All the games count: No more waiting; time for our Hornets to win

Now that the college football season is over, it’s time to welcome back our Hornets.

They will kindly stick around this upcoming season, then return to the bayou from whence they came — perhaps permanently, perhaps not.

The potential final journey begins tonight at 7, when the Hornets play a fake game against the Western Conference champion Dallas Mavericks inside the Ford Center.

Because it’s a preseason game, it doesn’t count. Unless, of course, the Hornets win.

The Mavs have beaten the Hornets 17 straight times in games that matter. If you’re naïve enough to think preseason games actually matter, then the Hornets’ losing streak against Dallas is only eight, thanks to that pivotal preseason triumph in October 2004.

Tonight’s game will be a showcase for backup players. Each team’s starters figure to play roughly 15-18 minutes, giving us an opportunity to observe a slew of new talent.

All of us around here certainly know what it’s like to be new. Last season was our virgin voyage in the NBA. But now that in-state fans from Boise City to Broken Bow have become NBA experts, we feel it’s within our rights to expect a little bit more from our Hornets. Before last year, we couldn’t even name all 24 NBA teams. (Huh? There are 30 teams? That seems like a lot.)

OK, now that we can (almost) name all 30 teams, we’re convinced it’s time for the Hornets to finally stand and deliver. Sure, they’ve been our lovable losers ever since we met, but we’ve grown tired of waiting. We’ve had a temporary NBA franchise for one year now, yet we’re still waiting for playoff tickets to be printed. 0 for 1. That stings. That’s seven in dog years, but only a blip in Cub years. Seems like everybody associated with the Hornets has been waiting eons. Maybe this is the year point guard Chris Paul finally gets picked for the All-Star Game.

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