Bobcats and free agents

Vince Carter is all flash and no substance. I would rather not bring him in. I am not sure the team improves by signing him. He would score a lot of points but at the expense of his teammates.

If you want to get people in the seats then build a winner. A pretender that fades in a year or two will only remind people of the Hornets.

 

I don't think you can say they are a failure until they put a winning team on the floor. Losing teams tend not to but fannies in the seats. The Knicks, Clippers and the Hornets were the only playoffs teams to finish in the top half of the league in attendance this year - and the Hornets had the whole "new team in OKC" thing going on, so they don't really count.

 

It's not just that they aren't filling the arena, though. The Bobcats have consistently ranked near the bottom in paid attendance, and dead last in actual attendance.

 

I'm pretty sure Atlanta has much worse actual attendance than the Bobcats.

 

I don't think so. My memory is fuzzy, but I remember reading an article about the difference between the NBA's inflated paid attendance figures and those actually coming through the turnstiles, and Charlotte being mentioned as the worst offender. In any case, it's unprecedented for an expansion team to be supported this poorly. Most people didn't want the NBA back, and most won't miss them if they go.

 

They aren't going anywhere. I can see the buzz building for this team. Charlotte loves a winner... With your reasoning the Panthers should have packed up after the 1-15 season when all those die hards couldn't be found.

I have season tickets to both the Panthers and the Bobcats and I feel the Bobcats care alot more for me than the Panthers do. I've been invited to eat lunch with Bob Johnson and toured the locker room. I'm nobody special in fact my seasts were the cheapest in the arena.

 

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/attendance

Indy, Philly and Memphis all had worse official attendance last year. ATL beat Charlotte out by about 55 people.

The correlation is fairly obvious - losing teams don't draw people. And while the Bobcats are an expansion team, Charlotte isn't an expansion city. They've had a team recently that was at least somewhat competent.

It's a little too early to say "oh it's over let's wrap it up".

If they put a winning product on the floor and attendance doesn't move, yeah, it's probably hopeless.

Even cities with a rich basketball history like Indy and Philly (Philly moreso, though Indy has had contenders) can have bad attendance when their team loses.

 

For now, I agree. It would be too embarrassing to the league for them to leave again this soon, especially considering the arena.

Hah. There is about as much enthusiasm for the Bobcats in the Carolinas as there is for hockey in the U.S. You have some pockets of diehards, but the vast majority of people couldn't care less.

Most people don't care about the NBA, period. Being a winning team would help some, but not that much. And in any case, the Bobcats aren't going to be a winning team anytime soon.

Hardly. The Panthers went from mostly full stadiums to maybe a half full stadium, and that was just in one stretch of frustration. Of the Bobcats games I've been to, I've never seen the arena even half full.


Clay:
#1) You know how annoying it is when you make me repeat myself. I already pointed out that there is a huge difference between official attendance and actual attendance, and I referenced an ESPN article suggesting that Charlotte had the biggest gap between the two.

#2) No expansion team has ever had this poor attendance. Face the fact that most people didn't want the NBA to return and won't support the team regardless of what happens. You torpedo your own argument by bringing up the fact that Hornets were pretty good in their last years, because attendance when that team was winning still stunk.

 

They can't leave (financially- for 20 years) If they leave they have to pay for the arena.

If they win then the place will be packed. Look at the arena when Kobe comes to town- It's always sold out. Star power and a winning team and the can pack the place.

Disagree on both points- Winning would help tremendously. The Bobcats would easily make the playoffs next year as a 6-8 seed. Plenty of cap room 2 picks in a very deep draft and an upgrade at coach could make for around a 10 game improvement-IMO

1/2 Full is still 35k that spent money on tickets and decided they all of the sudden had something better to do. I bet there were less 15k after halftime of the Patriots game at the home finale that year.

 

The NBA blew its expansion team wad in Charlotte already. The Hornets got that benefit and squandered it. I think people will support the Bobcats when and if they turn into a winner. Showing they are not cheap like the Hornets were would be a good step in the right direction and to do that they need to keep Wallace and sign a decent free agent or two this summer.