benaikey

I think I may be done supporting my hometown Charlotte Bobcats.

While watching the Dodgers vs Cardinals on ESPN, I happened to notice the ticker at the bottom of the screen. It said the Bobcats and Hornets, the original Charlotte team (which locals loathe with a passion over how they moved out of town – but that’s another rant for another time), are working on a deal to trade away Emeka Okafor in exchange for Tyson Chandler.

You have got to be kidding me. Okafor was the franchise’s first pick ever, second overall in the 2004 NBA Draft. He had a great season, and won Rookie of the Year. He’s been the face of the franchise through good and bad, nearly making the playoffs and losing ridiculous numbers of games. And now management wants to get rid of him.

This would leave me scratching my head if it didn’t make me so angry. Why would you trade away a great power forward that the fans love in exchange for a guy with chronic toe problems?

I don’t care if this leaves the door open for more salary cap freedom down the road. You’re not going to draw in fans without a fan favorite, and nobody else on this team gets the crowd going like Okafor. And of all the teams to trade him to, why trade him to the team that abandoned this city?

I said I wouldn’t rant, but I have to. The Hornets abandoned Charlotte. Management screwed things over not only in finances, but also in transactions. Did you know the Hornets originally drafted Kobe Bryant? Management thought it would be smart to trade him for Vlade Divac.

In spite of horrible decisions, this city stuck by their Hornets through thick and thin. And one day, management pulled the old Art Modell move. They left for another city overnight, leaving fans devastated and betrayed.

Years later, the NBA, as a way of saying sorry, gave us the Bobcats. Suffice it to say it hasn’t panned out. After 35 wins last year, fans were starting to have faith in this team. We thought the team was finally about to turn the corner and make the playoffs. And now management goes and does this.

I just don’t understand. You needed to add another big man, not trade away our best one for a guy that can’t stay healthy and was turned away from Oklahoma City of all teams because of health problems.

And now, where does that leave the Bobcats? Are they doomed to become the Clippers of the east coast? Or will they become the Supersonics, failing for a few more years, sold, then moved again?

I can honestly say if this is how management wants to run this team, I don’t care. If the trade goes through, I won’t support the Bobcats anymore. I won’t go to games, I won’t watch them on tv, and I won’t report on them. I’ll support every team they play against just to spite management for once again stabbing the fan base in the back. It makes me sick to my stomach to know one of the three professional sports teams in the great state of North Carolina doesn’t care at all about the fans, or about winning.

May the Bobcats lose more games than the Detroit Lions, be ridiculed more than the Knicks, and be cursed worse than the Cubs. I’m done supporting a team that doesn’t care, and I hope the people of Charlotte follow my lead and abandon this team before they can do it to us.

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