HORNETS TO WEAR BUCS THROWBACK UNIS

[spyboy1]

There's no need to yell.

get a life!

Seriously man, all caps suck for people you are trying to communicate with. Don't do it. It's like having a mullet.

[pagan696]

Interesting that the Hornets will only wear the Bucs jerseys when they play the Charlotte Bobcats...very interesting.

maybe Coach Brown can pull out some of his old Cougars gear

[B-Rich]

Interesting that the Hornets will only wear the Bucs jerseys when they play the Charlotte Bobcats...very interesting.

Actually, according to the promotions calendar, they will also be wearing them at home on January 28th (against the Nuggets, a former ABA team), and on February 27th (against the Bucks -- Bucs versus Bucks!?). I have also read that the Hornets will be wearing them away on January 19th against Cleveland, which makes sense if Cleveland wears their gold throwbacks.

[Discogod]

Interesting that the Hornets will only wear the Bucs jerseys when they play the Charlotte Bobcats...very interesting.

maybe Coach Brown can pull out some of his old Cougars gear

That would have been pretty sweet if the 'Cats had worn Carolina Cougars unis and they played with a red, white and blue ball. Didn't the Nets & Spurs use one for a game when they met in the Finals?

I'd also love to see the Hornets bust out some '88-89 Charlotte Hornets throwbacks when they play the 'Cats, but with the team looking to distance themselves from the Charlotte days I can't see it ever happening.

[Jigga]

Why would the Wizards wear Chicago Zephyr uniforms? They should have rocked the "Dr. J" Virginia Squires set.

because the Chicago Zephyrs moved to Baltimore in 1964, becoming the Baltimore Bullets. Upon moving down the corridor to DC, they soon were christened the Capitol Bullets, then they became the Washington Bullets but apparently Bullets is too violent a nickname in a gang ravaged city, so they became the Wizards.

As to why they would wear a Chicago uniform? To sell more jerseys!!!

http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nba/chiz/zephyrs.html

Pardon my ignorance. I didn't know the Zephyrs became the Bullets. Thanks for the history lesson.

However, I do know why the named was changed to the Wizards though. Owner Abe Polin claims that he decided to change the name immediately after his good friend Yitzhak Rabin, Prime Minister of Israel, was assassinated in 1995. It took a while to effect the name change, per NBA rules and such and the name officially change for the 1997-98 NBA season.

[hormone]

I still don't get why teams celebrate something they had no part of?

[Discogod]

I still don't get why teams celebrate something they had no part of?

To sell more merchandise.

[Gothamite]

Nothing at all wrong with a team celebrating the city's history.

[KJTALBOT]

Call me crazy, but this tribute is kind of pointless. The Hornets have no connection to the Buccaneers. How many people actualy went to a Bucs game or even remember when they played in NO?

Just because a uniform comes from the 70's, doesn't make it cool or fun. The Bucs throwbacks are blah.

[tBBP]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

There's the answer to all your throwback questions.

(The funny thing is that the throwback craze in the hip-hop culture [at least] died down like 5 or 6 years ago...NOW teams decide they want to capitalize on that popularity???)

[DelayedPenalty]

I believe, that in order to wear ABA jerseys, teams must go all in, and wear the shorty shorts as well!!

[Gothamite]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

There's the answer to all your throwback questions.

(The funny thing is that the throwback craze in the hip-hop culture [at least] died down like 5 or 6 years ago...NOW teams decide they want to capitalize on that popularity???)

Maybe it did.

But the throwback craze continues in many other areas of society. That's why we're seeing the boom now - sales figures don't lie.

[tBBP]

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.

There's the answer to all your throwback questions.

(The funny thing is that the throwback craze in the hip-hop culture [at least] died down like 5 or 6 years ago...NOW teams decide they want to capitalize on that popularity???)

Maybe it did.

But the throwback craze continues in many other areas of society. That's why we're seeing the boom now - sales figures don't lie.

I'm wit you on that one, patna.

[hjwii]

Call me crazy, but this tribute is kind of pointless. The Hornets have no connection to the Buccaneers. How many people actualy went to a Bucs game or even remember when they played in NO?

Just because a uniform comes from the 70's, doesn't make it cool or fun. The Bucs throwbacks are blah.

