Can't wait to read 'Recalled from Charlotte'
Feb 5, 2010
The Carolina Hurricanes may be putting their top minor-league affiliate in Charlotte, and if you’ve followed the rivalry between the Triangle and Charlotte through the years, you can’t help but chuckle at the irony of this.
Charlotte becomes the minor-league city for the Triangle? Oh, that’s just too sweet.
I just can’t wait to read the words, “Recalled from Charlotte ...”
And can’t you just see the Canes telling some underachiever, “You better come around, or we’ll send you to Charlotte.”
It’s just too rich.
Charlotte is a great town, but if you’ve lived there, you know people in Charlotte view Raleigh the way people in New York City view Buffalo. In Charlotte’s view, Charlotte is a national player and the Triangle is oh so minor league. If it didn’t happen Uptown or in Myers Park, did it really happen at all?
Right now, the Hurricanes’ minor-league affiliate is the Albany River Rats. But the River Rats may be moving to Charlotte, where the Checkers are currently the minor league team. That’s a big advantage for the Canes, which means they’d have their minor leaguers less than three hours away.
The Canes aren’t confirming this, since there are multiple ownership issues to resolve. But the trend in the NHL is for teams to try to have their minor league franchises closer and this move makes a lot of sense for the franchise.
Frankly, it would make sense for Charlotte to embrace hockey anyway. The Bobcats have failed, and those who say the NBA has flourished in the past and could flourish again have missed a critical point. The Hornets were huge before the Panthers arrived in 1995; since then, interest in the NBA in Charlotte has floundered.
That won’t change. The Bobcats are for sale, but even an ownership change won’t salvage the team.
A better fit for Charlotte might be hockey. I know this sounds far-fetched, but there are plenty of NHL franchises looking for a better home, and Charlotte would be a worth a look if the Bobcats left.
As joyful as it will be to see “Reassigned to Charlotte,” it would be ever better if Charlotte one day had its own NHL team. Wouldn’t it be phenomenal if Charlotte’s NHL team played in the same division as the Canes?
Rivalries can be great. Duke needs Carolina, the Packers need the Bears and Yankees need the Red Sox.
The Triangle, to some extent, needs Charlotte – even if it’s just a place to park prospects.
Most Recent Comments
Posted Feb 6, 8:27 p.m.
Rank: Towel Boy Posts: 13
Joined: Apr, 2008
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: Can't wait to read 'Recalled from Charlotte'
This article needs to be recalled. As a raleigh resident i could care less about what's going on in Charlotte. Why would cities within the same state be rivals? That's just someone making a story out of nothing. Raleigh doesn't own the Canes, Peter Karmanos owns the team and he can do whatever he wants just like when he brought the team here to begin with. I wasted my time reading this article and for some reason wasted even more time writing this.RE: Can't wait to read 'Recalled from Charlotte'
i would NOT be worried about charlotte stealing anything from us.Posted Feb 6, 12:08 p.m.
Rank: Towel Boy Posts: 15
Joined: Dec, 2007
Location: Cary, NC
RE: Can't wait to read 'Recalled from Charlotte'
maybe the hurricanes will move to charlotte and the minor league team can play in raleigh's dorton arena.Posted Feb 6, 8:00 a.m.
Rank: Veteran Posts: 283
Joined: Oct, 2007
Location: Cary, NC
RE: Can't wait to read 'Recalled from Charlotte'
As someone who used to live in Charlotte, I'm glad not to live there anymore. A nice place to visit though.I can't imagine NC being able to support another NHL team. Having the Hurricanes' minor league team in Charlotte would be awesome!
