Dear Charlotte
November 19, 2007 at 5:46 pm | Posted in Basketball, Ed Geth, Sports | 6 CommentsI think it’s time to face reality. Move the Bobcats to a region where they can be appreciated. Nearly twenty of my friends and I made the trip from the Triangle to Charlotte for the Bobcats game against Kevin Durant and the Seattle Sonics. The game was delightful, and the Bobcats organization goes out of its way to provide a relatively affordable and entertaining gameday experience, yet the arena was maybe two-thirds full. On a saturday night? I had a handful of extra tickets and I couldn’t get rid of them to save my life. Twenty dollars for a professional sports event is a steal, and Charlotte can’t come through.
I can forgive the gaudy, overpriced guido bars that line the streets of downtown. While I’m amazed that a self respecting pub can bring itself to charge four dollars for a Miller Lite after making me pay a cover just to have a few beers, I can’t blame them for making a buck where they can in a city of bankers and lawyers. But the lack of interest in your professional sports franchises is just disgraceful. Let the Bobcats move north so that they can be appreciated by real sports fans. In exchange, this UNC fan will glady offer up the NCSU and Duke basketball programs. Think it over.
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Jackie Manuel's Posse 
Dear Jackie,
Professional basketball players are all overpaid druggies.
Sincerely,
Most college bball fans
Sigh
Comment by mod— November 20, 2007 #
And baseball and football players are drug free volunteers?
Focus, this is about how Charlotte sucks. I mean, the other city in the region you could compare it too, Atlanta, is way bigger and I don’t think those Hawks games are sell outs. (or were Braves play off games not too long ago) But Atlanta kind of sucks too.
Comment by ric— November 20, 2007 #
Yes. What is it about Southern big cities?
Charlotte has a lot going for it. Just not the people or the things to do. And I don’t want to hear anyone try to argue that it’s because the Bobcats suck.
Roy Williams said something last night on 1360 that sticks with me. You go to the game to enjoy the experience. If you have a team that kicks ass, then bully for you, but most teams aren’t great. Roy was lamenting that college sports are becoming too much like pro sports. Get out there and support your team. If you win, great, if not, you go out again next game and do the same thing.
When I was little, we went to CSU football games where the rams would get destroyed by BYU and any other team that came around. But damn that was fun.
All of that said, screw Charlotte, screw every bar that charges a cover for no reason and then overcharges for beer.
Comment by Ed Geth— November 20, 2007 #
Please note that was not from me, so I can’t defend it. It was from a lot of sports fans I talk to who dislike NBA basketball. Personally I think the statement is idiotic.
Comment by mod— November 20, 2007 #
I hate Charlotte so much that I can’t even bring myself to drive two hours on the road to see the B-cats play.
MOD
Comment by mod— November 20, 2007 #
If we didn’t get so much tax revenue from Charlotte I’d advocate annexing it to South Carolina where it belongs.
As for the Bobbycats, I fear for them. It was fun on Saturday but between the television rights bullshite (even with NBA ticket you can’t watch them unless you have cable) and the drafting of Adam Morrison you can’t blame it all of the fans. After all, they have enough to deal with living in such a crap city.
As for the NBA….it is my least favorite American league and it is not just failing in the south. New Jersey, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Sacramento, Indiana, and Philadelphia all average under 16k. Heck Charlotte averages more fans that the 76ers. Ratings are down nationally. Too many teams have not won shite and the only way to get good is to get lucky in the lotto in the right year or find some schmuck GM to deal Kobe(once drafted by Charlotte!), KG, or whatever. Since 1999 one team that did not have Kobe, Shaq, or Tim Duncan has won a title. Since 1987 only Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Detroit, San Antonio, and Miami have won titles. 20 years and 6 teams. That can’t all be bad management. They need less games like college has making each one valuable and promotion/relegation or something so that the other frachises have something to play for. I’ll still watch it over any non-sport though.
Comment by jackiemanuel— November 20, 2007 #