What if we don’t miss them?
Posted on Wednesday, October 29th, 2008 at 6:14 am by Brian Robinson
As a business owner I have a lot of employees, all of whom I consider valuable in some shape or form. Valuable enough to at least cut a check for every two weeks that is…
Every once in a while a situation will arise whether it be a family leave, sickness, vacation, temporary side job, whatever that one of these employees leaves for a period and then returns. In each of these occasions I have to warn people that you want to be cautious. What happens if the person leaves and we don’t miss them? What happens if, during the period they are gone things not only don’t fall apart, but there is little discernable negative difference?
When we stumble upon this type of occasion I always know in my heart of hearts that the relationship is over. It may take several months, I may fire them or they may quit, but somehow things are never quite the same when two people realize they can live without each other just fine.
I have to ask former Sonics fans, and fans of the NBA, what the risk to the league is in our valuable market. What if we simply don’t miss them? What if we fail to get it done this year and then decide not to spend more effort on it going forward?
I ask this because last night was the opening of the NBA season. I found myself flipping channels, not wanting to watch, and then brielfy lingering on the channel as the world champion Boston Celtics recieved their congratulations from the commissioner. I watched former Sonic Ray Allen jog up to Stern and chit chat with a wide smile on his face.
Personally it did nothing more than remind me how jaded I have become in this process. It underscored the fact that Ray Allen never really cared about thsi city so why should I care about him. It brought all types of bad emotions, negative reminders, and hardship to my mind and I immediately turned the channel.
For some the healing process will be different than others. I may be more scarred than average. For me the biggest difference is that the magical sheen which once seemed to surround the NBA and all professional sports is worn thin and I can really see the somewhat damaged and marginal product beneath it. For me I am not sure that it will ever be the same.
It is for that reason that I think Nick Collisons very honest comment this weekend, that “Seattle never seemed that excited about the Sonics.” was an accurate one. Nick, for all that he is a wonderful guy and a great role player never played well enough to get us excited. Nobody in this last incarnation of Seattle basketball became a hero, worthy of the type of adoration that keeps you up at night, that makes you follow box scores on vacation, or just wish so badly that your dad would buy you tickets for the game.
The feeling didn’t exist in the final years of Sonics basketball and it doesn’t exist now. For the NBA I would content that this is a dangerous precedent to set.
If people see that Seattle does not miss the NBA then what will happen in New Jersey as their arena plans fall apart. What about the Bucks and the Timberwolves? Will all of these markets, these millions of people start to determine that there is really nothing all that special about the NBA’s players or products. At what point does a criticial mass occur that, if an event is not cool enough for Minnessotta then Kansas City decides it does not want to make a bid for it?
I think my hope of becoming an NBA fan again revolves around two things. The first is a speedy return. I will not even begin to promise that 6 years from now I will be sitting around pining fo what is lost. People find better things, they move on, and they usually look down upon the things they left behind.
The second is that EVERYBODY needs to stop focusing on the recent history of the Sonics and instead remember the good history. Ray Allen can accept his ring from David Stern because that is Ray Allen. It is not Gary Payton, Shawn Kemp, Det, Hersey Hawkings, Spencer Haywood, Xavier McDaniels, or any of the number of guys who touched my heart and forged the spectacular bond.
I’m going to cast out the new guys who failed to inspire a solution on so many levels. The team players are simply the most visible. PJ who?
Extend the same philosophy to the people surrounding the issue and it is both refreshing and uplifting. I’m tired of holding bitterness towards Frank Chopp, Nick Licata, the mayor, the governor, and just about everybody else who ever got elected. They all let us down. They equally screwed up.
I’m going to work to bring an NBA franchise back to Seattle, but I’m not going to do so surrounded by an air of negativity and weighed down by the burden of past failures. Lets just remember the good days, get whatever enjoyment we can out of that, and work positively towards the future. I’m sick of finger pointing. There is no end to it.
