Please join me in welcoming the Erie BayHawks to town, the new developmental league team of the NBA.
The team not only returns “minor” league pro basketball to Erie but also bucks a major trend among other area sports teams.
For once, there really is a bay in Erie and there really are hawks that fly over it. They’re not called bay hawks exactly but hey, close enough when you make a reality check of the other Erie franchises.
Take the Erie Otters, for instance, the OHL hockey franchise in Erie.
Okay, yes, otters prefer cold weather and, like the City of Erie are found near water. But the two most populous species of otters are sea otters and river otters.
We have a lake and a bay. The bottom line?
Despite the fact that otters populate North America and much of the rest of the world, they’re not really found around here.
That’s except for the two that live at the Erie Zoo but they don’t count, since there are a lot of animals at the zoo that don’t normally live around here.
When winter turns to spring and the ice melts for the season, the Otters are replaced in the hearts of local sports fans each year by the Erie Seawolves, the local AA pro baseball team.
Starting to see the trend?
We don’t live by the sea; we live by a lake and a Great one at that I might add.
But would the Erie Lakewolves carry the same punch?
Probably not, but the record wouldn’t be much worse.
When indoor arena football first came to Erie the team was named the Erie Freeze.
Well done.
We certainly do our share of freezing each year.
But that team broke up and went to Pittsburgh where it was renamed and later returned to its
town of origin.
The result?
The Erie River Rats.
Please.
We have streams, we have creeks, we have tributaries. We have runoffs and spillways and even retention basins.
What we don’t have is a river.
But I don’t suppose the Erie Retention Basins would sell many tickets, either.
Anyway, please join me in welcoming the new D-League basketball team the Erie BayHawks.
They haven’t even played a game yet, but their marketing department is already 1-0.