If you haven’t already noticed, take a look at the Bring Back The Buzz logo and you will see that the Large B is split in two and in doing so it creates the #13. This is because of Bobby Phills.

A huge area of concern for us over this whole process has been the fact that we have discussed with dozens of New Orlean’s Hornets fans and they have absolutely no idea why the number 13 hangs in their rafters and who this Bobby Phills guy is.

Bobby played with the Hornets in Charlotte from 1997-2000 alongside the likes of Wesley, Mashburn, Brown, Rice, Mason, Divac and others. Sadly, On January 12, 2000, while a member of the Charlotte Hornets, Phills was killed in an automobile accident.

Following this was one of the saddest and proudest moments as a Hornets fan. We watched as Bobby’s son touched his dad’s jersey one last time before it was raised into the rafters. Bobby Phills was the first Hornet to ever have his jersey retired. At the same time the Charlotte community came together and helped support the Phills family through this rough time. Kendall (Bobby’s wife) was present at every Charlotte Hornets game until they left. I truly hope the Bobcat’s organization is in touch with the Phills family.

Our goal after we get the name back from New Orleans is to Get Bobby Phills’ jersey back in Charlotte where it belongs.