Don't tell me, let me guess. Somewhere in a dark room, with sunglasses and ear plugs firmly affixed, so that you could not see or hear what was happening on your satellite TV NBA channel in the city of Seattle. So that you could not see and hear that your oft touted remarks that the city of Seattle doesn't care are far from the truth.
So that you couldn't see Mark Cuban rise from his seat behind the Mavericks' bench to join in the standing ovation for former Sonics greats Gary Payton and Downtown Freddy Brown, when they were introduced from the stands, sitting in support of the team and the city.
So that you couldn't see this year's likely Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant spurring the near sell out crowd on in their chants of "Save Our Sonics" and "Bennett Sucks" at the end of the game.
So that you couldn't hear Fox Sports Southwest's announcers questioning the sanity of moving a team with a 41 year history from a larger media market to a smaller one (unfortunately, the FSN announcers are on the Sonics' payroll, so they made not mention one of the situation--likely because they were told not to).
So that you couldn't see this:
So that you couldn't read/hear that more than one current Sonics player has followed in WNBA MVP Lauren Jackson's footsteps and said that they may have to go to OKC, but they don't have to stay when their contracts are done. Or how much they are going to miss the fans and the city of Seattle.
So that you didn't have to read what one insensitive OKC resident, seen trolling in a Seattle Times Sonics fan forum, said about the fans of Seattle being so desparate that they would do this as an attempted human sacrifice, in order to implore the basketball gods to keep the team in town.
And so that you didn't have to think, at least for a few hours, about the principals of the Professional Basketball Club, LLC's gaffes in committing their plans to get the team out of town before the good faith period was even one-quarter over to black and white for all to see, thanks to Slade Gorton and his fellow attorneys.
Yes, and so that you didn't have to see and hear the tears and high emotion, both inside Key Arena and in the states of Washington, Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Hawaii (which are the Sonics primary market now), not to mention those of displaced Sonics fans all over the US and the rest of the world.
What do you have to say for yourself and the NBA, Mr. Stern? We would like to hear it.
(In a side note, I personally (and I'm sure many of my fellow fans) would like to let Mark Cuban and (most likely) Paul Allen, who may be the only two owners to vote against this relocation at the Board of Governors' meeting later this week know just how much your sentiments are appreciated, even if it is mostly for business reasons)).
Rev: The BOG is due to vote on the 17th, which is Thursday, but it is almost guaranteed that they will approve the relocation. But the court case does not come to trial til mid-June, at which point Clayton and company are likely to find that they will be obligated to spend the next two seasons in Seattle in fulfillment of their obligations to the lease.
dude, they did us like that in Houston before we got the Toyota Center. those are the games they play. but take it from someone who have experienced losing a pro franchise(Oilers) after they are gone, when that time of year comes around, it's horrible. I hope you guys keep your team
ramogriff: It is not any fun at all, to be sure. Of course, if they do take them from the city, then most of us don't want them to come back later with an expansion team, just to do the same thing again.
sleepless, I guarantee you would rather have a team for 41 years instead of no years. get an owner thats intrenched in the community. a local and keep him happy. we have to make sacrifice sometimes but the way I look at it, they are going to raise taxes no matter what you think so you might as well let it be for something you want and can see.
Done deal. Introducing the Oklahoma City Thunderbirds, coming to a Ford Center near you.
Now the former owner is trying to get the team back. That's like me selling my iPod and asking for it back two years later because the new owner put on song on it that I don't like.
You "slept" in too late this time. The Sonics are now a memory.
It's a little bit more complicated thann that, Scott. Bennett violated the terms of the side letter that Schultz and the previous ownership required him to sign as a condition of the sale, which makes the contract potentially unenforceablel by PBC.
I am a 50 something health care professional transplanted to Seattle from SoCal in 2001 (and, before you ask, no, I don't want to go back). My tastes in sports are pretty eclectic, but in order of preference, I guess they would be baseball, hockey, basketball, football--col lege and pro/men and women alike. Teams I "HATE": USC (I went to UCLA); University of Michigan (born and raised in Columbus OH to a large family of OSU alumni/alumna e), and--probably most of all--the d***ed Yankees. I have worked in a variety of capacities at the MLB, NBA and NFL venues here in Seattle and at UW (hey, what true sports fan could pass up the possibility of getting paid to do something you would have done anyway (and had to pay for it)?)
