Now that all all of the hype as died down from the recent news of the NEW Charlotte Hornets logo set, I thought I'd take a moment to put my two cents in the pot of public opinion.
First of all, let's not forget: The Charlotte Bobcats (as they are known now) are still a sub-.500 team that will probably make it to the playoffs ONLY because they play in one of the worst conferences in all of professional sports! So while, like most Carolinians, I am very excited about them bringing back the BUZZ — they could be the Charlotte Buttmunchers and I'd represent so long as they were winning.
But alas, they are not ...
So we have to get our dander up about the team's visual identity.
Everyone seems to be geeked about it but not me. I'm so with the "over-aggressifying" (yes, I made that word up) of otherwise docile animals or inanimate objects. But "edgy" logos with extra bevels and unnecessary drop shadows seems to be the way to go these days so of course our new logo is ripe will all of the above.
PRIMARY LOGO: Meh.
The primary logo with the front-facing hornet is just "meh" to me. The wordmark is great though. It is properly spaced and features relevant "points" on all the lettering that reminds you of the Hornet's stinger. But what's up with the wings, though? They look more like swords than an insects wings and OH MY GOODNESS WHY THE EFF IS THEIR A TEAL "SHADOW" ON THE TOP OF THE WINGS!?! There is no shadow on the top of the Hornet's head so the who thing looks like a big bowl of "trying to much" if ya ask me. And do ALL basketball teams have to have a basketball in their logos? It doesn't look bad, per se, but it does come off as trite. GRADE: D+.
SECONDARY LOGO: Better, but still meh.
Not as busy as the primary but still afflicted by the sword wings and the stupid teal shadow. Truth is, while I don't really care for it, I do think that it's the lesser of two evils and I come away hoping that they use this logo more than their primary joint. GRADE: B+.
MASCOT LOGO: WHY THE FIZZUCK IS THIS NOT THE PRIMARY LOGO!
If you're going to #BringBackTheBuzz ,why not bring back a logo the is reminiscent of the one we grew up with? This logo reminds me of Larry Johnson and Muggsy Bogues. This logo makes me want to buy some merchandise and SWEET 8 POUNDS, 9 OUNCE BABY JESUS IN THE MANGER IS HUGO ROCKING SOME JORDAN 11!?! Well it looks like it to me, and have mercy on the city of Charlotte if they release this exact colorway in real life. The Queen City would crumble under the mass riots that would take place for these sneakers. Love the softer wing design and honeycomb tread pattern on the kicks while we're at it. Any Charlotte Hornets gear I end up wearing will feature this logo, or I won't be wearing it. Just that simple. GRADE: A+.
Overall I think the logo is exactly what one should expect from a professional team these days: extra shadows, super aggressive in places where it doesn't need it, and of course a basketball. The whole thing should be scrapped, but doing so would get rid of their damn near perfect Hugo mascot and I'm not willing to part with him. At all. Because of Hugo, I'll give the entire set a C+. Could be better, not sure how much worse it could be.
But seeing as the team will probably continue to gift us with sub-par basketball, we can spend the next decade lobbying to get the Hugo logo promoted to the primary spot.