Bucks unveil new court design

The Bucks began a new chapter in their franchise history on Tuesday night, but not before paying homage to the past.

All types of Milwaukeeans--executive staff, media members, and fans--filed in to the Milwaukee Art Museum to get a glimpse of the new court design for the upcoming season, a week after the Bucks announced a change was coming and less than a month after the Our Mecca showcase commemorated one of the most famous floors in NBA history.

And after the flurry of flashes subsided, the intricacies of the new design (inspired by the old Mecca floor) began to take shape.

The new design shares the same 'M' bracketing at mid-court with the old Robert Indiana creation, as well as both baselines having 'Milwaukee' instead of 'Bucks' or 'Have it all' plastered across them. The courts also share the diamond at mid-court, though the logos are obviously different. Speaking of mid-court, the Bucks announced that season ticket holders' names will be ingrained at mid-court, a token of appreciation to those who have dedicated themselves to supporting the team and city it represents. Check out Bucks.com for more background and pictures of the Bucks' new hardwood.

So how does this court differ from its predecessors? Most notably there isn't really any red in it. Actually, there is zero red on the 94-by-50 playing space itself. I have only been able to come up with a few theories as to why this is so:

• It looks cleaner and more modern
• Red is a stupid color
• There is only room for one primary color on each court, as requested by the NBA
• The Bucks will shed plenty of (hypothetical) blood on the court next year when they beat up their opponents

So yeah, not a clear reason as to why there isn't any red. It looks nice, though.

Larry Sanders and John Henson were in attendance tonight, both as faces of the hopeful future the Bucks believe they have, and as the only likely candidates who could reach the top of the curtain without pulling one-to-all of their back muscles.

Recent Hall of Famer and former voice of the Bucks Eddie Doucette was also on hand tonight, speaking on both the past history of the Bucks as well as what to expect in the coming years.

Doucette recalled a time where he would step out onto the old Mecca floor where the Bucks won so many games and feel the energy consume him. He said that he used to believe that the fans could ''knock the rust off the rafters'' with the energy both they and the team brought every night, and that he was absolutely certain that the current guys that make up this season's roster would do the same.

He spoke of a time when the Bucks got their return package for Kareem Abdul-Jabaar and were faced with a group of young "potential" players and a coach who appeared capable of molding that group into something great. The Bucks of 2013 are in no different of circumstances, with a diverse group of young talent and potential, even if it isn't fully realized yet. Doucette ended his speech by saying that, like the post-Kareem Bucks, there was much reason to believe in these young players, and that in being at this event in support of them and the future of the franchise, there was a sense of hope that things would eventually, with patience from everyone, begin to take the same path that the franchise took back then.

It was a night when the future was very in tune with its past. Perhaps we'll get lucky and the trend will continue through the season.