Illawarra Hawks great Chuck Harmison says he will be "the first to chime in with the Illawarra chant" at Wednesday night's National Basketball League clash at the WIN Entertainment Centre.
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Reacting to the decision to reinstate "Illawarra" to the club name of the Illawarra Hawks, the man whose jersey hangs from the rafters said he couldn't be happier.
"It's super important to be recognised as the Illawarra Hawks again," Harmison said.
"I played for the Illawarra Hawks for nine years, was GM for a couple and then we changed it to Wollongong for a couple of years but always maintained that regional identity. I accepted the decision in the initial stages to remove the name, but was never really totally comfortable with it."
A veteran of 234 matches with the Hawks, Harmison viewed the stripping of the Illawarra name from the club by the NBL last year philosophically.
"If it had to come down to playing as the Hawks and keeping the team in town, then it was better than the alternative," he said. "I understand basketball is a business and (NBL owner) Larry Kestelman and the NBL made the decision based on their business acumen and while we down here didn't agree, you have to respect that. But we've got it back that's all that counts."
It was a really encouraging thing to see Brian come in and recognise how important it was.
- Chuck Harmison
Harmison's name and contribution to the club and the Illawarra was namechecked by new coach Brian Goorjian in an impassioned plea to reinstate the Illawarra name last month. Harmison said Goorjian's stance was pivotal.
"It was a really encouraging thing to see Brian come in and recognise how important it was," Harmison said. "For him to come and stamp his authority and approval, that went a long way to showing the NBL just how important it was to the community here to have the name back."
Harmison called for the Illawarra community to back the club, starting by attending Wednesday night's clash against the undefeated Melbourne United. "We've got our name back, a great team, a great coach and a great history," he said.
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Julian O'Brien
Editor of the Illawarra Mercury and former editor of The Advocate (North-West Tasmania). Journalism is simply about telling good stories well and we do so now across a broader platform than ever before. Our role as a regional masthead is to not only share the stories our readers care about but to be a passionate torch bearers for community at every opportunity. We are stronger together.
Editor of the Illawarra Mercury and former editor of The Advocate (North-West Tasmania). Journalism is simply about telling good stories well and we do so now across a broader platform than ever before. Our role as a regional masthead is to not only share the stories our readers care about but to be a passionate torch bearers for community at every opportunity. We are stronger together.
