Michael Jordan, the Face of the Bobcats

After a career in Basketball that is second to none – a career that has lead to numerous milestones set, Michael Jordan today set another milestone by becoming the first former player to become a majority owner of an N.B.A. team.

With his $275 million purchase approved by the N.B.A. on Wednesday, Michael Jordan has become the new face of the Charlotte Bobcats. Now comes the hard part: he must remake the image of this troubled franchise both on the court and in the community, where fans have long been jaded about the league.

“If you had asked me 5, 10 years ago if I would be here with the opportunity to own a basketball team, I would have never believed it,” Jordan said at Time Warner Cable Arena. “Yet it’s a dream come true for me.

“I just want the city to experience what winning is all about.”

With those words Thursday during his first statements since the purchase was announced in a 2 a.m. news release on Feb. 27 he appeared ready for the challenges of the job.

Though fans in Charlotte are still angry with the way they’ve been treated by the NBA and its owners and promises might not be enough to bring the loyalty of the fans back: George Shinn in 2002 moved the Hornets to New Orleans after the Hornets led the N.B.A. in attendance for eight years until the city soured on Shinn’s demand for a new arena.

Then Robert L. Johnson the founder of Black Entertainment Television entered the picture, he paid $300 million for the expansion franchise in 2003 but the team never finished above .500 under Johnson. He lost as much as $100 million on the franchise. Fans were angered again by the city’s decision to build a downtown arena for an expansion franchise after voters rejected the plan in a referendum.

Furthermore, Johnson put the Bobcats on a cable network that was not seen by most people in the region and later berated local business owners for failing to support the Bobcats.

Jordan did little to soothe that anger after buying a minority interest in the franchise and becoming the managing member of the basketball operation in 2006. He did not use his considerable star power in North Carolina to help draw fans to the arena.

Jordan said that would change now that he is the majority owner.

“Now that I have invested in this process, I assume his responsibility in terms of putting my face on this organization and obviously trying to move to the next level,” said Jordan, who will buy a home here but remain a resident of Chicago.

Why is going to be hard to win the fans back and while all the promises from a legend might be too little too late, If the Bobcats continue to win the fans wouldn’t be that far behind. The Bobcats have won seven of their last eight games and are in position to clinch the first playoff berth in franchise history.

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