Hornets Hype

Sellout of 17,931. The hype is blaaaaazzzzzing. The arena was rocking. The sun went down Wednesday night.

Seriously, though. If that Tyson dunk is not the #1 on every highlight show, I will… well, never mind what I will do. He was like, “Hey, Dwight. WHAT-EV. I don’t need a cape to fly.”

Hornets 120, Suns 103. Hornets sweep the season series with the Suns. I debut a new homemade T-shirt. (But. I go back to the TC6 jersey on Friday just AS A TRIBUTE to the much-improved play this evening. Fierce. Does he read the blogs and forums?) We witness the return of the dominant third quarter. There is free beer.

And, everybody together now: What’s the only beer better than a dollar beer?

FREE BEER!

T.P. Watchdog: Hornets have a box stickied at the top of nola.com currently, where the main story usually is. I have never seen that.

• Attendance was 11,289.
• The Hornets lost to the Wizards.
• The Hornets are on a three game losing streak.

There is no hype. There is negative hype.

Last night, despite the 98-89 loss to the Spurs, we met up with some people off the HR boards at the airport. We had beers, jerseys, flags, and signs, which is really all you need when you are drinking in a cold parking lot off the back of the airport at 12:30 AM waiting for the team to come home. It was cool to put some faces to the names.

I got my Chris Paul jersey, which I won by correctly guessing his line in the All Star Game. Much excitement! Ryan Bowen rolled down his window to say hi, and most of the players waved and honked as they drove out of the gate. I now know that most of the players drive something sleek, expensive, and black. The better to stalk them, my friends. (I kid.) There was a tense moment when we thought security was coming in a long white car to kick us out of the lot, but it turned out it was just Gil’s wife. The TV guys thanked us for being out there, or commented that we were all crazy.

I’ve been called crazy for lesser causes. Geaux Hornets!

If I was a Hornet, I’d be pretty stoked about six people at the airport for a loss. That being said, I hope Chris Paul singlehandedly eats the Wizards’ souls tomorrow.

Quote of the Night:

“Did we see David West yet?”

“I think I saw him go by.”

“Which car?”

“A BMW?”

“That really narrows it down.”

“A black one?”

“Riiight.”

Ugh. The only positive thing about tonight’s game was Julian Wright. And, I suppose, the sellout. But mostly Julian Wright. He just comes off the bench with such energy and versatility. I wish we could give him more minutes instead of, say, Rasual Butler, who often seems invisible out there. He got 6th Man of the Game after playing for, seriously, what seemed to be only about 6-7 minutes.

Now that I think about it, that may say more about how the rest of the team played…

If you weren’t there for the pre-game warmup, Julian started off the night with a ferocious dunk off a pass to himself. Not to be outdone, Chris Paul followed up with a dunk of his own… which was pretty sick for someone his height. Then the whole team just started to screw around and dunk. Julian Wright’s were by far the most awesome, though. It had us cracking up. (It says something when the game’s most entertaining moment is in warmups…)

Our new guys were on the bench. I like Mike James’ fashion vibe, at least. Velvety blazer + jeans = slick. They seemed to get along with each other well, even though they didn’t talk as much to the other guys. Or maybe they were just laughing at the Hornets’ offense…

Besides Julian Wright, the only other moment in the game which provided me with a satisfactory level of entertainment was when David West stripped on the bench in the 1st quarter. Our row was kinda like, “Wait… did he just run off the court, take off his shorts, and run back on?” Three trainers attempted to block for him using towels. We couldn’t really figure out why, though the whole incident appeared to crack up Wright. Maybe they should use D West at the halftime show instead of the quick change artists.

This was one of the better early crowds I’ve seen this season. I attribute this to the Pre-Game Buzzfest outside the arena, which was helped out by the solidly temperate weather. If you haven’t been to a Buzzfest, you should. Dollar beers! The next one is scheduled for Friday, February 22nd, and the party starts rolling at 5:30.

Alternatively, you could buy season tickets for next year. Because that nets you free beers. And we all know the only beer better than a dollar beer is a free beer.

We hung our “THE BACK ROW BELIEVES” banner in its usual spot, but felt weird about it when we realized our fellow season ticket holder neighbors had been replaced tonight by a row of strangers. Well, guys, we believe, and since you’re sitting here, you’re gonna have to by default.

Chris Paul and David West did the intro for the game. Hilarious. CP thanked the fans for their support and said what an honor it is to be in the All Star Game (slightly disingenuous since they weren’t voted in, but I bet half the people in the crowd didn’t know the difference). Then he goes, “I’m sure D West wants to say something to y’all,” and holds out the mike, cracking up because he knows full well D West is freaked out by the idea of saying something to the crowd and is going nowhere near that mike. He shakes his head and throws a salute instead. Classic.

