One of the few things I enjoy as much as attending a Loyola basketball game in the Den is attending a Hornets game in the New Orleans Arena. The Hornets, and the NBA as a whole, not only enhance my personal happiness, but also the happiness of New Orleans.
Hornets games are complete entertainment experiences. Timeouts and other breaks are filled with contests, dances and drum-lines, highlighted by a halftime spectacle. At the games I attended, the halftime shows featured Team Acrodunk and the Russian Bar Trio.
The Russian gymnasts are beasts, and Team Acrodunk performs like slam-dunk champ Dwight Howard with a trampoline. If you want to check out Team Acrodunk for yourself, visit www.teamacrodunk.com and click on “video.” In the words of Steve Harvey: “They nasty.”
Hornets tickets come as cheap as $10, the streetcar costs $1.25 each way – the halftime entertainment alone is worth the $12.50. These performances are just lagniappe to the main event – professional basketball. By the end of the night, you’ll know you made a good investment.
Investment is an appropriate metaphor to use for the reciprocal relationship of New Orleans and its Hornets. Being that Hornets owner George Shinn and NBA commissioner David Stern probably aren’t avid “Word from Your Breaux” readers, with this column I hope to motivate Loyola students and other community members to take a greater stake in this investment.
Timing is essential to any smart investment decision, and now is the time to buy “shares” in the Hornets’ success. Ideally, our shares will appreciate over a long-term holding period … OK, maybe I’m taking this analogy too far.
An opt-out clause in the Hornets’ new lease agreement makes clear that now is the time to buy into the buzz. The team must draw an average of 14,735 fans to the Arena to solidify the extension until 2014.
Roughly two-thirds through the season, there is both good news and bad news to report. The bad news is, at the time I’m writing this, the Hornets’ average home attendance is just below 13,000 – almost 4,000 less than any other team with a winning record.
The good news is All-Star Weekend and the Hornets’ own All-Star talent have energized the Arena with an average attendance greater than 16,000 over the past five games. If the Hornets keep winning, they could legitimately challenge for an NBA Championship.
Clearly, the Saints will win the Superbowl next season. Let’s cheer for the Hornets to win this season and cheer loud enough for them to bring the buzz back to New Orleans for the long run.
