New Orleans Pelicans change name from the Hornets. Here's why the Charlotte Bobcats and owner Michael Jordan Should go back to the Hornets.
The New Orleans Hornets will now be known around the NBA as the Pelicans.
The team unveiled five new logos and the name at a press conference on Thursday, effectively ending the period of having a different city's mascot as the team name and transitioning to a more locally and regionally known nickname.
The new logo includes a pelican with its wings spread and a basketball in its beak, while the new team colors are blue, gold and red, a big change from the Hornets' teal, purple, gold and white.
The franchise is making a smart move, because the Hornets name has no resonance in the city. It is a living reminder that the team was forced to move. It is a reminder of the time when the NBA had to take ownership of the team. It is a reminder of all the seasons with bad records. It is a reminder that the franchise had to trade Chris Paul.
In the past, many teams have kept their names after moving, including most notably the Utah Jazz. The Jazz originally were the New Orleans Jazz, due to the popularity and cultural significance of the name in regards to the city. Utah is not known for its vibrant jazz scene, while New Orleans is a major city when it comes to jazz music.
The Lakers are another franchise where the name did not change despite moving. The team was originally from Minnesota, which is known as the land of a thousand lakes, hence the name. Another solid example is the Memphis Grizzlies, who were previously in Vancouver. The grizzly bear is common in the area in Canada, but not as much so in Memphis.
Now, the team can start fresh as the Pelicans. Symbolically, the team will be a new franchise, with a new star in No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis and will bring new excitement in the city. Saints owner Tom Benson bought the team last year and in December news came out that the franchise wanted to change its name to a more regionally known nickname. Luckily, Benson had the rights to the Pelicans name.
According to the New York Times, the Pelican moniker has great resonance in the city.
"Louisiana is known as the Pelican State and the brown pelican is the state bird. The brown pelican appears on Louisiana's flag and seal, and was pictured on the state's commemorative quarter. The name was previously used by minor league baseball teams in the city from 1887 to 1959 and then for one season in 1977."
The Hornets were originally brought into the NBA for the 1989 season and the team sold out the Charlotte Coliseum for the early years of the franchise. The team even had a 364-game sellout streak at one point. As the years went on, the team performed well, but the attendance numbers started to slip.
At the turn of the millennium, attendance dipped below 20,000 and by 2002, the team couldn't get more than 11,000 people into the house per game. By 2003, the team was in New Orleans, but still hung on to the Hornets name. That obviously is no longer the case.
The change is a great move for New Orleans, but it also opens up a new opportunity for another franchise to re-name itself. The Charlotte Bobcats can use this as a chance to go back to the original name of the Charlotte Hornets.
The Bobcats could pull a similar move if they decided to go back to the Hornets. The city of Charlotte didn't lose the Hornets name, they lost the team. The people in the area still loved the name and people in Charlotte can be seen wearing throwback jerseys to games on a regular basis.
The old Hornets colors and the name reminds fans of better times in Charlotte, when Larry Johnson and Alonzo Mourning led the team to its first playoff appearance in 1993. The last year the Hornets were in the city, the team finished second in the central division with a 44-38 record and lost in the Eastern Conference Semifinals to the New Jersey Nets.
The Bobcats have been one of the worst franchises in the NBA since coming into the league and has only made the playoffs once in its existence. Michael Jordan has proven to be unable to put together a solid and consistent team, but a name change could erase all that-at least mentally.
The franchise is constantly fighting the perception of how bad they are, especially because they own the worst regular season record of all-time after going 7-59 in 2012.
The name changing could have some strange effects though when it comes to team records.
If the Bobcats decided to take the Hornets' name, the new franchise would only date back to 2004, since it was originally the Bobcats. That would keep all the Hornets records with the original franchise, meaning the Pelicans would keep the original records. Basically, the statistics of the Charlotte Hornets from 1988 to 2002 would be credited to the Pelicans.
The NBA is already dealing with a situation like this, as the Kings are now set to move to Seattle and reclaim the SuperSonics name. The history of the franchise traveled with the Thunder to New Orleans, but the rights to the name remained in Seattle as part of a deal when the franchise moved.
The stats would be complicated, but the name change still makes sense. The fan base in Charlotte is disillusioned with the franchise and is averaging 15,371 people per game through 23 contests this season, ranked 23rd in the NBA (wow, this really is Michael Jordan's franchise).
Last season, amazingly enough, despite having the worst regular season record of any NBA team ever, the Bobcats still outdrew a number of teams after coming in ranked 21st with an average of 15,421 fans. The team ranked higher than the Sacramento Kings, New Jersey Nets, Detroit Pistons, as well as the team that originally left the city, the New Orleans Hornets.
The fact that the team isn't the least attended franchise in the NBA is actually a positive point in regards to changing the name back to the Hornets. Chances are, many of the fans that still attend games are originally Hornets fans. Chances are, that many casual fans around the area would get excited about a new name and a new logo (even if it was back to the old name and old logo).
The Bobcats are doing their due diligence though. According to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer, the team is already engaging with the community to see if a name-change would be favorable.
From the report: "The Bobcats are already engaged in market research to find out. They've hired Harris Interactive, a nationally prominent polling company, to survey both current Bobcats customers and the general Charlotte sports market about a possible change."
According to ESPN.com, there also is a group known as "Bring Back the Buzz" will fill seats in the upper deck of the stadium and chant for the Hornets from time to time at Charlotte games.
While the name might be old, the idea of it is fresh and could help invigorate a fan-base that truly does love basketball. The two best college basketball teams historically are in the state, with Duke and North Carolina, and the city is often cited as one of the best when the NCAA tournament is held there.
Michael Jordan and the Bobcats have done nothing significant in the NBA apart from setting the record for futility. The owner could help push those memories aside with one stroke if they bring back the Hornets name.
