Experiencing New Orleans’ apathy toward Hornets
The Hornets’ attendance problems since their return to New Orleans have been well-documented. They rank last in the league in attendance with an average of 11,871 fans a game. Their new lease allows them to opt out of the contract after next season if the team doesn’t average 14,735 fans a game.
Bill Hurley, the market manager for Clear Channel Communications in Oklahoma City, experienced the apathy over the Hornets over the holidays. A big fan of the Hornets when the team was in OKC, Hurley carried Hornets’ games on his radio stations — KTOK-AM 1000 for the 2005-06 season and KHBZ-FM 94.5 for the 2006-07 season. Hurley told me about apathy toward the Hornets in an e-mail:
Hurley: We went to New Orleans to see Cavs/Lebron on a Saturday and Toronto on a Monday. It was sold out for Lebron but no more than 6,000 fans in the seats for
Toronto. Pathetic. Oklahoma City would have been going crazy. Even during the Cleveland game, the crowd rarely got into it.
Here’s a couple of good examples of their ‘support’ down there. T-shirt shops are everywhere but it’s all Saints & LSU. Hornets don’t get any more floor space than any other team, and even less than Yankees, some SEC teams, and several other high profile teams.
But, here was the real clincher. Emma and I go into our favorite restaurant — The Acme Oyster Bar — and sit at the bar. Guy behind bar shuckin’ oysters and waiting on us.
He says to us, “You here for the football game?”
I say, “No, we’re here to see the Hornets.”
He responds, “THE HORNETS??”
“Yeah, we LOVE the Hornets.”
The guy next to him shuckin’ oysters has been listening. He says “Y’All must be from Oklahoma!!
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Looks like the true apathy is towards your blog. Why won’t you yee haws get over it and realize OKC is not getting the Hornets?