It’s opening day without the Sups. Please talk about your favorite Sonics basketball memory in this thread.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:39 am
“if people see that seattle does not miss the nba. . . ” that’s the grand canyon-sized hole in this line of argument. the only people seeing what seattle does or doesn’t feel/do are seattle fans. ditto for every other market. . .
the proof of this is that every time — EVERY TIME — a franchise moves, the only ones who go ballistic are the fans in the jilted market. nobody says, “hmm, the steamers moved from giitzville to podunk, and even though i don’t follow them or live in either place, i realize that this could have happened here and thus. . .’
i’m not being critical, just observing on fan nature. our concentric circle of concerns doesn’t have room in the innermost circles for faraway fans & their teams/problems. we’ve got our own.
not miss them? of course people will go on with their lives. if someone can survive the loss of a family member, they can survive the loss of a basketball team.
but that doesn’t mean that it’s not better to have an nba team than not to have one. fact: following a sports team is fun. having one to root for beats not having one to root for.
which is why i will be happy when ’sonix2: the redux’ occurs.
but seattle’s plight — and the plight of virtually every other market that’s been stabbed in the back by league and owner duplicity — is not a pressing national issue. plenty of ‘tut-tuts, too bad for you” but not much actual vicarious pain.
the only two examples i can think of are the colts midnight ride out of baltimore in ‘84, and the browns move out of cleveland 13 years later. each of those attracted some degree of media attention and sympathy. but not enough to actually distract most fans from following ‘their’ teams. . . so when ‘their’ teams moved in later years, it came as a ’shock.’
October 29th, 2008 at 8:51 am
Great post, Brian. I wasn’t quite sure how I’d react to the Sonics leaving, but as it turns out I’m just dead to it. That part of me is now gone - removed. I’m not even angry anymore. I wear Sonics shirts because they’re in my closet, and I haven’t bothered to remove my Sonics keychain. It’s just too much trouble, and I really don’t care either way.
Same deal with the NBA season. I’m academically interested in what’s going on, but otherwise, meh. I was a huge NBA fan, but the Sonics were the conduit. Now that they’re gone, well, it’s a rich wonderful world out there, and I’d rather spend more time there than with a league that obviously doesn’t want me.
Would any of this come back if another Sonics team returned? Probably, but it’s hard to say. I can’t imagine I’d ever feel quite the same way about it, both because that team would probably have a different history, and because I feel very burned by the NBA.
I’m willing to fight for a new team because I think it’s important the Sonics exist again - but more than anything else because I want my daughter to have the Sonics when she grows up just like I did, with Jack Sikma’s number in the rafters, Kevin Calabro calling games, and a crowd awash in green and gold. If we attend those games together, I might have a tinge of cynicism, but she’ll have the opportunity to be as completely immersed and enthusiastic about it as I was. I want that for her. If my passion comes back, well, that’s just a bonus.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:55 am
charliesonic: “each of those attracted some degree of media attention and sympathy. but not enough to actually distract most fans from following ‘their’ teams. . . so when ‘their’ teams moved in later years, it came as a ’shock.’ ”
This is really, really true. I think we actually got more national support and coverage than other similar situations.
I’m ashamed to say I was one of those “as long as it’s not my team” fans. Weren’t the Rockets rumored to be close to moving a few years ago? When that happened, I felt slightly bad for Houston, but my conscious thought was, “That sucks, but at least the Sonics aren’t moving.” And this was a long-time rival.
I’m guessing this is how the vast majority of NBA fans feel - it’s much easier to disassociate when the danger is remote.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:18 am
I think we got more national support because of the downright nefarious way in which the team was moved. The commissioner of the league conspiring with an owner that LIED UNDER OATH!! Sure, he can say he was a “man possessed to keep the team in Seattle” but everyone knows that’s a blatant lie. He perjured himself and everyone supported it. Just disgusting. I think national support will continue to fade away as the season moves on and everyone realizes that things aren’t much different around the country and league without Seattle. Hopefully Bill Simmons will continue to beat the drum on a national stage and refer to them as the Seattle SloppySeconds for their enternity. It’s not much but his column is highly read and it keeps the injustice on the minds of people if only a little bit. Hopefully OKC Blunder will fall flat on their face and the hardcore enthusiasm that Nick Collison wasn’t seeing here will quickly fade in OKC. There’s only so long you can expect rabid sellout crowds for crappy basketball and dish out thousands of dollars each year to do it. Yes Nick, it’s hard for a majority of people to get fired up about you missing open 15-foot jumpers for 82 games a year.
