Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup run caps off a year of NC sports fans having fun again | Opinion
On Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes will do something they haven’t done in 20 years: play for a Stanley Cup.
Winning would mean a lot to the team and its fans. But it would also mean something to North Carolina. It’s been 10 years since any of the state’s major professional sports teams played for a national championship. Since the Panthers lost Super Bowl 50 in 2016, the Hurricanes are the only team to have even come close.
For the most part, it’s been a pretty grueling time to be a sports fan in North Carolina. The Carolina Panthers and the Charlotte Hornets were among the worst teams in their respective leagues for years. On the other hand, the Hurricanes have been one of the NHL’s best, but they’ve experienced their fair share of heartbreak, repeatedly falling short in the playoffs despite dominant regular seasons.
All of that seems to be turning around. Not only did the Hurricanes break their conference finals “curse,” they’ve had a historic 12-1 playoff run. The Carolina Panthers made the playoffs for the first time since the 2017 season and nearly pulled off an upset against the top-ranked Los Angeles Rams (again). The Charlotte Hornets barely missed the playoffs, but they pulled off one of the biggest season turnarounds the league has ever seen. (College sports is a different story, especially if you’re a UNC fan like me.)
In the process, the world of North Carolina professional sports is becoming really, truly fun again. Despite their postseason heartbreaks, the Hurricanes have spent most of the past eight seasons solidifying Raleigh as a hockey town. The coach, the players, and even the general manager are well-known and beloved. They’ve sold out every game since February 2023, and Lenovo Center is regarded as the loudest house in the NHL. The fans have made an unofficial mascot out of somebody’s pet pig. It’s vibrant and it’s fun and it’s full of joy, which is something that Charlotte sports haven’t had enough of for a long time. Back in 2023, when the Panthers were in the midst of some dark days, I accused Panthers owner David Tepper of stealing Charlotte’s sports joy. I’m happy to say that some of that joy is coming back. And, for the first time in a long time, maybe even some hope.
Once upon a time, Raleigh didn’t have that joy, either. Though the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup in 2006, they experienced a slump of their own a few years after, with a decade-long playoff drought and the worst attendance in the league. Ten years ago, the franchise’s future in Raleigh was in doubt. Now, under new leadership, the Hurricanes have won at least one playoff series every postseason since 2019, and attendance is no longer an issue. Hopefully, recent successes are a signal that the Hornets and Panthers can achieve a turnaround of their own.
It’s not just about winning championships, or having the opportunity to win one. It’s not even necessarily about winning games, though it’s nice to see teams doing a lot more of that lately. It’s about giving fans something to root for and believe in. Every decent season is filled with tiny victories, even if it doesn’t end the way you hoped. There’s beauty in the journey and the memories it creates. Years from now, Panthers fans may still remember the way it felt at Bank of America Stadium in December when the Panthers beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and clinched the NFC South. The Hornets’ season also had plenty of memorable moments, like a 22-point comeback against the New Orleans Pelicans and the largest road win in franchise history against the Utah Jazz. Given the current state of our country, that joy and unity is more meaningful than ever.
We should all be cheering for the Hurricanes to finally bring a championship back to North Carolina. But no matter what happens in the Stanley Cup Final, the Hurricanes have given generations of fans a season they will never forget. That’s what sports is really all about.
