But what I hadn’t considered, until this season, is the high bar set by the Hornets, and the difficulty any relocating team would have in reaching it in the first season. First, the Hornets were like everybody’s high-school sweetheart. The emotion of that is going to make people look at everything after with a very critical eye. We didn’t know better, before.

But beyond that, the Hornets were in a surprisingly great place as a team. They were settled on a great, hot young coach who had a distinct vision for his team. They were definitely on an uphill trend. Plus, they had CP3. That’s unfair for almost anyone to compete with.

Beyond that, they are apparently widely regarded in the lead as the top team for in-game entertainment. They had the best mascot, a 20 year veteran. We were being spoiled and didn’t even know it.

But the thing that I realized a few weeks ago, that I think many have not, is that they had a far more intact staff than the Thunder had any chance of having. Due to the weird circumstances of the hurricane, which left no reason to stay in NOLA, nearly 100% of the Hornets staff came with them. Sure, their personal lives were disrupted, but that probably just allowed them to bury themselves in their jobs. Jobs they were very good at. Almost all of that staff was made up of trained professionals, with a few local folks thrown in.

The Thunder, on the other hand, only retained around a THIRD of their Seattle staff. So while it seems they had far more time to plan for a move, they actually hit the ground in far worse shape, staff-wise, than the Hornets. Of their new hires, a large number have no NBA experience. Every game is like on-the-job-training for more than half of the staff. That said, they got some of the best and the brightest in this town, and I think they will come on strong. But factor in the newness of most of the staff when judging this season. It truly is an exceptional set of circumstances.

Like the team, all I’m really asking for at this point is obvious, measurable improvement. And I think we’re getting that out of the front office. Just stick with them.

As for the Thunder, a few things: (1) Agree about Hinder … I’m not actually familiar with the group but what i hear in the games doesn’t begin to have to punch of AC/DC’s stuff, not even close; (2) Agree that the Thunder hasn’t exactly “connected” yet and that the responsibility lies with PBC. I’m sure that PBC is sick of hearing comparisons with George Shinn and the Hornets, but, truth is, Shinn’s organization did know how to (a) put on a show, (b) make a public splash, (c) have lots of community involvement. In short, Shinn, the salesman, was good at selling. Thus far, that’s not been PBC’s strong suit. (3) As for fan support, it has really NOT been lacking. I’m tracking attendance this season with the 2 Hornets seasons here: http://dougdawg.blogspot.com/2008/08/okc-2008-2009-schedule-results.html#attendance and, through 8 home games, this season’s average is 18,556 compared with the 2-Hornet-season average of 18,460 through the 1st 8 games. But, many of us who faithfully attend the games are still waiting to be romanced by the team, even if just a little, so that we can love back. It’s not that we are not there, it’s just that we are waiting to see if THIS team likes US like the Hornets did. We are wanting them to. (4) Game time production has gotten better but it’s not “there” yet. The music needs to be much better, and it needs to include rap music. Like it or not, rap music and the NBA go hand in hand. Remember the NBA Rap which the Chamber of Commerce led with in its March 4 campaign? That’s what we want … well, at least, I do. Lots more could be said, but I do believe it will all come together. It wouldn’t hurt to have team members greet the crowd at the beginning of games and let the fans know that we are appreciated … just a few words, hopefully sincere, could go a long long way to make the team/fan connection.

The problem is that Hinder is polarizing for a lot of music fans, some of whom will be offended or at the very least disappointed to hear them instead of AC/DC.

Does that clarify the Hinder comment?