Can Columbus, Ohio Support an NBA Team?

The mayor of Columbus, Ohio, Michael B. Coleman, thinks that his city is ready for an NBA team. He sent a letter to the NBA Commissioner, David Stern, and wanted him to know that "Columbus should be on the league's radar." The city just finalized the public purchase of Nationwide Arena, which is the home of Columbus Blue Jackets, an NHL team. The Columbus Dispatch reported the letter today and adds some strong reasons why the city could support three professional teams, if you count the Columbus Crew, an MLS team.

Do you think Columbus could support an NBA team? Is it even the best option in its own state? We'll dive deeper and look at teams that are in financial trouble and need to move.

Three years ago, a rumor started that Columbus could end up with an NBA team. A team that needed a short-term home could use Nationwide Arena while they finalize a long-term city. I commented on this rumor back then and my opinion hasn't changed much. Many of the same NBA teams are financially struggling (Milwaukee, Charlotte, Sacramento, Indiana) and a move could most of their issues. The new collective-bargaining agreement relieved some problems, but it can't solve attendance.

I have lived in Columbus for half of a decade and have attended most of the sporting events that the city has to offer. The Ohio State University has one of the largest student population in the country and its football squad is the most popular team in the city, if not the state. In order to explain the sports mind of the average fan in Columbus, I'll need to go through the year's sports schedule. OSU's football season runs from late August through early January (in a season in which they play in a bowl game). During those months, all other sports do not matter. The Blue Jackets, Crew, and OSU's basketball season all overlap this time of the year. The Crew's attendance isn't affected, because soccer is still arguably a niche sport. The attendance at Blue Jackets games is quite poor during this period of time, but spike after football season is over. At the end the season, they are always near the bottom of the NHL in season attendance. Columbus is a great sports city when you're winning, but the Blue Jackets have only made the playoffs once in their history. Columbus should not try to add another team right now. Instead, it needs to work on building up the teams that they already have.

Now that we got the other sports out of the way, I'll explain what the stereotypical Ohio State basketball fan is like. A lot of former alumni attend OSU basketball games and the student section, or lack there of, is not very rowdy. The overall crowd that attends basketball games at Value City Arena is one of the quietest in the Big Ten. The local radio station, 97.1 The Fan, often remarks that the fans "sit on their hands." The crowd is only alive when they play Michigan or face a team that defeated the OSU football team that season. The passion for basketball lacks in Columbus.

Why would the NBA grant a team to Columbus when larger markets are available? Seattle, Vancouver, Kansas City, and San Diego are without an NBA team and have all previously had an NBA team in their cities. I would include St. Louis, Pittsburgh, and Cincinnati in that list, but I have not heard anything from those cities about wanting an NBA team. You could argue that these cities have already had their shot. Here are the reasons why the NBA did not work in their cities.

• Seattle - The owner wasn't able to get public money to fund a new arena, so the owner sold the team to an out-of-town group. That group moved the franchise to Oklahoma City.
• Vancouver - The city was awarded a team, but the Canadian loonie wasn't holding up against the American dollar. Canada was having economic issues at this time. The franchise ended up moving to Memphis after an extensive search for a new city.
• Kansas City - The Kings moved there from Cincinnati, but attendance was the issue in the early 80's. They moved the team to Sacramento in 1985.
• San Diego - The team moved from Buffalo to San Diego in 1978. The team stayed in San Diego until 1984, when Donald Sterling, current L.A. Clippers owner, bought the team from Irv Levin.

The situations in those cities have changed and could all support an NBA franchise today. Seattle realized what its like to have its team taken away from them, so getting public money to build a new arena wouldn't be too difficult. Vancouver has turned into a great sports city and the Canadian loonie is much stronger. A few years ago, Kansas City built the Sprint Center in hopes of luring an NBA or NHL team to their city. Lastly, San Diego could end up as the home of the former Sacramento Kings franchise.

To wrap this up, I don't believe Columbus could support an NBA team. I only need two examples to prove my point, the Charlotte Bobcats & the Charlotte Hornets. On paper, having a professional basketball team in North Carolina is perfect. The state has a rich college basketball history and the residents clearly love the sport. The NBA found out that the state really loves college basketball, but not professional basketball. After the Hornets moved to New Orleans, the NBA awarded Charlotte another expansion franchise. The team has struggled in every way since their inaugural season. The team even started to draft players who played for the North Carolina Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils, in hopes of boosting their attendance. The NBA should be weary about putting another team in a college town.

I applaud Mayor Coleman for his ballsy move. It will earn him some votes at the election. His heart was in the right place, but it isn't feasible at this time. Nationwide Arena is a great place to watch a sporting event and the area surrounding the arena is perfect for post-game debauchery. I hope that I am wrong and Columbus is awarded a team, but it does not add up.

An Attempt To Embrace My New Hometown

I moved to Columbus, Ohio from Fort Wayne, Indiana nearly four years, so I guess this isn't a "new" place for me anymore. I'm considering changes to the site, small ones actually, you may not even notice. I just wanted to explain why this change may happen and what you may see on the site in the near future. For my friends back in Indiana, don't worry, I still love Larry Bird and can't watch the end of "Hoosiers" or "Rudy" without crying.

