For almost 3 years now we’ve been working to get the Hornets name back to the original Hive of its rebellion. For almost 3 years my Brother and I have been called almost every name imaginable, nostalgic, pipe dream smokers, delirious, and many more we cannot post! Our first fight was to let people know we are B**Cats fans. Though we have never been thrilled about the name because of how it represented Bob Johnson’s ego we have always supported the NBA in Charlotte and have wanted what is best for it to survive and thrive in the metropolis that we were born and raised in. We know what this city is capable of; we all witnessed it first hand with the Hornets.
Admittedly, when we started, this was a seemingly an unachievable goal. There was no news on possible NO name change or even discussions on blogs about it. Then we met John Morgan of We Beelieve. Suddenly we didn’t feel so crazy. There were more people that felt the same as we did. We had no experience in social media or how to run a campaign. The 3 of us started brainstorming and the idea that we all agreed upon was that we needed to take this movement off the computer screen and onto the streets. This is where the idea of the Swarm Time Warner was born. The mission was to find as many people crazy like us, get them in Hornets gear, and recreate as best we could the atmosphere of the ‘Ol Coliseum. This was a HUGE success. We erupted into the arena with “Charlotte Hornets” chants and carried them from the entrance to the nosebleeds. IT WAS MAGICAL! We were the loudest people in the arena. We ran into people who had no idea we existed and they happily joined in our cause. By the time the game was over we had a couple hundred people chanting in the lobby of Time Warner Cable Arena. Then the phone calls from radio and TV stations started flooding in. Charlotte Beelieved once more!
As if on cue New Orleans came under new management and rumors started floating to the surface of a NOLA rebrand. Understandably we freaked out! Over the past year everything has fallen into place! Tom Benson hinted at a new name, then, Benson unofficially said in David Stern’s face that it was happening. The assistant commissioner comes to Charlotte and while we are in the arena we get wind of discussions about a Hornets rebrand in Charlotte with Jordan himself. Jordan said that if the community showed interest that they would “look into it”. We find out NOLA’s colors for the team and then days later we have a name for NEXT SEASON….The Pelicans….!
This means the ball is in our court! The People have always been the backbone of this movement and they have done an amazing job. Such passion! We are now on the home stretch and our job is to plead like never before for this city’s history and identity back.
If you want this name back as bad as we do you have to get off your computer and join us on the streets! We will be holding another Swarm Time Warner event January 19th as we take on the Kings! It is imperative we show Jordan how WE feel! BRING BACK THE BUZZ!
Bring Back the Buzz 
” I’m all for a name change, but “Hornets” is part of the history of a different franchise. Just like how I wouldn’t like a team moving to Seattle and becoming the SuperSonics. Again, the SuperSonics are a different franchise that still exists.”
” I am strongly against taking a name that has been previously used by another franchise. The current Cleveland Browns don’t share a history with the original Browns. Just like the “new” Charlotte Hornets or Seattle SuperSonics wouldn’t have a shared franchise history. To me it’s like trying to steal their history.”
“The Bobcats franchise and the Hornets franchise are not the same franchise. They have no shared history.”
“The original Charlotte Hornets history ended in 2001 when Charlotteans drove them out of Charlotte. The Charlotte Bobcats history started in 2004 and the new Hornets history would likely start in 2014. There is no overlap there. There will have been dominos fallen that helped all this happen, but the NEW Charlotte Hornets would not be the same as the old Charlotte Hornets. All of the division titles and playoff appearances made by the original Hornets would not suddenly become part of the Bobcats franchise accomplishments. Sure, the “Hornets” name would have added history to it, but the new Hornets franchise would not in any way share history with the old Hornets.”
“Anything but the Hornets please!!! The Charlotte Hornets are a thing of the past and Charlotte fans need to stfu and get over it. They are the ones who drove the Hornets out of Charlotte in the first place. The Bobcats name is at least relevant to Charlotte because of the Panthers and the CATS transportation system. I do support a name change for us, but I will be genuinely pissed off if we change back to the Hornets. I may very well become a Pelicans fan then or just go back to being a Bulls fan like I was pre-2004.
I am a true Charlotte native. I would love to have the Hornets name back where it belongs. HORNETS has a history in Charlotte, regardless of the franchise it represents.
And the whole “Feline” argument is bogus. We have Knights, Hounds and Checkers to go along with our ‘cats, and Panthers. Also, the emblem for the CPD is a HORNETS NEST, not a cats lair.
Charlotte hated Shinn, not the franchise itself.
ummm no Charlotteans drove them out…just George Shinn took them