Masuk Free Press

The list of professional sports in Connecticut is pretty bleak. While the UConn Huskies are on top of the college basketball world, and our neighboring states like New York and Massachusetts have exciting professional sports, it’s pretty crazy that a state with so much history as Connecticut doesn’t have a team in the NBA, NFL, or MLB. Connecticut has always had teams in minor leagues, like the Hartford Yard Goats being a Double-A affiliate for the Colorado Rockies, or the Hartford Wolfpack and Bridgeport Islanders, AHL affiliates for the New York Rangers and Islanders, respectively. Considering the ESPN headquarters are right here in Bristol, the Constitution State needs more respect. 

“It’d be cool to support a team in your own state,” said sophomore Theodor Dakov.

In order to understand why Connecticut needs professional sports, it’s important to jump in the time machine, back to 1979 when the Hartford Whalers joined the NHL in 1979, and played right in the state capitol. Unfortunately, Connecticut’s tenure as a holder of a professional sports team would be short lived. In 1997, Peter Karmanos, the owner of the franchise, would move the team to North Carolina, renaming them to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Whalers had some playoff appearances, but only made it to the second round once, in the 1985-86 season. The only other professional sports team to play in Connecticut is the Connecticut Sun of the WNBA. They’re still around today, but as time moves on they are more likely to jump the ship as well, due to financial pressures and attractive deals from potential buyers. Connecticut fans are forced to root for teams in neighboring states like New York, but being able to root for your own state in sports is a special feeling. 

“We need a sports team so there’s something for people to watch,” said sophomore Quinn Cottrell.  

A professional sports team with the type of success that the UConn Huskies have would make this small state appear way larger. 

Additionally, why would the professional sports leagues even consider Connecticut? There’s so many other states without a professional sports team, and some of them have some athletic ties. Oklahoma, for example, is home to the Oklahoma University Sooners who is a consistent college football power house. The Nebraska Cornhuskers have also had college football success in the past, but so has Connecticut in the college basketball realm. Connecticut has had as much success in the college realm as any other state. The only problem for Connecticut is its marketability. Marketing a small state is very difficult, as they can just be swallowed up by the bigger states around them. Furthermore, plenty of states/cities have tremendously greater odds at landing the nod for a franchise.

In addition, there’s no real defining city that people would recognize. Connecticut doesn’t have a mid-tier popular city like New Orleans, Seattle, or Miami, per say. Hartford, while it’s the state capitol, doesn’t have the traction to pull in people to an arena from New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, or any other parts of the North East. Most of the other cities up for consideration not shown on the graph above are ones such as Tampa Bay, San Diego, or Vancouver. What’s the common denominator here? All of them have, or have had, professional sports. It’s very plausible to believe that investors don’t want to take a chance on an entirely new area for professional sports, much less Connecticut. The only way to fill stadiums and not have the team lose money would be to obtain an absolute super star in professional sports. Imagine if Patrick Mahomes, or Connor McDavid in a stunning move decide to come to Hartford to dominate their respective leagues. 

Up to this point, professional sports in Connecticut seems like a dream that will never come true. There’s just so many other states that would be objectively better choices from a financial standpoint, and Connecticut is sandwiched between New York and Boston, two huge markets. Even further, many professional sport leagues would rather go to international territories for a team. But, if Connecticut were to grab the nod for a professional sports team, this would be the most optimal way to go. 

First, we need a sport. The NFL is impossible because the league having an odd number of teams would be a scheduling nightmare. The MLB is more plausible because they play more games, but once again an odd number of teams would make divisions unbalanced. It comes down to the NHL and NBA. The NHL experiment already happened with the Hartford Whalers, and it didn’t work. History repeats itself, so the NHL probably wouldn’t have a happy ending. This leaves the NBA, a league that is destined to expand anyway. Given Connecticut’s collegiate basketball success, an NBA franchise would only improve sports across the country. So, say that the NBA, against all odds, chooses Connecticut over Las Vegas or Mexico City. What would be our team name? Connecticut has some interesting history, but the Connecticut Lawmakers aren’t exactly appealing. Some pretty ferocious and entertaining animals reside in Connecticut, like black bears, woodchucks, foxes, deer, and turkey. Out of some of these options, there are many avenues to go down. Team names come down to culture, animals, or history. To be nationally recognized, Connecticut culture just doesn’t cut it. As mentioned, Connecticut’s history is very fascinating, yet it doesn’t have that excitement to constitute a team name. That leaves the animals, and the black bears are probably the best option. First, some iteration of foxes and deer exist already in the NBA, like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Milwaukee Bucks, or Memphis Grizzlies. Turkey’s aren’t exactly an imposing threat, so that leaves black bears which are very common and cliche. There is one more avenue for a name, and that’s the Nutmegs. It has historical value, and gives the vibe of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, Oklahoma State Cowboys, or Ohio State Buckeyes. Iconic symbols paired with history will make a remarkable brand. Other NBA teams like the New York Knicks or the Boston Celtics fit this exact mold. With the help of artificial intelligence, here’s a hypothetical logo for the NBA’s newest team:

The next part would be an expansion draft. The rest of the teams in the NBA would be able to protect eight of their own players from each team, leaving the others available for the new team to select. Connecticut would probably be able to draft some decent players, but no superstars, because other teams would protect them. Older stars would possibly be available, so if someone like Joel Embiid–center for the Philadelphia 76ers whose injury prone and on the wrong side of 30 years old– was able to be drafted by the new franchise, that would increase marketability for Connecticut. Of course, Connecticut grabbing exciting players from across the league would be exciting for fans. This is because it’s a fresh beginning, a new start with all kinds of players mixing and matching on a brand new team.

Who are the Nutmegs’ rivals? Well, an instant classic will brew as the Battle for New England will be fought between the Nutmegs and Celtics. Additionally, the Battle for the Little Brother will be between the Phoenix Suns and the Connecticut Nutmegs, as Arizona and Connecticut are the little brothers to California and New York. 

All in all, NBA expansion especially is most likely coming, and it will probably be in Las Vegas and Seattle. However, Connecticut has a lot to bring to the table. A small, yet eager state that’s ready to cheer for a team within our borders would make sports substantially more entertaining.