Why I think the Charlotte media hates the Carolina Hurricanes (and hockey in general)

Big hockey fans like me do exsist in NC. Some may be new to the game, others are life-long fans. Transplants from all over the country, espescially from the Northeast and Michigan, places where hockey is king. So one would think the local sports media in Charlotte would be at least approving to the sport, even with a team in Raleigh that won the championship in '06. But, thats not really the case.

In 2002, when the 'Canes were making their cinderella playoff run, the local media here did jump on the bandwagon, probably to forget the fact the Carolina Panthers just finished a 1-15 season, the Hornets were on their way to New Orleans, and the UNC tar heels basketball team, whom the CMedia seems to have a nauseating love affair with, missed the NIT. So, what else was there to do? keep in mind this was before the lockout and OLN/Versus. The canes did not win but there was a bit of a buzz in the air.

Fast-forward to 2006, the year after the lock-out, and the game was on a network few had ever heard of. The Hurricanes won in 7 games, and Tom Sorenson, an editor for the Charlotte Observer basically trashed the win, saying it wasnt important in the states sports history. Even a rugby game, that was held in Charlotte in 2002, that had about 20 people in a 15,000 seat staduim, scored higher. This ticked alot of people off, but Sorenson stayed true to his word, and the Observer went back to their love-affair with the Panthers, NASCAR, and the Tar Heels. When hockey season started up, they seemed to even care lessmore about the NHL than they did before, which wasnt very much to begin with. The 2007 All-star game was considered late to post in a score, even though the game ended around 11pm eastern time.

Could it be because the Hurricanes have missed the playoffs after their playoff runs? possibly, but I believe there is something else. The city of Raleigh.

Few would know this but when it comes to sports, Charlotte and Raleigh are opposites. Raliegh is college country while Charlotte is more pro. Although Charlotte does show alot of interest in the 4 ACC schools in NC, Raleigh really doesnt seem to know the Panthers even exsist. Even the Redskins seem to get more love. Bobcats?, little interest, And NASCAR?, little interest again. But when it comes down to it, Charlotte should know that few people in the Raleigh area are interested in the Panthers. Many charlotteans are grads of Duke, UNC, NCSU, and Wake Forest so Charlotte has to show interest in those schools. The Raleigh area has always been college country, and few care about the NFL, NBA, and NASCAR. The Hurricanes are big in Raleigh and Charlotte knows this, so, they "Repay the favor" to Raleigh. And its not going to get better. Starting this season, FSN, which shows Canes games all over the state, will take over as the Bobcats tv sponser. There is rumours that the Bobcats will televise games on FSN the nights of Canes games. For the record, there seem to be more Canes fans in Charlotte than Bobcats fans in Charlotte but the charlotte media could care less. They're trying to compete with Raliegh to care about the canes, so they give us Bobcat news.

I've never really been impressed with Charlotte's sports media to begin with, but this takes my level of respect for them down to a big low. If the 'Canes ever do make it back to the Stanley Cup Finals, the media wont care, they will ignore the numerous angry letters similar to ones they received in 2006. Instead, they will look at the sport as being dead, and tell us which new Panther was arrested the night before.

When it comes down to sports coverage, the media should cover whats popular among the city residents. Charlotte should know that the Hurricanes have more fans than the Bobcats.

Thanks for reading "Canes Corner"