For me, I will continue to wear my Sonics gear to let people around town know that we do still care. I will continue to hope that we get a new team and will do whatever I can to see that happen. Until that day, I will continue to not watch a second of an NBA game, will continue cheering for every financial hardship the league and it’s teams in crappy markets goes through, will applaud every player that decides to play overseas and will smirk about every black eye the league receives. Once we get a new team, David Stern retires, dies or gets fired…I’ll probably be back on board because I love the Sonics…if not the NBA.
My favorite Sonics moment was Game 6 of the ‘87 Western Conference Finals against the Rockets. I was 9 and had to go to bed at halftime because it started at 8:30 or some wacky hour. My mom recorded the game, didn’t tell me what happened and I watched the 2nd half and 2 OT’s the next morning before school. I eventually wore the tape out but you can catch that game every now and then on ESPN Classic or NBA TV. Just a great moment and a feeling that can’t be replicated at a f**king new city park or renovated Pike Place Market.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I have so many favorite Sonics memories but two stand out. Game 6 against Utah at home during the 96 finals…counting to 10 when Malone took so long to shoot his free throws. When we won the noise was deafening, my eyes were filled with tears from the joy of it, and my best friend and I were hugging total strangers.
Another favorite moment was when Ray Allen hit his three point record at the Key and the crowd kept chanting his name over and over until the coach let him come back in. Getting my picture taken with him and my family at a charity auction was another highlight and the pic is on my desk til this day.
I could go on and on with good memories. I hope to be able to make some more some day!
October 29th, 2008 at 10:03 am
If only…….All things being said we’d probably not have a baseball or football team if this came to fruition.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/archives/1988/8801150428.asp
October 29th, 2008 at 10:18 am
Favorite Sonics memories:
1. My dad scored some sweet court-side tickets to a game in 1990 or so; it was Sonics vs. Knicks. Xavier McDaniel and Dale Ellis were still Sonics; Dana Barros was a Sonic. Just watching Dale and Dana shoot blew my mind; smelling the sweat coming off Patrick Ewing was … um, interesting. This was before the basketball bug really bit me - it was just another activity with my dad, but I remember thinking, wow, this is pretty cool.
2. The next year in 1991, I was bored at home, and was flipping through the radio and heard Calabro calling a game. Basketball, I thought, hey I like basketball, why don’t I listen? This was the game in 1991 when the Sonics lost to the Hornets with less than a second left on a Larry Johnson shot. This was towards the end of the KC Jones era. At the beginning of the game, I thought listening to a game was a neat way to spend an hour or so. At the end of the game, I was a Sonics die-hard forever. Shortly threafter, KC Jones was fired, Bob Kloppenberg went 2-2, and George Karl was hired. By the time Karl was hired, I fanatically listened to every game - I still remember how hard the Sonics played in that first game vs. Portland. Portland was a million times better that year, and the Sonics stayed right with them. The light had turned on - and a .500 team went something like .650 through the rest of Karl’s stay.
That 1991-1992 team was so much fun to follow - their ascent to the elite was so unexpected. I think that was my most rewarding fan experience, following that team, though 1992-1993 and 1995-1996 were fun too.
October 29th, 2008 at 10:22 am
Great post Brian. I couldn’t agree more on alot of your feelings. I don’t give a crap about the NBA because anytime I think about it or see something on t.v. when I’m flipping channels, I get depressed and it brings back all those bad feelings of the day that sellout settled with clayclay. I really think I could forgive if only we get a team in less than 5 years and I’m thinking more like 3 years tops. If it takes more than that, then I’m gone from the NBA. I wont care anymore. It would be too late. I do want an NBA team back soon and it would have to be called the SONICS!
