“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new. ” -Socrates
For the past nearly seven years, we’ve discussed all kinds of change. External change. Internal change. Geographical change. Career change. On and on and on.
But sports team allegiance change? I would have never seen that coming, although I have felt it for the better part of a year.
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During my childhood in Wingate, North Carolina, I was not a huge NBA fan, but the Charlotte Hornets were HOTTTT. Beloved players that resonated within the community, an arena that was always full, and still likely the best uniforms in NBA history. I was a fan, but not a super fan.
Fast forward to my mid twenties when I had earned a little cash, and my super fandem slowly began. Season tickets. 41 nights per year. One year I lived an hour away. I went to every game. One year I lived twenty five minutes away. I went to every game. One year there were so many games that conflicted with my MBA classes. I WENT TO EVERY GAME. I absolutely loved it, and I have some unforgettable memories. I have nights out with the boys memories, date night memories, and family memories. I have Kobe’s in town memories and worst team in NBA history memories. Towards the end of my time in Charlotte, I have some brief father son memories.
The Hornets came and went. (Interestingly, when the Hornets left, they went to New Orleans.) The Bobcats came and went. The Hornets came again. Then I came and went, ultimately landing a quick drive down I-10 from, you guessed it, New Orleans. When I arrived, the New Orleans (now) Pelicans were NOT HOTTT. Not at all. But my NBA fandem and abk thought process required that I explore.
I wonder if this might be something?
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The 2024 version of the New Orleans Pelicans has my heart. Top to bottom when healthy, I have told anyone that will listen that they have the best team in the NBA. Currently, they are 5th in the tough NBA West and have beat the crap out of a lot of good teams multiple times this season. So far, I’ve been to six games in person and have watched the rest on Bally Sports, an app I bought for one and only one purpose. I anticipate going to another five or six before season’s end.
I’ve seen Paolo Banchero and the Magic, Steph Curry and the Warriors, Luka Doncic and the Mavs, De’aaron Fox and the Kings, and Lebron and the Lakers. However, the game circled on the calendar each year is when the Hornets come to town. After reading the first part of this piece, the reasons should be obvious, but it’s also the one game of the year that I splurge. Courtside or bust.
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If I had all the money in the world, outside of getting a massage every day on my ever aching body, I would purchase courtside NBA season tickets. As of one week ago, I had never sat courtside, which are typically the first two or three rows of every NBA game where the comfortable folding chairs are actually on the edge of the court.
Two years ago in New Orleans when the Pelicans played the Hornets, my son and I sat semi-courtside on row 3. Great seats, but not the real thing. Last year in New Orleans when the Pelicans played the Nuggets, my son and I sat in row 3 in a different area, great seats but still not courtside. This year, I was going to make it happen.
Courtside seats range anywhere from $500 to thousands of dollars per seat (a price I’m not willing to pay on a random Wednesday night) depending on certain factors. Are we at Madison Square Garden or Smoothie King Center? Are we playing the Lakers or the Hornets? Is it New Year’s Eve or a random Wednesday? And has been my experience with New Orleans, what is the weather like outside? This year it was freezing, and real Southerners don’t like to venture out into the cold. This might provide a huge opportunity.
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I heavily debated what I was going to wear. Would it be my beloved Charlotte Hornets gear, knowing that the gear was fresh but that deep down I wasn’t that big of a fan anymore? Or would I rock my Pelies gear, my new local 1A that totally has my heart?
I made the wrong decision, and the price I had to pay for that was explaining to all the people sitting around us why I was clad in Hornets gear but visibly cheering for the Pelicans. On one side, it’s a raw, honest, and great story. On the other side, I felt like a dope. But on the OTHER side, I now know where my allegiances lie and what I really feel.
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Strangely, I still have feelings for my Panthers and absolutely none for the Saints. But if Carolina doesn’t get their act together, who knows. But for the next few months, I’ve got Zion, BI, CJ, Jonas, and Herb. I’ve got Hawk, Dyson, Trey, Larry, and Naji. I’ve got Jose, Matty, Cody, and even Jeremiah, EJ, and Seabron.
I know they are young. I know they aren’t battle tested. But they are deep, they are fun, and damn near the entire team has high fived or fist bumped my eight year old son with smiles on their faces.
Oh, and at least for one night, I literally had a front row seat to it all.
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Have a great week.-Benj
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