NBA Mascot Booed By Fans

[Way Of The Ray <wayray@ix.netcom.com>]

Charlotte Observer
Published Thursday, November                
19, 1998


NBA's lockout has new victim:
Hugo feels sting

        By TOM SORENSEN
       Sports Columnist

How low can the NBA go?

This low.

When Hugo the Hornet ran onto
the court Tuesday during the
Davidson-Duke basketball game,
he was booed.

It's never pretty when a mascot
goes bad. They get a taste of
the good life and they think it
will last. Mr. Moose from the
``Captain Kangaroo'' show did.
Where is he now? After a string
of carnival jobs in the Upper
Midwest, he disappeared.
Sometimes he'll show up at the
grand opening of a good but not
great convenience store.

What happened to Mr. Moose will
happen to Barney. It will
happen to Big Bird, especially
if he is linked with the NBA's
Bird exception. At the
Charlotte Coliseum, it happened
to Hugo.

Once he was beloved, as popular
a Charlotte Hornet as any
player ever was. He was
acrobatic and charismatic, a
decent dancer and a high flier.
And he never complained about
playing time.

His only flaw was that he
refused to talk to the press.
He hasn't given an interview
since he replaced the original
Hugo in 1989. He was mute
first. Before George Shinn,
before Jerry Richardson and
before Greg Lloyd, there was
Hugo.

Yet, we forgave him because he
was always willing to slap a
hand or pose for a picture with
a child or jump higher than any
insect should be allowed.

Now he has fallen. If the
booing had been limited to Duke
fans, Hugo would still be
flying high. After all, they
spent four seasons cheering for
Christian Laettner.

But the louder and most
persistent boos came from
Davidson fans. They embraced
him only after he used his
giant slingshot to fling free
T-shirts into the cheap seats.
In other words, he had to buy
their respect.

What does this portend for the
Hornets? When they return to
the court, how will they buy
back their fans?

Here are some options.

Giveaways.

Won't work. There are giveaways
every night.

Free tickets.

This could work. But will owner
George Shinn, who already has
lost the revenue from every
home game in November and is
expected to lose December, be
willing to lose one more?

Make the players be nice.

Every team will try. Gee, Mr.
Sprewell, you're not such a bad
guy after all. Who are you
suing this week?

Alas, anybody can be nice. But
it takes a special person to
stay nice. How long will
players smile and sign
autographs before they step
behind the barrier that
separates them from the rest of
the world?

Two weeks, max.

Build a new downtown, not
uptown, arena without asking
taxpayers to contribute a dime.

The Hornets could use a new
arena to compete with the other
teams that have coaxed
corporations and taxpayers into
helping them build new ones.
The Hornets can't win
consistently unless they
generate more money, and they
can't generate more money
without a new building and the
luxury boxes and club-level
seats it will confer.

But, Hornets, I have to tell
you, this is not a great time
to be asking anybody for
anything.

Let's review.

Attendance fell last season.
The owner is tucked away behind
his attorney and won't come
out. The team has missed the
first eight games of the season
and, if the lockout ended
today, would miss 13 more. The
mascot is getting booed.

And you want a new arena? Let's
build two.

The owners and players do not
merit sympathy. Hugo does.
Where does he go now?

There is no 12-step program for
scorned mascots.

Ask Mr. Moose.