michael Jordan as a business partner and applied for relocation again, we had an arena refendum and it lost by like 12k votes, team moves to NOLA.