Hello, makeover! The arena is now sporting snazzy signs over every vendor. Signs with cute New Orleans-y names. Clearly this is being added to spice up the arena for the upcoming All Star Game. I hope we get to keep the upgrades when the NBA leaves. The concourse also now sports a couple of much nicer-looking bars.

The Hornets looked a bit lax after pulling out to an early 14-point lead. Playing without Tyson Chandler and Morris Peterson, they still never looked like they weren’t in control of the game. Final score Hornets 112, Grizzlies 99.

HypeMeter: As we speak, the headline on CNN/SI is “All That Buzz,” with a giant photo of Angry David West (might actually be slightly scarier than Angry Chris Paul, due to the size factor).

T.P. Watchdog: Times Picayune Sunday print edition has the better part of 5 pages devoted to the Hornets/All Star Game. Right on. Good job, friends. (See, I can bestow praise where praise is due.)

And one final note.

This was the first sellout of 2008. I like to think of it as the first sellout of the new era. I see a distinct, marked difference starting with the last three crowds. This dates back to the Spurs win, which I believe was the start of something special. If you were there at the Denver game the Monday after… you know you thought, “Wow.” I hope in the future we will be able to point to that game and say, “That’s when it started. And we never looked back.” I hope the hype is rolling, rolling like the Hornets are rolling and can’t be stopped. I hope the word spreads, that there is something happening with this team and this season that you don’t want to miss.

I hope.

And what keeps me hoping is this: Last night we saw New Orleans Arena sell out. And it wasn’t Kobe, it wasn’t LeBron. The Memphis Grizzlies? Please. The Grizzlies got nothing.

17, 231 people came last night to see the Hornets.

There was just this point where I felt it, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to jinx it. Sometime in the 4th quarter I just thought, “There is no way they lose this game.” Phoenix tied it up, and tied it up, and tied it up. The Hornets had lost three in a row. But not this one.

Chris Paul had 42 points, 9 assists, 8 steals and 1 turnover.

If there is any highlight show on TV not talking about that game tonight, they will be on my personal Shit List FOR LIFE. (As I was typing, it was the #1 play of the night on ESPN. If it was not, I was prepared to storm the building. And I mean fly personally to New York or wherever and storm the building. I am not even joking.)

Chris Paul. Peja. Double OT. 132-130 over Phoenix.

This is the top, baby. I can say no more.

It’s a good thing there is gin and tonic, and Battlestar Galactica Season One on DVD… because watching humanity get annihilated by killer robots = my mental state after that game. And the one before it. And the one before it.

I would add the Hornets defense to my Shit List, but that is not what this blog is about.

While watching replay of the State of the Union address and eating dessert…

Me: F*@k Bush. Is he talking about the Hornets? No.

Mike: (spits powdered sugar all over the glass coffee table)

We might be not quite sober. After one of the most fun Hornets crowds ever. And the 9th win in a row. I made a sign! Our section represented. (When I say I made a sign, I am talking like 2×12 feet. It was visible from the other side of the arena.) I’ll make sure to take pictures Wednesday.

But it cannot be stopped.

The defending national champion Spurs thought they could stop it. But they couldn’t stop it. It is unstoppable.

The Hornets put the beatdown on San Antonio last night in a statement-making 102-78 bitchslapping. Y’all got the message? I think it came through loud and clear. I think we stomped a hole through the floor and the people who live in the apartment below us also got the message loud and clear, whether they wanted it or not.

It was obvious the Spurs didn’t have a clue how to handle D West. Early on they appeared to have gotten the CP-TC alley oop under control, but… apparently no one told them it can’t be stopped. Nor can Peja.

National Media HypeMeter: The Hornets got the leadoff on Sportscenter, plus what I deem to be an acceptable amount of hype. The NBATV losers actually hated on us, and for that they will pay.

This is the Hornets. This is the Hornets at the top of the Western Conference.

ESPN should not be showing anything on Sportscenter except the Hornets. There should be nothing on the front of their website if it’s not the Hornets. Do not even open your mouth to speak unless it is the Hornets of which you speak. The Times Picayune should plaster the Hornets all over the entire paper tomorrow. In color. Because not enough people know they exist. And this is unacceptable. Huge win tonight. So hyped up.

ESPN: And now, a possible preview of the Western Conference finals.

Me: It’s us!

ESPN: … the Lakers and the Spurs.

Me: Is he talking?

ESPN: blah blah Spurs blah

Me: Did the Spurs win? Did the Spurs play? I wasn’t looking.

Mike: (dies)

I have pretty much been going on like this for half an hour…