Five days ago a Twitter account was born – and with it rekindled hopes of Birmingham, AL landing a professional sports franchise. Last night’s push to garner 3,000 followers for @NBABirmingham on the social network seems to have worked. This morning’s column by Kevin Scarbinsky in The Birmingham News should push it well over that mark by lunchtime.

The folks cheering for its success (this site included) aren’t the only ones wanting to hear positive news from NBA commissioner David Stern. Ever since news of the potential sales of the New Orleans Hornets (a recently completed sale keeps them in NOLA with talk of a name change being floated) and the Sacramento Kings (a team technically still in play due to talks for a new arena taking several twists and turns – and Stern’s recent comments about their once proposed move to Anaheim) were floated, Anaheim, CA; Columbus, OH (a recent entrant); Kansas City, MO; and Las Vegas, NV (they’re already hosting the NBA Summer League) have made pitches to be the next home for an NBA franchise. That’s a pretty impressive list – especially when you haven’t included the folks in Seattle, WA who still want a replacement for their Sonics (who incidentally are in the NBA Finals this year as the Oklahoma City Thunder).

Despite the long odds, the enthusiasm of the account’s operator, 15 year old George Chamoun, can be infectious:

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/NBABirmingham/status/215063624530665473″]

Then there’s the fact that Stern doesn’t seem himself as commissioner past 2018, based on comments made at the end of the interview he participated in during halftime of Game 3 of this year’s NBA Finals. It could be the opening many fans are hoping gives us a better chance. You could argue they’re just laying the groundwork for when it’s finally time.