Dilemma

[Gregmond]

Here's my dilemma:

I've been following the NBA from afar (Melbourne, Australia) for a long while, and I've had a soft spot for the Hornets ever since they've been around. Now that a new team is starting in Charlotte, I'm not sure who I should call "my team". Am I are Charlotte basketball fan (hence Bobcats), or am I a Hornets fan, or should I give up on both, and follow a team that I may some day get to see live (ie. a major-town city such as Lakers, Clippers, Warriors, Sonics, Knicks, Celtics)?

Clearly, I have no real connection to either team, except a bunch of old Charlotte Hornets merchanise (caps, t-shirts, singlets, etc.). What does everyone out there think?

Thanks,

Greg

[slapshot]

you can answer your own question this way...

What led you to have a soft spot for the Hornets? Was it because they were an expansion team? with new colors and logo? If so, then your team is now playing in New Orleans.

If you liked them because you like the city or region above the team, then become a fan for the Bobcats.

If you like basketball in general, follow college and root for Duke or North Carolina...it's much better

[AbbeyBF42]

If you like basketball in general, follow college and root for Duke or North Carolina...it's much better

Not to mention that colleges tend not to move around too much. They just get rid of programs (I'm still a little sad that I never got to see that Carnegie Tech-Pitt rivalry, not that any of us have ).

[pittunited]

Not to mention that colleges tend not to move around too much. They just get rid of programs (I'm still a little sad that I never got to see that Carnegie Tech-Pitt rivalry, not that any of us have ).

Hey Abbey, at least we still have Pitt-Duquesne... Such as it is...

[fiasco!]

i believe there's still some room, so why don't you jump on the wagon and become a pistons fan.

[yh]

Here's what I decided - since I grew up in Missouri, I was a KC Kings fan until they moved to Sacramento. After they moved I really didn't have one team that I rooted for. In 1987 the NBA voted to expand and I decided to adopt one of those teams as my own and follow them from day 1. I decided on Charlotte because I liked the idea of the NBA moving into such a strong college BB market. I followed the team closely for years and got really excited when the prospect existed for them to move to St. Louis, however when it became obvious that they were simply dangling St. Louis out there as a stalking horse for New Orleans, my attitude soured and I once again withdrew from having a single favorite team. I did root for the Nets quite a bit over the last few years but I have since decided that since I was happy to see the NBA in Charlotte once, I would once again throw my support to them with the new team, so next season I will be a Bobcats fan.

Granted, my enthusiasm for the NBA is a fraction of what it was when I was a youngster up through my college years, but for what it is worth, I will be a Bobcat fan.

[Ez Street]

I'm sorta in agreement with Yale. I was a Hornets fan when they had Mourning, Johnson, Bouges, Curry. Those were the good ol' days. But i stopped following basketball for a few years, so i don't really care about the Hornets too much in Nawlins'. I have kinda adopted the Nuggets as my team. But i also pull for Dallas and and Sacramento.

I will be pulling for the Bobcats........i guess they will be my eastern conference team.

[the_cynic]

The way some of you choose these teams still intrigues me.

Ez Street,

Why did you choose Denver, Dallas, and Sacramento in recent years? Is it because of there success or ownership?

[Waffles]

I, too, am in the process of changing my NBA allegiance.

I was a casual Knicks fan, by default and by virtue of birth. However, the incessant stupidity of the Dolan regime and the fact that the Nets are (hopefully) moving to my part of town has shifted my devotion to the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets, even while they're still whittling away in the swamp.

My advice? Try before you buy. See if it feels right, see if you like the team, the coach, the owner, etc. before you commit. Like buying a new car or proposing to a significant other .

[the_cynic]

This is just my personal opinion but I think society in general today has a big problem with commitment. I just don't see why people stop being fans of an individual team because of an owner, coach, or problems within the team offices themselves. Problems come and go and you're bound to find something you don't like in the organization at some point. What gives?

Just for the record, if you find my comments above really offensive then just let me know. I'm not trying to take gabs at someone, I'm merely asking a question and I hope someone can give me a logical explanation.

[habsfannova]

I'm a Montreal fan pretty much because of my father. The 1993 cup sealed me in forever. There have been VERY lean times (I remember laughing on the night the dynasty died, not knowing what was ahead until......he swore out the president.... )

[Sec19Row53]

This is just my personal opinion but I think society in general today has a big problem with commitment. I just don't see why people stop being fans of an individual team because of an owner, coach, or problems within the team offices themselves. Problems come and go and you're bound to find something you don't like in the organization at some point. What gives?

Just for the record, if you find my comments above really offensive then just let me know. I'm not trying to take gabs at someone, I'm merely asking a question and I hope someone can give me a logical explanation.

I think you've hit the nail on the head with those comments. I remember posting something similar on FanHome when someone had one of those incessant "Name your 5 Favorite [fill in the league] teams". I replied with "If you have more than one, it isn't your favorite".

On topic - what jpslapshot22 said (although YMMV with Duke or North Carolina ).

[Waffles]

This is just my personal opinion but I think society in general today has a big problem with commitment. I just don't see why people stop being fans of an individual team because of an owner, coach, or problems within the team offices themselves. Problems come and go and you're bound to find something you don't like in the organization at some point. What gives?

