Raleigh and the rest of the Triangle may have gone "Cup Crazy" over the Carolina Hurricanes' run to the Stanley Cup Finals, but there are apparently still parts of North Carolina that could not care less.
One of those areas is the state's largest city, Charlotte. That is, at least according to the Charlotte Observer (which probably covers the Clemson football better than it covers the Canes).
"The Carolinas' National Hockey League team, the Carolina Hurricanes, begins fighting for the Cup Monday night against the Edmonton Oilers," said the Observer.
"This is the team's second title shot in four years; if they win, it would be the Carolinas' first major championship in a pro sport.
"But the Canes' recent success isn't exactly rubbing off in the Carolinas largest city, Charlotte. ...
"The proof is in the numbers: More than 10 percent of Raleigh-area households saw the Canes' last semi-final game, while 3.2 percent watched in the Greensboro/High Point/Winston-Salem Triad. In Charlotte, just 1.3 percent of homes tuned in.
"In uptown offices, Northern transplants talk about hockey, workers said, though usually about the frustration that their home teams failed to reach the finals. The Canes were born in 1997 when the Hartford Whalers moved South. ..."
The annoying part of the article is this next line: "Charlotte might have more interest if the Canes played here and not three hours east in Raleigh, fans said."
The fact that the Carolina Panthers reside in Charlotte has not stopped the rest of the state from embracing the NFL team, so why is it so hard for the rest of the state to latch on to the Canes? Is it because it's a "Yankee" or "Canadian" sport? Or is the state just not big enough for college basketball, college football, NBA basketball, NFL football, PGA golf, NASCAR and hockey? Doubtful.
1 comment:
I think Charlotte is getting a touch of "Manhattan Fever." by that I mean that they believe that if it doesn't happen in or around Charlotte then it doesn't count.
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