I got a couple of great SUPES moments that stick out in my mind. One is the last home game this year. Durant scores the last 4 points I believe to beat the Mavs. In the last minute the crowd chanted SAVE OUR SONICS for a good 2 minutes while Durant encouraged the crowd by waving his hand up and down while we chanted. GREAT moment. I get chills thinking about it.
Probably my favorite moment in my Sonics lifetime was in the early 90’s. A young G.P. and a young Shawn Kemp with George Karl in his 1st or 2nd year coaching the Supes. Playoffs against a favored Golden State team with a young Tim Hardaway. End of a great game and G.P. running down the court and throws an alley oop from just past half court to Shawn Kemp, who throws it down and swings on the rim to win it for the Sonics and the crowd going crazy. The loudest I have ever heard the Key and it was when I became hooked on Sonics hoops and G.P. to KEMP DUNKS. What a GREAT time in life that was.
ITS THE END OF OCTOBER AND NO SONICS NO CALABRO NO DURANT NO NEW FIRST ROUND PICK TO FALL IN LOVE WITH
SAY IT AINT SO! PLEASE WAKE ME UP FROM THIS NIGHTMARE!
October 29th, 2008 at 10:31 am
The issue of Seattle, and other larger cities not missing their NBA team was one of the major points of the NY Times article about Oklahoma City, the Thunder, and Bennett, that was linked to a day or two ago. The NBA may actually find it more profitable to locate in places such as Oklahoma City, Portland OR, San Antonio, etc. where they are the only major league sport in town, and fanatically embraced by the locals, the way the Sonics were in the 1970s.
Favorite season: easily 1978, with 1979 close behind. Most of you are too young to remember, but just take the excitement of the 1996 season, combined with the magic of the Mariners 1995 season (i.e. a formerly hapless team becomes the Cinderalla giant-slayer), combined with one of the most stupendous mid-season turnarounds in history (after a 5-17 start, the Sonics fired coach Bob Hopkins and had Lenny Wilkens step in — a position he was destined to hold, given how the coaching half of his player-coach role had been taken away from him in 1972, followed by his trade away, worst giveaway in Sonics history not counting Schulz selling to Bennett — and the Sonics won 70% of their games the rest of the way, finishing 47-35). Nothing in Seattle pro sports history (at least since the 1960s, since that’s as far back as I remember) compares with that incredible come-from-nowhere-to-the-Finals season. It was 1996 plus Mariners 1995 plus Seahawks Super Bowl all rolled into one season.
Favorite moment: this is on Bob Blackburn’s Top 10 games, and on many a Celtic fan’s most memorable games: Sonics vs Boston in the Boston Garden (I was living in Boston then). January 1980, so the Sonics are defending NBA champs, while the Celtics are bashing through the East with rookie Larry Bird. CBS’s first telecast of the season, Bill Russell back with CBS doing color commentary and making a rare return visit to the Garden. Sellout crowd, playoff atmosphere. Double-overtime thriller, game-saving last-second shots by Dennis Johnson and Chris Ford and probably others that I’ve forgotten. Sonics hold onto their slim lead in the closing minute thanks to Paul Silas doing his classic Paul Silas thing: grabbing offensive rebounds after Sonics’ missed shorts. The most exciting basketball game that I’ve seen in person.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:04 am
Sam Perkins hititng a record 8 (or was it 9) conescutive three’s in a game without missing. I swear he took 7 seconds just setting up those shots… but who at the time could have gotten there quick enough AND disrupted his shot? no one. and as he did his slow-mo wind up on that last one of the night the crowd was already willing that ball thru the twine: SMMMOOOOOoooooooooooooth.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:32 am
Growing up watching the maturation of the GP and Kemp led Sonics was a once in a lifetime experience, which was highlighted by their battle against Jordan’s Bulls in the Finals. RIP SuperSonics, until the Green and Gold rises again.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:34 am
I miss the Sonics everytime I see NBA-Stuff. I still wear my Sonics-Shorts when playing with my buddies. I miss the games beeing on screen at two o´clock in the morning over here in Germany.