Believe it or not, New Orleans was once a pretty big basketball town. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I know the Jazz were near the top in attendance during their short stay here. And I also believe the Buccaneers did quite well, considering the Municipal Auditorium only held about 5000 for a sporting event. And you'd be surprised how many people, young and old, remember the Buccaneers... and the Pelicans... and even the Brass. We're not a bad sports town... we're just poor

[darkhaha]

Call me crazy, but this tribute is kind of pointless. The Hornets have no connection to the Buccaneers. How many people actualy went to a Bucs game or even remember when they played in NO?

Just because a uniform comes from the 70's, doesn't make it cool or fun. The Bucs throwbacks are blah.

Believe it or not, New Orleans was once a pretty big basketball town. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I know the Jazz were near the top in attendance during their short stay here. And I also believe the Buccaneers did quite well, considering the Municipal Auditorium only held about 5000 for a sporting event. And you'd be surprised how many people, young and old, remember the Buccaneers... and the Pelicans... and even the Brass. We're not a bad sports town... we're just poor

I don't have the numbers in front of me, either, but I suspect that if the Jazz had been "near the top in attendance" they wouldn't have moved. That being said, honoring a little hoops history of the city with these throwback games seems like a fun thing to do, even if it is motivated by crass commercialism.

[bigdub81]

Why not honor a forgotten team? Is it really hurting anybody? I'm 27 and I never got a chance to see the Buccaneers play nor the Pelicans or Brass and I could have seen the Brass and now miss the chance I could have had. George Shinn has gone to great lengths this season to connect with the cities fan base by doing various things. The uniforms was a start despite them nodding back to the Charolette days and he did say that if ever given the chance he would have re-named the team the Jazz when they first came back to the city. I like the Hornets it's a part of us now. We can't honor the Jazz just like the Texans can't honor the Oilers so find the next alternative!

[Discogod]

If the Thunder ever use any Seattle-era throwback I'm going to kill myself. No, wait, first I'll kill everyone associated with the Thunder, then I'll kill myself.

[B-Rich]

Call me crazy, but this tribute is kind of pointless. The Hornets have no connection to the Buccaneers. How many people actualy went to a Bucs game or even remember when they played in NO?

Just because a uniform comes from the 70's, doesn't make it cool or fun. The Bucs throwbacks are blah.

Believe it or not, New Orleans was once a pretty big basketball town. I don't have the numbers in front of me, but I know the Jazz were near the top in attendance during their short stay here. And I also believe the Buccaneers did quite well, considering the Municipal Auditorium only held about 5000 for a sporting event. And you'd be surprised how many people, young and old, remember the Buccaneers... and the Pelicans... and even the Brass. We're not a bad sports town... we're just poor

I don't have the numbers in front of me, either, but I suspect that if the Jazz had been "near the top in attendance" they wouldn't have moved.

Attendance pretty much had nothing to do with the Jazz's departure from New Orleans in 1979.... it was more a function of the owner being a Mormon and wanting the team to be located closer to home to his home, debt problems, etc.

Overall, average attendance was not "near the top" but was generally above average for the NBA, especially considering the time period (1970s) and the fact that the team never finished with a winning record:

New Orleans Jazz - Average Attendance

1974-1975 - 4.954 (played in Municipal Auditorium and Loyola Field House, neither of which had capacity over 7,000.) 23-59 record

1975-1976 - 12,518 (5th highest in NBA that year, had biggest crowd in NBA history (26,511) one night). 38-44 record

1976-1977 - 10,833 (10th highest in NBA) 35-47 record

1977-1978 - 12,862 (6th highest in NBA) 39-43 record

1978-1979 - 8,631 (at one point this team was 4-37) 26-56 overall record

More info is available here: HornetsReport.com's Tribute to the New Orleans Jazz, mostly compiled by yours truly .

[darkhaha]

Pics of the throwbacks:

I think these look fantastic, but, as usual with throwbacks, there are some historical inaccuracies. The most obvious one is the striping on the jersey's side panels. The original was a 9-stripe pattern, but for some reason they did a 13-stripe pattern on the throwback set. Also, the script seems a bit clunkier than the original to me:

[Sodboy13]

The original was a 9-stripe pattern, but for some reason they did a 13-stripe pattern on the throwback set.

I realize that, technically, it's a 13-stripe pattern. But when you look at it casually, gee, the sides of the jerseys certainly seem to have quite a strong "three-stirpe" pattern to them, don't they? Hmm, why that pattern, indeed...