NBA CHarlotte.........Bobcats?

[The Evil Genius]

Ugh - another bad name. And an ego stroke to boot. Apparently their jerseys are going to be some shade of orange.



Charlotte NBA Team May Be 'Bobcats'


By JENNA FRYER, AP Sports Writer

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Charlotte's NBA expansion team will be called the "Bobcats," a nod to the owner who spent $300 million for the franchise, The Associated Press has learned.

Bob Johnson selected Bobcats over "Flight" and "Dragons," a source familiar with the process told the AP on Monday on condition of anonymity.

The dominant color in uniforms and logos will be orange and official team apparel will be in stores Wednesday afternoon, the source said.

An official announcement is planned for Wednesday, when city leaders plan to join Johnson and NBA commissioner David Stern in a downtown street festival to unveil the name and logos.

Chris Weiller, a spokesman for the new NBA team, would not comment on the team's nickname.

In picking Bobcats, Johnson gets to see his own name used and continues the feline theme established by Charlotte's other pro team, the NFL's Panthers.

Bobcats was one of three finalists for the team name, whittled down from a list of nearly 1,200 suggestions the team received from the community. Johnson's group used several focus groups and spent nearly $100,000 researching the names and their trademark status and designing possible logos.

Team officials cut the list about 10 names, then matched them with potential colors, graphic designs and mascots.

Chicago's NVU Productions was hired to help develop the logos.

Reaction was lukewarm — at best — when the finalists were announced last month. But the same thing happened in 1987 when owner George Shinn was naming his Charlotte NBA team.

Originally "Spirit" was selected, but Shinn changed it to Hornets, a name that traced its roots to the Revolutionary War.

That name — and its lovable purple and teal mascot "Hugo the Hornet" — eventually caught on and then moved on with the franchise to New Orleans.

[Golgo-13]

Ok, can somebody please tell me why Charlotte is getting another team?

[DaRock]

Why wouldn't they?..The fans are great there. The owner and the rest of the higher staff for the now New Orleans Hornets were horrible. They made the fans not want to go. Charlotte supported the he** out of the Hornets for a long long time, even when they were losing pitifully. I know ALOT of people that are still pulling for the new orleans hornets from up there. The owner George is a total goof. Now about the name Bobcats and going with the feline theme..that's a bit weird. I would have much had them rather go with the Charlotte Flight hence wilbur and orville.

[Golgo-13]

Originally posted by Number11
Why wouldn't they?..The fans are great there. The owner and the rest of the higher staff for the now New Orleans Hornets were horrible. They made the fans not want to go. Charlotte supported the he** out of the Hornets for a long long time, even when they were losing pitifully. I know ALOT of people that are still pulling for the new orleans hornets from up there. The owner George is a total goof. Now about the name Bobcats and going with the feline theme..that's a bit weird. I would have much had them rather go with the Charlotte Flight hence wilbur and orville.

I can buy that. Just seemed weird that they would be getting a new team right after the old one moved away. I guess it's like basketballs version of the Browns?

[Brave]

Number11 is right. Charlotte was a good NBA town until the owner screwed things up.

That man (George Shinn) is a roach.

He completely ran that franchise into the ground. There were Shinn sex scandals, a demand for a new publically-funded arena less than 10 years after the Charlotte Coliseum was built. He traded away every player that played well enough to receive a payday with the exception of one ... Larry Johnson, who he should have traded away rather than sign long-term.

Still ... the fans stuck around for a decade faithfully until he started threatening to move the team if he didn't get his new arena handed to him.

I think a team could work well in Charlotte with decent ownership. The NBA seems to agree.

Bobcats and orange doesn't sound too appealing, though.

[The Evil Genius]

They are saying that official team apparel will be in stores Wednesday (tomorrow).

Talk about a short window of opportunity :rolleyes:

[Gamebreaker]

You would think a black guy could come up with something more "gangsta" than an orange bobcat. :D

I wishing for some ghetto name like the Charlotte Ruff Ryders, would've really showcased the amount of crime that goes on in that city.

[Kilmer17]

My god, the Flight? That's as bad as the Bullets changing to the RiverDogs or whatever aweful name they came up with.......like the Wizards.