But I´m really undecided if I ever will have the same passion for an NBA-Team. The owner doesn´t care about the Sonics and their fans all around the world, so I decided to chance my point of view.
To be honest: I´m done with the NBA. I´ll not cry for a league that act like that and doesn´t want my money. Bring on NHL-Hockey and I´m 100% in.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:52 am
I watched former Sonic Ray Allen jog up to Stern and chit chat with a wide smile on his face.
Personally it did nothing more than remind me how jaded I have become in this process. It underscored the fact that Ray Allen never really cared about thsi city so why should I care about him. It brought all types of bad emotions, negative reminders, and hardship to my mind and I immediately turned the channel.
-*-*-
Ray Allen can accept his ring from David Stern because that is Ray Allen.
LOL! Brian never misses out on a chance to show his hate for Ray. He’s no Danny Fortson, that’s for sure.
I will not even begin to promise that 6 years from now I will be sitting around pining fo what is lost.
Yeah, by that time maybe folks who fought for the $75M from the Convention Center tax won’t mind that it was being spent on a new parking garage instead of a Key Arena remodel.
October 29th, 2008 at 11:55 am
I saw Dr J fly.
To Brian’s questions my answers are these:
The risk to the league is that the value is contained in the interest and value of the markets competing for the product (pretty basic business value relationship). If you can not find a buyer for a house then the value drops. I think this is where the NBA really is, that they are a bubble economy, and that Seattle, as well as Oklahoma City are resenting remodeled arenas as preferred venues. Kansas City is offering the same thing, St. Louis as well. I will not be shocked to see the Kings effort to build a new arena in a major new development in California fall through. That is not just a function of the current economy, but the actual market for the NBA. Key Arena renovation is the best offer this market, or any market, should be offering the NBA product. They are 3 years away from reliving the NHL process of 5 years ago if they are not careful. David Stern is not careful, he is chasing the business model that crushed the NHL, nobody wins.
What if Brian Robinson and the lobbying group called Sports and Activities for Families, along with the City of Seattle, fail? Then they should accept the reality that they made the best of this effort, but the public/private partnership to rebuild an arena will not produce a solution. Done.
Thanks Brian.
City, you are now obligated to get out of the way of a private group that may want to build a new arena, maybe partner with that group to provide a way for a private group to locate land in the city for an arena, and figure out a redueced role or date to close it.
Key Arena is not likely going to survive in this market long term without a significant upgrade. Either compete or not, if the answer is not then crush most of Key Arena and use the bowl as an out door, partly covered amphitheater, when a new private arena takes its place 10 years from now.
I started this blog right after the city and Clay Bennett agreed that there would be a settlement. I have moved on. Brian Robinson has moved on. Move on.
If you still want NBA basketball, it only happens with an arena.
If you never want to see NBA basketball again and you live in Seattle, your public arena is dying, you can get a 300 million dollar upgrade for 150 million dollars in mostly hotel taxes, or Sonics fans parking and buying tickets.
The fans have mostly moved on from the team leaving, hopefully the sports haters can as well, and recognize that their memory of Key Arena is the only current thing about that public building.
http://tinyurl.com/6mxszj
October 29th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Favorite Sonics Memories, ahh there were so many.
Kemp’s dunk over GS, still blows my mind even though I’ve seen it 100 times.
GP’s ankle turn in Minnesota, and knowing the Glove would be back the next game…simply because he was Gary.
Ray’s three to give him the single season record.
Nate calling Robert Swift, Robert Smith at the draft party.
Drafting Mo Sene because Griff called for it at Ozzies right before the draft started (also the last day in Sonics history that really was pure for me).
Watching the 96 finals on the clock with my boss at the tanning salon next to work simply because they had a TV and us being at work wasn’t that important….at least till the games were over.
The Vin Baker deal, realizing that we actually got something for him still stuns me to this day.
