Hornets Hype

…I sat in the arena for twenty minutes after it was over.

Most of the people had trickled out, and those of us who were there, flip-flops up on the seat backs of the row in front of us, watching the video montage play on the big screen one last time, were still. We didn’t talk. Outside it was humid, but fans weren’t drinking and the brass band wasn’t playing. The workers began to sweep up the trash. The beer cups were crumpled and discarded, the party ended. Most of us who were still there were the ones who had been there from the beginning. Oh, there were some of us, despite what the national media would have you think.

Last season after Game 7, I wrote:

“And I know [it]’s no consolation right now for a guy like CP3, who is 100% a competitor. Kobe Bryant may have a trophy that says he’s MVP, but he isn’t, and will never be, The Guy Who Saved Basketball in L.A. Whoever wins the title this year, they are not, and will never be, the Team That Saved Basketball in whatever city.

Believe that, and know that we won something here this season.

You live, you learn.

You take this morning. And you learn who you want to be.”

So that’s where we are. That’s where we left off. To me, there is such a sparkle around this team. Is this how Celtics fans felt last year? Nothing needs to be said about Chris Paul. Nothing can be said about Chris Paul. We’ve got Peja, the artillery man who the talking heads say is fading (but we know better). We’ve got Chandler, who’s hopefully still got just a big enough chunk of that discarded-by-Chicago chip on his shoulder. David West is the longest tenured Hornet, and absolutely represents the Pride of the “Passion, Purpose, Pride” slogan. The bench is a group with things to prove. The 7-0 preseason showed us a glimpse of that.

I know it doesn’t really mean anything to say, “Well, New Orleans deserves it.” I don’t want to seem too entitled. And, indeed, anyone who’s been watching as injuries, drama, and messing up the last 2 minutes of games derailed the Saints’ hopes for transcendence this fall knows that New Orleans fans are not entitled. In fact, they just shrug when everything goes wrong, because deep down they expected it. People here would not be surprised if Peja, West, and Paul went down with injuries and missed 80 games again.

At the real end of the 2007-08 season, after Game 6 of the NBA finals, I wrote a post about why Paul Pierce’s banner season resonated with me. I wrote then about that feeling of uncertainty, about suspecting you’re maybe the right guy in the wrong place. I don’t get that feeling about the Hornets. I think they’re the right team, and I think they’re in the right place. What remains to be seen is if this is the right time.

I hope.

So this is how it begins. A plane touches down in Oakland. The last memory flits to the surface of your mind, just a flash of color: the image of the hero, alone and stunned on the bench while someone else celebrates. And, on a street once filled with floodwater, an arena sits empty, waiting to come to life.

In New Orleans, we’ve had enough of empty things.

Happy Opening Night!