[Awesome]

lame

[Golgo-13]

Originally posted by Kilmer17
My god, the Flight? That's as bad as the Bullets changing to the RiverDogs or whatever aweful name they came up with.......like the Wizards.

You mean the Sea Dogs? That was one of the five "choices" for the fans to make and I guess that Don and Mike were getting everyone to call in and vote for the Sea Dogs and supposedly the front office had to stop them. I can't remember all the choices, but I remember that they were pretty bad because Wizards was actually the best one among them. :puke:

[Zuskin]

George Shin got busted for hanging around Women's shelters and taking advantage of already abused Women.

The Lady in question didn't have the stamina to stick it to him in court so he got off.

Meanwile, several of the "Honey buns" came forward to testify that he demanded sexual favers from them in order to keep their
jobs. I have no idea how he got out of that one. Bank room deal or something.

He then brought in a partner so he could move to Florida, save tax money and stay out of the papers.

The partner turned out to be almost as sleazy but in a different way. Kept giving the city ultimatums demanding a new arena. That's when people finally said 'enough, seeya!'.

[Larry Brown #43]

Can you imagine if they called the team the "Flight?" Holy crap...that's worse than most WNBA team names. The fans should thank their lucky stars they got the "Bobcats" and not the "Flight." What an embarrassment that would have been.

[The Evil Genius]

Flight or Spirit would have sucked...I liked the concept of the Charlotte Dragons...

but they should have been the Charlotte Thunder. Or the Charlotte Express (it was a rail town)....

[Golgo-13]

Spirit would have been even worse than flight. Doesn't get any more WNBA than that. There is not a shred of masculinity in that name.

[Kilmer17]

I oppose all names that dont end in "s" or "men". Exceptions made for Tide, Irish, and Ilini.

Jazz, Magic, Wild, all suck.

[Zuskin]

I made a promise to myself that if the "Flight" was chosen I'd never go to a game.

I thought the Carolina Cougers would have been the best name. I guess I still have some respect for history.

[duke-skins]

I was hoping they'd go back to the old school....Carolina Cougars. It would still maintain the feline tie-in.:thumbsup:

[BillyKilmer]

I suffered through expansion and mismangement with the Hornets I drove 5 hours and attended at least 6 games over there first 7 seasons. I finally came to the awarness that teams reflect thier ownership more then anything. Shinn pissed in his own drinking water with his actions. In the end even though the team was about as good as it ever was I could not stand to watch them knowing Shinn was mapping his exit with less class then Bob Irsay.
He continues his mis-mangement i.e. Firing Silas the winner and hiring the lousest professional coach of all time Tim "Dim" Floyd.
worst win loss precentage of any coach with 200 games experince in any of the 4 major sports,

I am not sure how I will feel about the new team But one things for sure I won't hat this owner as much.

[Glenn X]

Originally posted by Kilmer17
I oppose all names that dont end in "s" or "men". Exceptions made for Tide, Irish, and Ilini.

Jazz, Magic, Wild, all suck. AMEN!!!

[Yusuf06]

Bobcats....weak, weak, weak. And a lame color scheme to boot. What more could we expect from a sheister (sp?) like Bob Johnson. :rolleyes:

It's almost as bad as the Withards (lisp added for gay emphasis). I agree, "Bobcats" is quite efeminate and could just as easily been a WNBA name.

[Charlie Murphaaay]

The 'Flight' is actually not bad at all. Especially if Jordan had become part owner.

Bobcats completely sucks. But, he paid the price for the franchise and he can name it whatever the hell he wants too.

I want to know how they plan to make a good looking orange uniform.

[Zuskin]

Bobcats, Shmobcats. They'll always be the 'Big Hairy Johnson's' as far as I'm concerned.

Now, excuse me while I go get some free stuff to make fun of. :laugh:

[The Evil Genius]

Here's the logo....

http://www.charlotte.com/images/charlotte/observer/6064/36773629192.gif

[Yusuf06]

Maybe I'm going crazy or something, but I'd swear that Bobcat bears a mild resemblance to Bob Johnson. Hmmmmm