Have the people of New Orleans finally realized that the Hornets have players on their own team worth paying to see? Or have the sports centered eyes of New Orleans residents simply collided with the Hornets logo which has consistently been appearing on Sportcenter over the past three weeks? The answer is most likely a tasty concoction of both scenarios.
The Hornets recorded their second sell out of the season Saturday night in a victory against the Memphis Grizzlies, which could, quite possibly, have been the most significant showing Hornets fans have made all season. The lone other Hornets' sellout came against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but anyone that has been paying attention to the Hornets' marketing strategies should attribute that one to the "Lebron package."
It is also no coincidence that the other large crowds this season have come against other opponents with major stars on their team, i.e. the Shaq or Kobe packages; but what star on the Grizzlies did the Hornets' faithful come out in full force to see? Pau Gasol? Not anymore, I suppose he would be a newly added stipulation of the Kobe package.
Some may attribute the large crowd to the game's falling on a Saturday night; however, previous Saturday night home games, besides the Cavs game, include the T-Wolves, Clippers, Mavs, and Suns, none of which came close to selling out.
What is truly significant, and should be obvious, about the Hornets' most recent sellout is the fact that there is no big star on the Grizzlies, not to mention they are ranked dead last in the latest ESPN power rankings; but they still had the same amount of fans come out as they did for the Lebron James show back in December. This clearly shows that people now realize that the Hornets do have players worth the price of admission.
People in this city are finally starting to give Chris Paul his long overdue recognition for performing at a higher level than any other point guard in the NBA this season. The chants for MVP are warranted. They are giving David West his recognition for quietly becoming one of the stand-out forwards in the league, Tyson Chandler for his aggressive, dominating presence in the paint, and Peja and Mo Pete for their precision outside shooting skills, not to mention the recently found inspired play from the bench. And, no, praise is not the same thing as recognition.
Anyone can praise a player at work, school, the local bar, on the radio, or anywhere else with the proverbial "Hey man, he's awesome! Did you see him on TV?" (sorry North Shore); but true recognition is given by purchasing a ticket and sitting down in the arena to show your support. The recognition shown to the Hornets at the Grizzlies game should become commonplace throughout the remainder of the home schedule.
Monday, February 11, 2008
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