Bobcats Paint the Town Orange

Where’s your orange?

On Saturday, the answer was simple. It was everywhere.

From the balloons, to T-shirts, to candy, the Bobcats blitzed Concord Mills Mall on Saturday, October 21 with their signature color as they painted the town in celebration of their upcoming season – which opens at 7 p.m. on November 1 against Indiana at Charlotte Bobcats Arena.

Hundreds of fans joined in the festivities as they gathered at the mall for their first chance to meet the 2006-07 team. Many of them arrived early, anxious to meet their favorite stars. Even before the players arrived, a line had formed, stretching the entire length of the mall’s spacious food court.

Some fans like Josh Olmstead came because he liked basketball, while others like Renda Burris came for the chance to meet the players in person.

“I came out to get autographs on my basketball, “she said as she waited in line. “I love to meet the players. I’m a big fan of Raymond Felton, Sean May and (Emeka) Okafor. I love them all.”

Fans had the opportunity to meet and get autographs from each of the players as they made their way through four separate stations.

“This if for the Bobcats fans,” commented Okafor as he signed autographs for a group of kids. “The fans are very important. This is to show our appreciation and share our enthusiasm for the upcoming season.”

This enthusiasm was evidenced on the faces of 10-year-old Blake Anderson and nine-year-old Timothy Miller, who were beaming after meeting several of the players.

“It’s really cool,” said Anderson, “I got autographs from Adam Morrison, Sean May, Kevin Burleson and Bernard Robinson.”

“I’ve been to a lot of autograph sessions, but I think this one was a lot cooler!” added Miller.

The fans also expressed their eagerness at seeing the Bobcats again on the court.

“I’m really excited about the season,” said Johnathon Hewett. “I’m looking forward to the new guy, Adam Morrison. I think he’s going to be fantastic and I’m looking forward to seeing Sean May play a lot more.”

The passion exuded by the fans seemed to take the enthusiasm of the players to the next level.

“The people got me excited,” said guard Matt Carroll. “They are saying, ‘When are you going shoot those threes,’ and ‘You’ve got to win some games.’ I think it’s really getting us fired up.”

“You can feel the season starting,” remarked rookie Ryan Hollins. “The fans want for us to do well and win, and it just inspires you to play hard on the court.”

The players were also very appreciative of the support the fans showed by attending the event.

“It’s great,” said third overall draft pick Adam Morrison as he talked about the turnout at the mall. “It shows how much Charlotte cares about the team. It’s great to see all the fan support.”

As a team, the Bobcats realize how important it is to come out and do events like this to give back to the community.

“I think it’s a honor and privilege to be able to go some place like this and have so many great fans come out and support us,” said Carroll. “All they want is a picture and an autograph. I think it means a lot for us as we try to build our reputation in the community.”

“We want to give back to the community as much as we can,” added forward Gerald Wallace. “This is a great opportunity to interact with our fans and show them that we support them as much as they support us.”

Fans at the mall also had the opportunity to interact with the Lady Cats Dance Team, the Rally Cats and Rufus Lynx, who were all on hand to help pass out Bobcats pennants, cookies, pom-poms and mini-basketballs.

“This is a wonderful event,” remarked Stephen Tharrington who came to the event with his young son, Andrew. “You couldn’t ask for a better day. We got some great pictures so he can look back and see what took place.”

Those same thoughts were echoed by David Inscoe, who got the entire team to autograph the back of his orange Bobcats T-shirt.

“I had a blast,” he said. “I got to talk to the players. I got autographs and pictures. The players were so nice. This is probably the happiest day of my life. Raymond Felton was ready to leave but he took the time to sign my shirt and it just made my day.”

Creating memories and making people smile was what this day was all about.

“This is what we do,” said Senior Vice President of Community Relations LaRita Barber, “We are really all about coming out and being involved in the community and having our players connect with our fans.”