I won’t spend a dime on NBA merchandise in the coming years, and I can’t say what I’ll do if a team comes back here. What I found last night was that I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to say that I won’t watch the game, simply because I love basketball. But I can say that it won’t be the same, it hasn’t been for two years and I’m less interested this year. But when I flip through channels and there’s nothing else on, I still found myself sticking around for a few minutes.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
clearly I copied my response from my blog, sorry about that.
October 29th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Watched about 5 minutes of POR-LAL last night.
Realized that I enjoy watching the game but couldn’t bring myself to care about either team that much. Blazers D is flat out awful.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:08 pm
I swear to god, if I hear another OKC jagmimoff tell us to “get over it” I’m going to go on a spree of extreme violence. As if just “letting it go” is even an option the way all of this went down. The country better prepare for a lengthily grudge being held out here.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
My vengeful nature will not allow me to watch a minute of NBA action until
A: we get our sonics back
B: David Stern steps down.
I even refuse to play fantasy basketball this year.
Anything NBA related is dead to me right now.
Fav sonics moment: too many..
October 29th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
I’ve already attended 2 Thunderbird games this year, and will be going at least once a week, to fill in for the lack of the NBA. So I am kind of putting distance between me and the NBA.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Favorite memories?
oh my gosh.
When Sam Perkins killed Utah in the playoffs at the Delta Center.
When Gary payton dunked in the NBA finals
Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, the best 1-2 combo ever.
October 29th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
Brian, you’re going to have to explain to me how Ray Allen being happy to win a championship ring and being cordial with the commissioner of the NBA means he never really cared for the city of Seattle. Should he have told David Stern off during the ring ceremony because he’s upset the Sonics moved?
I was thrilled for Ray last night, as well as the other guys getting their long-awaited rings.
October 29th, 2008 at 2:04 pm
The only reason I’m not too apathetic to care at all is because I fan the flames of hate of Stern and the NBA every day.
October 29th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
“Durant scores the last 4 points I believe to beat the Mavs. In the last minute the crowd chanted SAVE OUR SONICS for a good 2 minutes while Durant encouraged the crowd by waving his hand up and down while we chanted. GREAT moment. I get chills thinking about it.”
-This will always be one of my favorite memories ever of the Sonics…so sad :(.
-Its not a good feeling that the NBA season has started and I dont even care to watch it. Usually my winter is planned around Sonics games and good games on tv. Now all I feel is disgust and sadness. At this point I have no interest in hearing or seeing anything about the nba. BUT I will still fight and hope for Seattle to get a new team as soon as possible. If we get one soon Im sure I will go to games and support the team. Will I ever be passionate about it again?..time will tell.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:15 pm
Ironically, I think the experience recently of losing the Sonics is going to be my favorite memory. As painful as it was/is I am deeply touched and inspired by the selflessness of Sonics fans both locally and globally, everyone coming together, out for a coming goal. SAVING OUR SONICS.
I was getting very discouraged in general by our government both local and national, cooperate greed, lies and deception, fear mongering, legalizing torture, the destruction of the Constitution, lied to about going to WAR in Iraq.
Regardless, of the darkness around us, what we as a community were able to do was simply amazing!!! We had Save our Sonics bottled water for crying out loud.
We exercised our freedom of speech and honored our fellow Americans who all fought and died for us to be able to assemble at the federal court house and yell at the top of our lungs how much the Sonics means to this community. I can not imagine living in a country that did not allow me to do that.
This experience made me realize that even though there are people in this world that hurt others and will do whatever it takes to accomplish their agendas. that no matter how bad things get that the human spirit overcomes and enables people to look past themselves and work together for a common goal.
When faced with the worst (and I can only speak for myself) but I think we became better people because of it, stronger and more motivated then ever before. It was and still is something that we can all be proud of. Even if it was just about basketball, it filled my heart with joy and hope.
Power to the people! God Bless America. and SAVE OUR SONICS!!
October 29th, 2008 at 3:23 pm
Tying my shoelaces around the back of my hightops on the elementary school playground.
My Dad sending me up into 1st class to ask Lenny for his autograph.
