Sports in North Carolina have been rather unforgiving lately. The last time the Charlotte Hornets made the playoffs was 2016. The last time the Carolina Panthers did was 2018. The Carolina Hurricanes routinely get dominated in the Eastern Conference Finals. It’s been a rough go in Charlotte (and Raleigh) for some time now, but for the moment, things are finally looking up.
North Carolina Has a Respectable Sports Scene for Once
Don’t look now, but the vibes in North Carolina are high. The Carolina Panthers just won their third in a row and are winners of four out of their last five games. They even won a road game with Bryce Young under center, something they have only done one other time in his entire NFL career. Sure, it was the winless New York Jets, but if certain results occur in tonight’s Monday Night Football doubleheader, the Panthers will have the seventh seed in the NFC – a playoff spot.
With Young injured and the Buffalo Bills coming to town off a bye week, that won’t hold, but everyone in Charlotte is justifiably treating this 4-3 start like it’s 2015 all over again. It’s been unbelievably awful since 2018, but for once, the Panthers look like a serious, competitive franchise.
The Charlotte Hornets do as well. They begin the regular season on Wednesday after a Summer League championship and a decent preseason. They were one of the best teams in terms of their offseason moves, and while it won’t translate to a playoff berth, the Hornets are beginning to resemble a competitive, serious franchise. It’s been ages since that was the case.
They have young talent in LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller, and they really aced the draft class. Kon Knueppel is going to be good, and both Ryan Kalkbrenner and Liam McNeeley could end up as major steals from the vaunted 2025 draft class. Adding Collin Sexton, Pat Connaughton, and others while stashing more future assets is a huge win for a franchise and fanbase that’s incredibly desperate for anything positive.
The Carolina Hurricanes don’t fall to the North Carolina sports curse. They actually have the second-most wins in the entire NHL since 2020, so they’re a consistent contender. The thing is, they had gone an unfathomable 15 straight Eastern Conference Finals game before even getting a win, but they ultimately got blasted by the eventual champion Florida Panthers last year despite getting a win.
But right now, they have to be the early title favorites. The Panthers are banged up, and the Hurricanes are the only unbeaten team in the NHL. The addition of Nikolaj Ehlers to provide scoring hasn’t even done much, so they can get better. Trading for K’Andre Miller was a stroke of genius by GM Eric Tulsky, as he’s been brilliant. This is all happening without Jaccob Slavin, maybe the best pure defender in hockey.
UNC Isn’t Part of the Positivity
Sadly, the North Carolina Tar Heels are not part of this trend. Hiring Bill Belichick has proven to be an unrivaled disaster. The team looks pretty bad, although they nearly won on the road against 4-2 California. Sadly, fumbling on the goal line and losing is seen as a pretty positive development for “Chapel Bill.” The basketball team, which projects to be solid once more, will need to turn the university’s image back to positive, but sadly, the Hubert Davis era has been very hot and cold, and there’s no reason to expect true success this year.
The Tar Heels tried and failed to make their football program relevant, and their basketball program has been sliding since Roy Williams retired. It’s no longer the top, elite blue blood it once was, although it’s still a great program. Time will tell if the pro sports positivity will leak over into UNC basketball or if the Tar Heel football vibes will infect everything.
Conclusion
Is it a little bit absurd to talk so highly about a 4-3 football team, a team that went 2-3 in the NBA preseason, and a hockey team that’s played five out of 82 games? Absolutely, but that just illustrates how desperate the fans are for any sort of success. This is a big step, even if most cities would laugh at this sort of reaction.
