Hornets are beginning the transition to returning home...only 6 games in NO, this year, with permission from the State of Louisiana, but, they are coming back next season full time and they are bringing the NBA All Star Game with them in their opening season to make a statement. Has it sunk in to everyone that New Orleans is an NBA city? Does it make you excited? Are you a fan and a supporter of New Orleans' NBA team? Are you ready to see some NBA action? You better believe that I love the fact that New Orleans is ALSO an NBA city and I can't wait until the Hornets are back full-time!

I hate basketball. Not more than baseball though.

It's great that they're opening the season here, but you wouldn't know it with the lack of hype and advertising. They need to promote it more.

Hornets are beginning the transition to returning home...only 6 games in NO, this year, with permission from the State of Louisiana, but, they are coming back next season full time and they are bringing the NBA All Star Game with them in their opening season to make a statement. Has it sunk in to everyone that New Orleans is an NBA city? Does it make you excited? Are you a fan and a supporter of New Orleans' NBA team? Are you ready to see some NBA action? You better believe that I love the fact that New Orleans is ALSO an NBA city and I can't wait until the Hornets are back full-time!


...Interesting thread-- I voted, "Yes- Can't hardly wait..." in your poll, but in reality I'm somewhere between that and the "Sorta" option. I'm not an NBA fan, but I am a New Orleans fan, I'm intigued by the NBA in NOLA and you can bet your *** that I'll pull for them if they're playing the Lakers, although I probably wouldn't go out of my way to watch them play like I would the Saints, until they establish a little more history. I like that you said "New Orleans is (also) an NBA city" because people need to think that way, buy some tickets and support the team. Chris Paul will OWN the town along with Reggie, Deuce and Drew if he continues to perform like he has. I think that being a big-league sports town with two franchises will greatly increase the city's profile and help with the rebuilding.

I wish they would change the name/color scheme/owner to make it feel like our team.

But yeah I can't wait to see the actual team back. Paul is already one of the top players in the league. We're green up front but a lot of talent to work with. We finally got a shooter in Peja. I think we should make the playoffs this year.

I don't watch every game because there's too many to keep up with but I'm glad they're coming back.

6 games doesn't excite me. Can't get enthused until team fully committs and returns. What are you going to do, root for them to get into playoffs for the OK fans to enjoy?

6 games doesn't excite me. Can't get enthused until team fully committs and returns. What are you going to do, root for them to get into playoffs for the OK fans to enjoy?

Yep...I'll root for the team. It is the NEW ORLEANS Hornets that are playing in OKC because of Hurricane Katrina. I will absolutely root our team to the playoffs. If I didn't root for them to get to the playoffs, then, I don't think it would be fair to call me a fan of the team.

I don't really care personally, just a casual fan of the NBA in general. I will maybe watch parts of games, while flipping channels on the TV.

Sorry to those NBA fans out there but College basketball is far more interesting. If I had to choose between the Hornets and a good college game I would choose the good college game.

I've never really had a team to pull for in the NBA. I have followed Shaq since he left LSU, but now that the Hornets are in NOLA I find myself following them more.

I wish they would change the name/color scheme/owner to make it feel like our team.


...Sorry, but purple/green/gold and the name "Jazz" are already taken :ezbill:

Yep...I'll root for the team. It is the NEW ORLEANS Hornets that are playing in OKC because of Hurricane Katrina. I will absolutely root our team to the playoffs. If I didn't root for them to get to the playoffs, then, I don't think it would be fair to call me a fan of the team.


...Have ya'll seen this? (Scroll down about halfway down the page on the right.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Hornets


Didn't realize they've been wearing "Oklahoma City" on their unis; to me, it's a slap in the face....

I'm fired up.

It is the NEW ORLEANS Hornets that are playing in OKC because of Hurricane Katrina.

As an outsider to the Hornets and all that's going on with them, why do they still need to play in OKC? Is something wrong with the Arena? :shrug:

Yep...I'll root for the team. It is the NEW ORLEANS Hornets that are playing in OKC because of Hurricane Katrina. I will absolutely root our team to the playoffs. If I didn't root for them to get to the playoffs, then, I don't think it would be fair to call me a fan of the team.


I dislike NBA basketball. It just does not excite me. The season is too long and most of the games don't matter in the standings or to the players. I used to watch the playoffs, but even that has gotten boring to me. Basically, all you need to do is watch the last 5 minutes of an NBA game because that's all that matters.

With that being said, I support the Hornets because they are New Orleans team. I check the box score ever day that they play and want them to win and be successful. I do think it would help if they re-branded the team in order to make them feel like our team. As a Saints' fan, who is always threatened by the Saints' moving, I find the current team logos and look to be sort of like looking at a team stolen from another city. I know Charlotte got another team, but I still feel for them in some ways and seeing the name nicknames and logos only reminds me of that.

But, like gboudx, I have to ask why it is that they can't play all of their games in the arena this year.

As an outsider to the Hornets and all that's going on with them, why do they still need to play in OKC? Is something wrong with the Arena? :shrug:

The NBA and Stern were reluctant to ask fans to pay for 43 home games while the City is recoverying and it was also proposed by the State that they stay in OKC one more year.

A group of OKC businessmen just bought the Seattle Supersonics and they plan on moving the team to OKC. Some folks might think that keeps the Hornets in N.O. for good, but I heard Shinn wanted to move the team to Las Vegas instead of OKC after Katrina. The NBA isn't as image-conscious as the NFL is. I could see them putting a team there.

A group of OKC businessmen just bought the Seattle Supersonics and they plan on moving the team to OKC.


...You state that as fact, but they said when they bought the Sonics that they planned to keep them in Seattle. I'm not being naive, I'm just asking if their stance has changed or if you know something that the rest of us don't? BTW, it's commonplace for owners to buy a team that plays someplace other than their hometown (e.g. former Minnesota Vikings owner Red McCombs, who lives in San Antonio.) Also, I think that last season Shinn would never have considered moving the team back to NOLA, but now, after seeing all the love and PR the Saints have gotten- he thinks the Hornets could benefit from being back in the city. Just my .02.

...You state that as fact, but they said when they bought the Sonics that they planned to keep them in Seattle. I'm not being naive, I'm just asking if their stance has changed or if you know something that the rest of us don't?

I saw the press conference with the new owner's comments. As far as keeping them in Seattle goes, the most I heard him say was something along the lines of, "That's the plan but we're not ruling out other options either, etc."

Count me in as a casual fan. I used to be a bigger fan, even last season for the most part, but all of the double-talk really got to me. Then I saw the "home" game where the wore the OKC jerseys. That just about did it for me as a full fledged supporter of the team.

That being said, I will follow them all the same and try to make the trip for a couple of games. I just don't plan on following them as closely as I used to, b/c they are a P/R nightmare and it's frankly frustrating to watch. I just don't want to watch our "home" announcers in OKC hyping the city up again, it is sickening to my stomach.