Two good friends were in New Orleans when the Charlotte Hornets officially announced
they were applying to the NBA to move there. Being loyal Hornets fans who live
in the Charlotte region, they were skeptical about the attractiveness of the Crescent
City. But by the time they returned, their tune had changed from bluegrass to
Cajun. In addition to understanding the sweetheart financial deal being offered
by the city and state, they experienced the allure of the city.
“I can certainly see why Ray and George would want to move to The Big Easy,”
says Barbara Hollingsworth. She, Pauline Tulson and I came up with these comparisons
from their recent trip to New Orleans:
New Orleans
The City That Never Sleeps
Pat O’Brien’s piano bar
The Mississippi flows around it
Alcohol flows, well, like the
Mississippi
Authors Anne Rice, Stephen Ambrose,
Truman Capote
The St. Louis Cathedral
2,500 restaurants, most homegrown
and many world famous
Downtown shopping
Preservation Hall jazz
Harry Connick Jr., Fats Domino
and Louis Armstrong
Street performers in the French Quarter
Cafe du Monde
Beignets and pralines
A downtown and an uptown
Riverwalk and The Moonwalk
Trolleys everywhere
Riverboat tours, plantation tours,
cemetery and voodoo tours
Super Bowl host six times and annual
home of Sugar Bowl
Mardi Gras and Music Heritage Festival
Colorful politicians like Huey
“The Kingfish” Long and indicted former
governor Edwin Edwards
Gambling on the Mississippi
Cajun, French and Creole cuisine
Charlotte
The City That Never Wakes.
Pat McCrory’s “waffle” shop
Sugar Creek staggers through it
Alcohol flows like Sugar Creek.
Patricia Cornwell once lived here.
The Mary Kay Cathedral
Can you name a dozen distinctive
local eateries?
What’s that?
Little preservation, little jazz
Thank heavens we had Loonis McGlohon
The Overstreet Mall
Cafe de Caribou
Krispy Kreme donuts
One area called both
Too few sidewalks
One trolley financially up in the air
Lowe’s Motor Speedway tour
Former Shrine Bowl host
Carousel Parade and Center CityFestColorless politicians such as the
City Council and County Commission
Profitable loans on Tryon Street
Barbecue
Women In Sports Day At Davidson
Girls in kindergarten through 12th grade are invited to attend a free sports
clinic hosted by Davidson College in honor of National Girls and Women in Sports
Day. The clinic is February 9 at 1pm in the college’s Belk Arena. There is no
pre-registration. Davidson women’s basketball coach Annette Watts will speak
about the changes in women’s sports and the effect they have had on her career
as a player and coach. The clinic also will feature student athletes and coaches
from the following sports: basketball, lacrosse, field hockey, tennis track
and field, swimming and diving, soccer, volleyball and cross country. After
the clinic, all participants who would like to attend the 3pm Davidson women’s
basketball game against Appalachian will be admitted free. Family members of
participants age 12 and under also will be admitted free.
Overtime
How about the new level of grit Jennifer Capriati showed in defeating
Martina Hingis for the Australian Open tennis title? Not many players on any
level come back from a set and 4-0 down to win. . . The Carolina Panthers’
new head coach John Fox turns 47 on February 8. But he won’t have long to
celebrate, given the work that needs to be done. Refreshingly, the Virginia
Beach, VA native brings a visible passion to the game. And, according to a recent
story in Newsday, is “wildly popular among his players.”. . . It’s going
to be interesting to see how the Charlotte Sting is run and managed this
summer if the Hornets are no longer here. To date, all WNBA teams have been
operated by an NBA counterpart in the city where they play. . .After starting
5-5, the Charlotte 49ers men’s basketball team won seven of its last
eight games through January 26. Tune in the 49ers on ESPN2 against Cincinnati
on Wednesday, February 6, but don’t get your hopes up too much. Cincinnati was
unbeaten (7-0) in Conference USA through January 29 and handily defeated the
49ers earlier this season. But given Charlotte’s improved inside play and reduced
turnovers, an upset might be in the offing. *
This article appears in Feb 9-15, 2002.
