When I think about great places to live or travel to, Charlotte is always in my mind. It's the Atlanta Lite of Southeastern cities. You have a lot of culture, vibrant night life, even a moderately successful transit system. Plus don't forget about the crime rate. While it is high, the chances of you actually getting mugged are slightly lower!
But unfortunately, in terms of sports, Charlotte lacks some major, major depth. Most people remember the good times when NASCAR Winston Cup series would race 2 big races a year, the birth of a new NFL team in the Carolina Panthers, and the great basketball play of the Charlotte Hornets! However, times have changed in the Queen City.
NASCAR still runs 2 races a year at Charlotte Motor Speedway and, come next month, will open the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Uptown to bring in more tourist dollars to the city. However, that's the only bright spot.
The Carolina Panthers, once promising and new, are looking more similar to the actions of a yo-yo. Sometimes, they are the best, but most of the time, they are barely scraping the barrel of football legitimacy. While trading away the best/worst quarterback in Panthers history, Jake Delhomme, many doubt that the Panthers will be as effective as they once were just less than 5 years ago.
But maybe the worst running joke in terms of Charlotte sports are the Charlotte Bobcats. This weekend, the Bobcats will host their first NBA playoff game in franchise history. But while the fans will crowd the beautiful Time Warner Cable Arena, I have a feeling that the majority of the fans will not be rooting for their hometown team, but to either see Dwight Howard put up a double-double performance or get a shot at a basketball legend and Bobcats majority owner, Micheal Jordan, sitting in his usual seat behind the Bobcats bench.
It took 6 years for the Bobcats to make it to the big time, but will they regain a big fanbase that left when George Shinn took the Hornets across the Mississippi River? As of right now, I think it will take more than a playoff appearance to bring fans back to Charlotte basketball.
If you asked before the Magic/Bobcats series started last Sunday, most fans would have given the Cats one or two wins but knew the Magic would take the series. Right now, the Bobcats sit 2 games behind the Magic for the series win. The hope for a comeback series win will have to start with 3 hard fought wins at home for the Bobcats and a miracle win in Orlando. It's not impossible for the Cats to do this, but it won't be an easy task. Neither are the Cats chances of bringing in more fans to the Bobcats Nation.
Only time will tell if Michael Jordan, through his many connections with Nike and other sports entities, can make the Bobcats as popular and successful as George Shinn did with the Hornets. But if there is one thing on their side, it would be Charlotte's willingness to become the next great sports city in America. And with a city that is only a MLB team away from being a legit sports city (or a NHL team away, depending on who you ask), I think the time is only right for Charlotte to let it's light shine across the Southeast!
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