New Orleans: Where's the Love? Part One
The Cinderella story of the 2007-2008 NBA season is without a doubt, the inspired play of the New Orleans Hornets.
With a record of 35-15 going into tonight's contest with the Milwaukee Bucks, the Hornets look to head into the All-Star Break tied for the Western Conference (The Varsity's) top record with Phoenix.
They have an exciting, up-and-coming superstar in Chris Paul. With an incessant motor, a high basketball IQ, phenomenal court vision, an improved jumpshot, a diminutive stature, a bright white smile, a baby face, and an impressive ability to speak honestly and articulately during interviews, it's difficult to see why Chris Paul hasn't been elected the new mayor of New Orleans. God knows it could use a new one. Oh, and he's six months younger than LeBron.
Paul, one of the league's most refreshing and engaging young players, has improved the overall play of David West, and Tyson Chandler, two great guys who play with a "passion, purpose, and pride" that embodies the franchise's new slogan.
Aside from the team's exceptional plays during the first half highlighted by its fast-paced, up-and-down the court style, and superior outside shooting from players like Peja, Paul, and Mo Pete, the Hornets have contributed a ton of effort and time in assisting those in a still-battered New Orleans community.
Granted, most of New Orleans is up and back to normal, but at least 20% of the city's neighborhoods have yet to be restored to pre-Katrina standards and lack that unique cultural vibrancy that made them so intrinsic to New Orleans. "Hoops for Homes", one of the many Hornets' community efforts, has raised over six figures in helping to construct new homes for the families of the city's public school teachers who lost theirs during the storm in 2005.
So why exactly does this team, one which other franchises would only hope to emulate, rank second-to-last in the NBA in terms of attendance? As an intern in the Hornets' Game Ops department, I believe I might understand what lies behind this problem, and I will discuss it in part two of this feature.