I started this site over 2 1/2 years ago as a platform to keep my writing skills fresh and dive into a new genre. I have always been a huge sports fan and combine that with my snarky and cynical attitude, I guess starting a sports blog was right up my alley. My past writing experience was just in college in Journalism and English classes and I spent nearly seven years as a music journalist. "America's White Boy" didn't turn into a site that focused strictly on sports content, I add a lot of music posts on here. I know both worlds of sports and music, so why not give them both to my readers. 2 1/2 years ago, I didn't know where I would be from year to year, I was still trying to settle down in a city where I felt comfortable. I believe that I have found that place here in Columbus...at least for the foreseeable future.

The change to the site will be that I am going to be adding much more local Ohio content and national music acts to the site. The change won't be extreme and it isn't a transition that will eventually make this into a site like Waiting For Next Year or Cleveland Frowns. I am a fan of the Columbus Blue Jackets and I follow Ohio State sports, so expect a lot of that to be added. Don't worry about me, I still love the Chicago Cubs, Indiana Pacers, and Indianapolis Colts, you can't take those loves away from me. Since I know a lot about the teams I am a fan of, and clearly have passionate things to say about them, that content will still be here.

I have researched my traffic numbers and my site does have better numbers in the Midwest and East Coast than any other part of the country. I should take this time and say something mean about the West Coast, like the Lakers are soft or that USC cheats, but I'll let your imagination do that.

Well, today is the start of the NFL season, so expect a possible Cleveland Browns or Cincinnati Bengals post at some point today. If I post anything positive about Jake Delhomme, please call my mother, because there is no way I would ever do that unless these Ohio savages kidnap and torture me.

I heart my new hometown.

What If: NBA Team In Columbus, OH

The rumors of many NBA teams having financial problems have been floating around for the last few months. The NBA borrowed tons of money to try and keep the league afloat during the economic depression that we are facing. I personally think that they could rid themselves of the WNBA and get companies to sponsor NBA jerseys and the league would be as stable as the NFL. Many of the teams that could be moving look towards cities with a new NHL stadium as an easy fix. Columbus, Ohio has a great NHL stadium and was even in the conversation when the Sonics were moved to Oklahoma City (sorry Bill Simmons). What would happen if a team would move to Columbus, Ohio?

First I wonder what they would name the team. I think when the city of Columbus was given an NHL team, they had to scrape the bottom of the barrel to get "Blue Jackets." I can't think of a logical team name right away. I would think that the term "Buckeyes" would work, but The Ohio State would like that very much. Here are a few names that I would like, but probably never get past the first brainstorming meeting.

- Columbus Hop (named after the Gallery Hop)
- Columbus Not Buckeyes
- Columbus Construction (see High Street)
- Columbus Twitter (first ever NBA team named after a company)
- Columbus Capitols

There are really no great names for a team here, but I do think that they should have a company buy the team's name. Unfortunately for Columbus, Nationwide Insurance, Ohio Health, and Huntington Bank are three major players in town and none of them sound like a good team name.

I can't see an NBA team flourishing here in Columbus. It has taken the city 10 years to really get behind the Blue Jackets. It took one season of making the playoffs for it to happen, but this city loves a winner. They kind of turn their backs on teams that don't win, the people here are used to Ohio State winning football games.

Columbus is too close to Cleveland and with Lebron still there, I don't see the Cleveland fanbase in Columbus jumping ship. Columbus would have to get a phenom in the first 2 or 3 drafts in order to stay here.

I do agree that Columbus is a great short-term fix for an NBA team that is struggling (New Orleans, Memphis, Milwaukee), but Kansas City would be more of a longer-term city to maintain an NBA franchise. I went to KC last month and walked by the new Sprint Center. It looks like a mix between a UFO and a diamond. I would like to throw out a name for a Kansas City....The KC Masterpieces. You like?

Chad Johnson Has A Torn Labia?!

I enjoy sports talk radio a lot. I listen to it in the car on the way to work and on long road trips. I even listen to sports talk podcasts on my computer at home. In Columbus, Ohio, 1460AM The Fan, is the ESPN Radio station that I listen to. They only play the first two hours of "The Herd" and they substitute the last hour of that program with their own local show called "The Mid-Day Show." I hate this because I love Colin Cowherd, I believe he is current and very smart, something either of the hosts on "The Mid-Day Show" doesn't have. The show used to be called "Spielman On Sports," which starred former Ohio State and NFL football player, Chris Spielman. They changed the show's format some time ago and it hasn't been the same ever since.

Mike Ricordati and Scott Torgerson are the hosts of "The Mid-Day Show" and I have the extreme discomfort enough to have my lunch hour the same time they are on WBNS 1460AM The Fan. They have done everything from calling out 19-year old kids on Ohio State football team who get DUIs by calling them "pieces of crap" to possibly the best error I've ever heard on sports talk radio.

Chad Johnson of the Cincinnati Bengals was injured during a pre-season game. He was diagnosed with having a "torn labrum," which is in the shoulder. Mike Ricordati started talking about the injury and confuses "labrum" with "labia," which is the external part of the female genitalia. I want to believe that it was a slip of the tongue, but he is a White Sox fan, so he may not know what a labia is at all. I'm sure Chad Johnson would love to learn that a two-bit sports talk host on AM radio in Columbus thinks he has female genitalia.
Ochocinco would point a different finger at Ricordati

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