The Brown Pelican is the State Bird of Louisiana. They are abundant throughout the swamplands of southern Louisiana and have become identified with efforts to restore the Gulf coastline ravaged by Katrina and British Petroleum. We all remember the vivid images of pelicans covered with oil after the 2010 BP spill. The Pelicans were on the endangered species list for many years but were taken off the list in 2009. Brown Pelicans are tough birds. They have the ability to skim across the wave tops in search of food then to rise up and plunge down into the sea at full speed in pursuit of lunch. Not a lot of birds are that aggressive.
The Pelicans is a good name for the NBA franchise in New Orleans. The people of Louisiana (the fans) identify with the Pelican as being something uniquely theirs. Fans in the bayou country and along the coastlines have been seeing the familiar big V in the sky for all of their lives.
Mr. Tom Benson, who is the owner of both the New Orleans Saints and what are currently called the New Orleans Hornets, did not like the mascot image of his team to be the Hornets, neither did his wife. She didn’t like the colors either….so, we are going to see a change there as well.
The idea in making the change is to create more of a bond between the city and the team. I mean, it’s hard to get all warm and fuzzy about a hornet. The league still has to approve the name change but NBA Commissioner David Stern has already said that the league would approve any name that the Bensons choose.
Great things are expected out of the New Orleans Pelicans in coming years. Their roster of young talent is virtually unmatched in the NBA today. Granted, at this point in the season the Hornets are 19 games out of first place and totally out of the playoff picture already. But, look out NBA when Head Coach Monty Williams gets his talented youngsters up to speed.
Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, Eric Gordon Ryan Anderson and Greivis Vasquez are shaping up to be a force for the future. Anderson, who has been playing exceptional ball this year, is the elder statesman with just 4 years in the pros. Look out NBA, here come the Pelicans!