Getting to stay up past my bedtime to watch games on TV
4th avenue parades.
GP & Kemp reigniting my passion for basketball after being distracted away by women & wine.
Kevin Calabro. He was the reason I learned to turn down the TV volume and turn up the radio during games.
Following the summer league games to scout the possible roster spots.
A few years ago I could name every player on every roster and tell you each players strenghts and weaknesses.
As of yersterday I had no idea that preseason had even started, let alone that the first game was being played.
After the way that this whole relocation thing went down, the NBA is dead to me.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:27 pm
FYI, if you still need your Payton you can find him on NBA TV.
http://tinyurl.com/5bbbl2
I watched it yesterday. It was great to see and hear Payton in all his glory.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Man - this is going to sound silly to some of you, but I can’t even bring myself to buy an NBA video game this year. This is the first year in about 15 years (going to back the Bulls versus Lakers game) that I haven’t purchased either NBA Live or NBA 2Kwhatever. It’s just not right that there’s no Sonics team to play as and I can’t bring myself to buy it and start a season with another team.
I didn’t watch the NBA playoffs last year and I do not plan on watching any NBA ball until we either get a new team or Stern is gone. Hell, my basketball that I take to the gym wore out a few weeks and it irked me to no end to have to buy a ball with the NBA logo and the signature of that smug commissioner on it. Yeah, I know I could’ve bought an NCAA ball instead, but that just didn’t seem right either.
I have some Sonics gear but I just can’t bring myself to wear it. But, I can’t seem to bring myself to throw it out or give it to Goodwill either…
October 29th, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Too many good memories to list but here’s a few:
Kemp dunking on Rodman in 96 …
Yelling at Kendall Gill at the Queen Anne Blockbuster next to Dick’s as he was returning his movies …
Watching Sam Perkins singlehandedly kill Utah in the playoffs, I think someone else mentioned that …
Seeing this guy shoot a backwards granny style halfcourt shot at halftime to win a free trip on Northwest Airlines and nailing it … nothing but net. The Sonics came back & won the game too.
I can’t remember the year but we were playing the Rockets in the playoffs and sinking 3s like they were free. Nate went something like 5-5 behind the arc, Eddie Johnson hit a few … KC “He’s in a different zone, a different place, a different space”
Nate’s first home game as Sonics coach and the crowd out of nowhere starts chanting “Nate … Nate … Nate … Nate … Nate …” for like five solid minutes. It was eerie but wicked cool.
Winning tickets on KJR to see Kemp’s first game back with the Cavs after the Baker trade. Booed the $%^& out of Shawn, who got taken to school by Vin Baker. It was pretty much the only matchup Vin really got up for, but what can ya do … Shawn’s OK now.
Laughing my @$$ off at the story of Peter Vescey getting booted from Toys R Us after starting a fistfight with another patron while covering the 1996 NBA Finals.
Patron’s Wife: “Isn’t that Peter Vescey?”
Patron: “Nah. Even if it was, Peter Vescey is an @$$hole.”
Vescey: “You think you’re cool or something? You think you’re a big man?” (Fight ensues)
October 29th, 2008 at 3:54 pm
Explaining to my dad that I didn’t want to be like Roman Gabriel, but like Jo-Jo White, and that’s why the Rams jacket at Christmas time was kind of a let down.
That dunk by Desmond Mason, he was inbounding the ball, got it handed back to him.
Shawn Kemp spinning on Buck Williams and dunking on him after getting abused by Williams for most of the game down in Portland. Buck may still be standing there on the weak side wondering where Shawn went.
Slick Watts picked the ball off the floor and threw a half-court pass, in one motion, to “streaking” Tom Burlson that misssed Burlson’s hands completely and went right in swish!
Fred Brown checking in at the scorer’s table, stepping on the floor (two steps), catching a pass and shooting it in.
Lenny Wilkins putting himself into the game. Team was 47-35, he played 2989 minutes, all star team.
