MLS briefly joins Hornets in listing Charlotte as ‘CHA.’ ‘CLT or bust,’ fans say.
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Charlotte MLS expansion
Charlotte will become the host city for the 30th Major League Soccer team. David Tepper, the billionaire owner of the Carolina Panthers, has been instrumental in working to bring a team to the city. The team would play in Bank of America Stadium after renovations are made.
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Amid the hoopla over Tuesday’s announcement that Charlotte snared Major League Soccer’s 30th franchise, groups of ardent supporters raised sudden alarm.
“West End Collective” and “The Queen’s Firm/Charlotte’s MLS Supporters” posted on Twitter that they were none too pleased that MLS was abbreviating Charlotte as CHA on its website.
As did a cavalcade of other fans.
“I mean come on @CharlotteMLS CLT or bust,” tweeted West End Collective, supporters of the new MLS franchise who live in west Charlotte.
Reacted The Queen’s Firm: “DONT YOU PUT THAT EVIL ON US RICKY BOBBY! (@MLS) --” a reference to a famous phrase from the classic sports parody ‘Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.’ “DONT YOU PUT THAT ON US! WE ARE NOT CHA!”
One fan tweeted a GIF of a scene from the NBC hit comedy “The Office” where actor Steve Carell blurts out a “God! Please No! No!!!”
Tweeted another fan: “this is some kind of weird illuminati conspiracy to misrepresent Charlotte, truly the CLT.”
“Need to distinguish the team from the airport,” another person tweeted sarcastically, referring to Charlotte Douglas International Airport’s “CLT” abbreviation.
By mid-afternoon, MLS agreed to switch to CLT within 48 hours, according to MLS spokesman Dan Courtemanche.
Joe Bruno of WSOC-TV first reported the change.
A similar furor erupted just recently with Charlotte’s NBA team.
While most fans on social media praised the Hornets’ City Edition uniform unveiled in late November, others lambasted the abbreviation the team designated for the Queen City.
That’s right, the dreaded “CHA.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 4:54 PM.
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