Just for the record, if you find my comments above really offensive then just let me know. I'm not trying to take gabs at someone, I'm merely asking a question and I hope someone can give me a logical explanation.

I think that's an absolutely legitimate point.

And I think the owner is the individual with the greatest bearing on others' opinions of a team. They generally don't come and go the way coaches and players do and they are ultimately responsible for everything, from the team's relationship with the community and the price of beer at the arena to the quality of the team and front office. I may just be justifying my own exodus from the Knicks here, but I think ownership is a very tangible element in one's decision to root for a certain team.

Take, for example, George Steinbrenner. I'm sure there's a lot of Yankee fans who are turned off to the Yankees by his behavior and spending habits, just as there are (most likely more) new Yankee fans who find the way Steinbrenner runs his team to be appealing (rather than appalling).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, take Charles Dolan. No, I mean take him. Take him away. Far, far away. Please. In all seriousness, his boneheadedness has (not singlehandedly, but he's ultimately to blame) brought periods of great mediocrity to two once strong franchises, the Knicks and Rangers. Coupled with his other decisions, like cutting loose the popular Marv Albert, and his shameless shadiness in dealing with the YES Network and the Jets Stadium have justifiably eroded both teams' fanbases.

I'm not sure about players and coaches. I can only speak for myself here, but there are players I like on teams I don't neccesarily care for and I find it pretty easy to separate the two. Conversely, I'm not gonna stop rooting for a team if they get a player or coach I don't like (like when Clemens came to the Yankees).

[fiasco!]

This is just my personal opinion but I think society in general today has a big problem with commitment.  I just don't see why people stop being fans of an individual team because of an owner, coach, or problems within the team offices themselves.  Problems come and go and you're bound to find something you don't like in the organization at some point.  What gives?

Just for the record, if you find my comments above really offensive then just let me know.  I'm not trying to take gabs at someone, I'm merely asking a question and I hope someone can give me a logical explanation.

as a detroit tigers, lions, and pistons fan, i have absolutely no problem with commitment.

i moved from detroit 2 years ago to a town exactly halfway between atlanta and charlotte. because i get no exposure to my teams around here, i follow both the falcons and panthers, thrashers and hurricanes, hawks and soon to be bobcats, and the constant exposure of the braves of tbs, fox sports south, and turner south, and the cubs and white sox on wgn.

the lions are still number 1 in my heart, but i have come to be a fan of both the panthers (because they were in the lions' boat just a couple years ago, and i like a good defense) and the falcons (how can you not like vick).

i love hockey, so i will watch whatever game is on, but i do enjoy the thrashers very much (great young talent).

i also love baseball, and will watch whatever game is on, but my allegiance will always be with the tigers.

hopefully, winning a championship will gain the pistons more television exposure, but i highly doubt it. i will watch the bobcats play, if they are on tv, but the hawks can suck a nut.

i guess all i'm trying to say is, the hometown teams are always number one to me, but i see no problem rooting for another team if you move to that team's area.

[paynomind]

I think the commitment deal is fairly newfound... it seems to me at least to exactly corelate with the advent of free agency. One can't bond too effectively with a franchise itself, as much as they players within it. It is much easier to love a group of hard-working, heart-filled players scuffling along to victory each night. Very difficult to love an owner, a logo, a jersey... fill in whatveer players the owner decides to pony up for.

[the_cynic]

I think the commitment deal is fairly newfound... it seems to me at least to exactly corelate with the advent of free agency. One can't bond too effectively with a franchise itself, as much as they players within it. It is much easier to love a group of hard-working, heart-filled players scuffling along to victory each night. Very difficult to love an owner, a logo, a jersey... fill in whatveer players the owner decides to pony up for.

Excellent point! Free Agency in sports has changed sports forever!

[Starchild]

I've been a Knicks fan since the day my momma crapped out my slimey little body Been through good and bad with my duration as a Knicks fan, and I'm still just as committed to my team - even with Dolan ruining them.

I mostly shuffle around my "2nd Favorite" team - which for me, is a team in the Western conference for me to root for (since it has no real conflict with the Knicks come playoff time). For the past few years its been Sacramento (I was just really taken by the way Jason Williams played alongside Chris Webber, and then Bibby with C-Webb). But whenever the Kings play a game with any significance to the Knicks' situation, then of course I pull for the team that will help the Knicks out. The only time I went against this was around 1995 and 1996 when I semi-rooted for the Magic - but who didn't back then with Shaq and Penny?

[Saintsfan]

Why should fans show loyalty to a franchise when owners don't show loyalty to the fans- just moving on to somewhere else whenever they see fit!!

[the_cynic]

I think that is a bigger problem in hockey within the past decade. The NBA went through a period of at least 20 years without moving a team (not exactly sure when the Clippers moved to L.A.) before the Grizzlies moved to Memphis. I can see why fans would be pissed in the Hornets situation but for the majority, the NBA has great owners who do give back to the community. I think it's the players like Shaq, Michael Jordan, Alex Rodriguez, etc., players who make tons of cash each year really plague sports now. It all goes back to the free agency thing.

[Lee.]

I have just two words to sum up your dilemma:

Carolina Thunder.

'Nuff said.