opposites attract

The lady cats definitely proved themselves the hottest of all Charlotte cheerleaders(especially this chick that the camera guy was clearly in love with because he kept panning to her).

rawr.

The give-aways for Fan appreciation night (which was also go-green night and while we’re on this topic let’s change all the Charlotte team colors to green) were fantastic. Everyone at the door got a reusable Harry Teets grocery bag. AWE-some. Tons of hundred dollar gift certificates were also given out to the “loudest” fans. *Hint* bounce your boobs when you make the jumbotron to win!

But there’s one thing that really bothered me: the crowd. As if this is a new story for Charlotte but seriously, you guys, we are LAME. No dedicated fans, no packed seats, no followings, no original cheers (how exactly does that tomahawk music fit in?) I know you guys are capable of getting behind a team. It was clearly evident when the crowd cheered the loudest they did all night when they announced that UNC won the National Championship…yesterday (and I don’t think I need to remind everyone that Chapel Hill is NOT Charlotte). I know not all of the thousands of people in attendance were alums so what gives?

Get behind your teams people. The Bobcats were barely edged out of the playoffs and had a pretty close win tonight. They killed the 6-ers on free throws and looked pretty sharp. I know our franchises are new, so they don’t have traditions. But this is a great opportunity to build them. It starts here and now – not when they already got a few championships under their belts.

The truth is that no one fears our house. Not at Bank of America stadium, not at Time Warner arena, and not at Halton arena. And that’s not right.

Maybe it’s because Charlotte is a city of outsiders. Relocators. Not a lot of people grew up loving these teams (even though the Tarheel fervor seems to indicate otherwise). What I’m wondering then is, with all the transplants here with disconnected loyalties…will they jump ship when Charlotte’s no longer winning? In sports or anything. Sports can create a great sense of identity for our town if we let them. We we always be band wagon fans? Will we be a band wagon city?

Two steps forward. Two steps back.