I usually write college football, but I couldn't resist.
The New Orleans Hornets return to Oklahoma City tonight for the first time since it got its own NBA team—to KEEP, this time!
As a native of Oklahoma City, I can't even tell you how stoked I was to have an NBA team coming to town when it was announced the Hornets would be coming for a couple seasons.
I got pumped up, went to as many games as I could, cheered my heart out and fell in love with the team. Oklahoma City, in my opinion, played a crucial role in the formation of CP3 becoming the All-Star that he is. Oklahoma City reminded the Hornets what it's like to have a fan base that actually cares and actually goes to games.
We provided a home-court advantage the Hornets hadn't seen in New Orleans and gave them all the tools to become the playoff performers they were last season.
But it wasn't a one-sided relationship. The Hornets gave a lot back to Oklahoma City.
The Hornets vitalized the City and united Sooner fans and Cowboy fans (and those silly Golden Hurricane fans) under one team. The Hornets gave us something we could truly care about and could truly call our own (for a couple seasons).
The Hornets put Oklahoma City on the map for professional teams, ensuring a successful SuperSonics move and setting up Oklahoma City nicely for an MLB or NFL expansion team down the road.
The Hornets validated the Ford Center, making it a must-stop for touring performers and leading to necessary improvements that have made it one of the better stadiums in the country.
And the Hornets made me actually start caring about the NBA for the first time since Jordan retired (the first time).
Then they went on back to New Orleans and broke my heart.
Now, after a scandalous acquiring of the Seattle SuperSonics, Oklahoma City has its own NBA team, the Thunder, led by Kevin Durant and fan-favorite, Oklahoma State grad (and former Hornet) Desmond Mason.
ESPN has been talking a lot about how the Hornets will respond to the homecoming, but what will Oklahoma City do?
I'd venture to say I'm not the only person from Oklahoma City that became a die-hard Hornets fan after going to two seasons of games, getting to know the players and cheering for victories (something New Orleans hadn't seen much of before coming to the City). Although I like the Thunder, I'll probably always be a bigger Hornets fan.
Many people in Oklahoma City still own OKC Hornets shirts and jerseys and still cheer for the Hornets. Because of that and what I've already mentioned, many people—including me—will be cheering against the home team.
So what does that do? Will it spark a Hornets-Thunder rivalry? And what if (by a miracle of heaven) the Thunder beat the Hornets? Are the fans in Oklahoma City happy? Sad? Confused?
Don't get me wrong—I love my hometown Thunder. But I loved the Hornets first.
For another native OKC fan's perspective, who will be cheering for the Thunder despite loving the Hornets, read this article.
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about 1 month ago
You shed light on quite a problem. While I know how hard it is to cheer against a team you've come to know and love, I hope the fans support their new home town team tonight. They need all the support they can get, even when they're playing poorly.
Personally I still have never forgiven the Hornets for leaving Charlotte years ago. But that's my personal beef.
from about 1 month ago
Yah, Jeff, any time a team moves it's pretty hard on people. But I agree, the Thunder need some support, but it's hard on fans like me who are so torn between supporting the team that left or the team that's here.
about 1 month ago
As a Sonics fan I hope the Hornets pound the Thunderless Thunder and that lying sack ClayClay. I don't think PJ is the right coach for that young team and I think in a few years some other franchise is going to swoop in and blow Presti and Durant away with a mega-deal. Then we'll see how ClayClay is hailed as an NBA owner.
from about 1 month ago
Haha, that's fair, Tyler. I understand it must be rough to see the Sonics move on to Oklahoma City and I'm frankly disappointed with the way Bennett made the move, but now they're my hometown team and I love them. But I love the Hornets too. I'm not sure what you said will happen. Give us a couple of years and we'll turn them around. Look what we did to the Hornets.
about 1 month ago
as a hornets fan, the city of N.O. has loved this team from the beginning but they'll always be 3rd bannana behind the saints and LSU. even now with the love affair at its highest to date, the hornets are still 3rd. i hate to say it but the average louisiana sports fan probably has either saints or LSU season tickets. buying 41 home games on top of that is tough for a regular guy.
but i think new orleans fans have realized that CP3 is the best athlete to ever play for a N.O. franchise. they'll bounce back from their slow start once peja gets his touch back and tyson can stay healthy.
from about 1 month ago
Oh, I agree, man. This Hornets team is incredibly talented. Don't forget about D-West, man--he's a stud.
I can understand the pull from the Hornets from college and pro football. That was a big advantage for Oklahoma because we didn't have an NFL team to support like N.O. does. We were happy you guys lent us the Hornets, though, and many of us still love them like you do.
about 1 month ago
monk, that's an interesting predicament they have. are most of the residents still hornets fans or did they convert to thunder fans? haven't thought about that. kind of a unique situation.
kind of sucks for them, they're the home team and most fans cheer against them. they're bad enough as it is...
from about 1 month ago
I think it's actually a 50/50 split. Obviously the OKC Hornets fans cheer for the Thunder any time they aren't playing New Orleans. It's quite an odd situation, for sure.
