<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Charlotte Hornets did a lot of dumb things. Theirs is a tarnished legacy, one that continues to affect the Charlotte Bobcats negatively. But the Hornets weren't complete idiots all of the time, even if we remember them that way. As with all bad marriages, it is easier to recall the problems that led to the breakup rather than the fun weekend in the Caribbean. One of the best things the Hornets ever did was to put Alonzo Mourning, Larry Johnson and Muggsy Bogues on the side of a First Union building 10 years ago. It was nine stories high -- one of the largest, coolest murals you will ever see. I'd love to see the Bobcats do something similar uptown. A monstrous painting of Emeka Okafor, Raymond Felton and Sean May -- the new nucleus of this young team -- would be awe-inspiring. The Bobcats have done a lot with a little so far in their marketing tactics. I enjoyed their "Okafor in '04" campaign, which played off that year's elections while introducing Okafor to the local audience. The Bobcats also did some creative things with a milk carton while trying to get Okafor votes for Rookie of the Year -- an honor he would receive. Given that they put an 18-64 team on the floor in an aging Charlotte Coliseum, the Bobcats did their best in Year One. Now, though, the Bobcats have more to work with. Their lavish uptown arena will sparkle this fall. It also will cost far more money to get inside. The Bobcats need more buzz. So what about putting Okafor, Felton and May somewhere uptown and letting them loom over the city like the alien tripods in "War of the Worlds"? Slow down a little, Ed Tapscott said when I suggested this to him. Tapscott, the Bobcats' president, wants to move carefully on marketing the former Tar Heels. Let them become good NBA players first, he said. May and Felton have already appeared in newspaper ads for the 2005-06 season and have taped phone messages to season ticket-holders. But Tapscott emphasized that "we are not going to try and shove them into everybody's face all the time." Wasn't that what Charlotte did with Okafor a year ago -- make him the face of the franchise? Yes, Tapscott explained, but that was different. Okafor was the team's first draft choice. There was no new arena that season. Okafor, to a large extent, was it. This season, Tapscott said, Okafor still deserves top billing. He was the NBA's best rookie. May and Felton have yet to play an NBA game. Fair enough. I'm not saying the mural has to go up tomorrow. But at some point -- long before May, Felton and Okafor become eligible for free agency -- the mural should happen. The Hornets' mural eventually deteriorated like the city's relationship with George Shinn. Less than a year after dedicating the mural in January 1995 with Zo, LJ and Muggsy in attendance, the Hornets traded Mourning and started their downward spiral.</div> Source