It does kinda suck for the Thunder, I agree, because it isn't their fault that their fan base loves a different team but they still have to deal with it.
And yes, they're awful. It makes me sad.
from about 1 month ago
For me, personally, I ended up sticking with the Hornets. Like a lot of people around here, I fell in love with them during their two seasons playing in OKC. That, coupled with the somewhat bad taste left in my mouth by how the Sonics/Thunder move was handled kind of sealed the deal for me.
I still haven't warmed up to the Thunder and am not really sure if I will. It's like we get this team for two years, the first pro team to ever call Oklahoma City home, even if it was just temporary, and we go absolutely crazy over them. Then we land another one as a result of a bitter divorce after they had to go back. In a way it's almost like settling after the Hornets returned to New Orleans. I seriously doubt many people around here are nearly as one-sided as I am on this though.
from about 1 month ago
I might be pretty close to where you are, Ian. A lot of people are very bitter about the way OKC acquired the SuperSonics and made the move, and I agree with you--that was what sealed the deal for me to be a solid Hornets fan.
Thanks for weighing in! It was great to hear from another fellow Oklahoman on this.
about 1 month ago
Yeah, its kinda like the Titans and the Texans. The Titans were the Oilers first, and a lot of people here in Texas love Vince Young and the HC Jeff Fisher.
from about 1 month ago
True that. Vince Young is one of only two Texas Longhorns players that I respect. Note: I didn't say the others aren't good or talented, just that I don't respect them. It's that whole hating-the-Longhorns thing I have, I guess, haha
from about 1 month ago
Who is the other one? Earl Campbell? Me, I am any Texas team fan, but I really like how Colt McCoy commands the team. He is a field general.
from about 1 month ago
Major Applewhite. Although he was a thorn in Nebraska's side, he was one of the truest people to ever wear that burnt orange jersey. The way Mack took him out in favor of that little wimp Chris Sims (just because Sims' dad played pro ball), but he came true for Texas when they needed him against Colorado that year and again in the bowl game. Major and Vince are the only two that have garnered my respect.
about 1 month ago
Very interesting take here. I would like to say congrats on finally getting a permanent team for OKC, but at the same time, i'm sure it's a little bitter sweet b/c so many people took to the hornets.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks for the congratulations. We're pretty happy to have the Thunder, but they sure aren't the Hornets. And, it sounds like, we are going to fire the head coach in favor of someone else... 1-12 isn't so great at all.
But, like I said in my article, I'm a Hornets fan first and they're still plugging away, so I'm pretty happy.
about 1 month ago
Very interesting read! I say go for the hometown team and keep the Hornets as your backup team!!! The Thunder are going to need a few years to get going but if the fans stick behind them, then they will turn it around in a few years. The Thunder need to be smart with their draft picks the next couple years and keep fans coming to the games to show the NBA that OKC can handle a team.
from about 1 month ago
Naw, man, I'm a Thunder fan every day they aren't playing New Orleans, but I'll be a Hornets fan first probably forever. I grew up a Nebraska fan in the heart of Sooner Country, so I'm used to liking another team over the hometown team.
We in OKC are supporting the 1-12 Thunder surprisingly well, seeing how poorly they're playing this season, but many of us really miss the Hornets.
I agree, a lot depends on how we handle the draft picks. We'd be smart to pick up a Stephen Curry (Davidson) or Blake Griffin (Oklahoma) to supplement Mason and Durant, but we'll see. Hopefully we play it smart.
about 1 month ago
Good article, Monk! I never even went to a Hornets game while they were in OKC, but I started to like them. I saw them as an up-and-coming team. A team that was starting to put the pieces together and had made the right deals. I also saw that New Orleans does not deserve this team. Yes, the devastation from Katrina was unfathomable and it would be crude to take a team away from a city that just endured that. But the city hasn't supported the Hornets like it should have, and still really didn't until playoffs started. We did. We had billboards up around the city of Byron Scott, and we sold Hornets gear by the thousands. In those two years, Oklahoma proved something: It is not just a football state. No, it's a sports state. I'm excited for the possibility of more teams, and while I don't think NFL would work here because of the strong college football loyalties, I think baseball could.
Anyway, after tasting what having a rising NBA team in your city is like, we get the Sonic/Thunder. It kinda feels like we've been cheated. And the Sonic fans feel like they've been cheated too. It's a lose-lose right now, but maybe the firing of this coach will spark good things for the future.
from about 1 month ago
Nice comments, Daniel. I agree--I'm hoping the firing of our coach will take OKC in the right direction. And it's not fair that we made the Hornets the team they are today and NEW ORLEANS got to host playoffs. WE deserved that because of the support we'd given the Hornets the previous two seasons. They should have just stayed in OKC. Everyone would have been happier because New Orleans didn't care about the Hornets.
I think I might agree about the NFL team, but it would still be fun to have one. But it would be AWESOME to get an MLB team.
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