October 29th, 2008 at 4:21 pm
My best memory would be between Gary Payton getting in Jordan’s face, or the rise of Rashard Lewis. Rashard Lewis was so special to watch because of how he was drafted and how he grew into the player he has become. Its quite an elevation and has always set with me, and in turn made him my favorite current player (though I have no idea whats going in the NBA after the debacle, I thought the season started a month ago)…
There are a lot of memories, with the Suns-Sonics game from a couple years ago that went on forever. (they all seemed like that). I think I will miss that the most, cause everytime the Suns and Sonics meet, its like old times.
Btw, I saw Xavier McDaniel on Marry With Children the other day. Was he on the Sonics then? I popped pretty hard for him.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
i didnt even pay attention to the season opener, dont care. league pass tried to get me back, i replied with a big FU. kemp and payton were my era, and thus i watch highlites of those years to get my basketball fix. ill come back to the nba if the sonics return, but only as a casual observer. i just cant seem to get excited about the sack of crap league that the nba is. 90’s nba was just way better quality anyway. i wear my sonics jersey and call my competition team the sonics out of pride, and when someone makes a sly comment about the sonics being gone i tell them to get ****** and go love their precious nba. my friends and temamates respect how much this has pi**ed me off, and turned me off the game. im in the process of converting many of them to college fans. yes they will still be nba fans, im not asking them to stop, but they are taking an interest in college (many for the first time) and i have a feeling they will enjoy the competitiveness of college hoops.
October 29th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
Vinny Says:
GP & Kemp reigniting my passion for basketball after being distracted away by women & wine.
I suppose i’m probably about 5-10 years older than you since I went through the same thing during the X-Chambers-Ellis era.
Since Xteve mentioned his favorite “booing” moments… My moment was attending Nate’s jersey retirement game. I went knowing I would have the rare opportunity to really let Wally have it. The chorus of loud boos when Walker was introduced was pure delight.
October 29th, 2008 at 6:42 pm
I do not follow the nba anymore. I dont even know what players are on what team now. I refuse to watch one minute of nba related material on tv. And you know what, besides the pain of losing the supes still stinging, I can see how pretty soon I will not notice a thing. And if this can happen with nba die hards, nobody else is going to care. Combine that with the economy and the nba will not return this decade. And after that long of people in the area being used to life without the nba, the odds will be even worse. Every day that passes without the sonics, the worse the odds are for their return. And the less people will care whether or not it ever happens.
October 29th, 2008 at 6:47 pm
“GP & Kemp reigniting my passion for basketball after being distracted away by women & wine.”
LOL! thanks Vinny!
October 29th, 2008 at 6:51 pm
Mine have pretty much already been mentioned, but…
- Kemp’s dunk on Alton Lister. The most facesmashingly awesome dunk ever delivered in real NBA gameplay. I could watch that a thousand times over and still love it.
- Kemp dunking on Rodman in the ‘96 Finals. Here was the single most hated basketballer on the planet, the guy who had pretty much inhaled every possible Sonics rebound in the first three games and kept them struggling, and suddenly Kemp was hanging his cajones on that stupidly coloured head. Awesome!
- The round against Houston, also in the ‘96 Finals run, where Sam, Nate and just about everyone else in a Sonics jersey made the two-time champs look very, very average.
October 29th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
my favorite sonic memory is seamless, if long. i was devastated when my mom (re)married and we had to move to the east coast. . . the other washington. i was already a sonic fan. so, when ‘78 cane i attended high school in DC. . . needless to say, the only sonic maniac against the entire bullet fan base, it seemed like. . . i was again devastated when we lost in seven and dj went 0-14 in the last game. life was bleak.
which made the next season all the brighter. i remember the clock ticking down in game 5 of ‘79, sitting w/my sonic stuff (some of it homemade; i was a kid, there was no internet), and thinking ‘this is the happiest i’ve ever been.”
that moment is one i’ll carry with me always. and i’ll ALWAYS be a seattle supersonic fan. . . i believe that ‘our’ team will be reborn, i hope that ballmer will prove a good owner, and i wish that his/our sonics will win another crown.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
I was this pretend NBA fan, living in the dorms at Western and watching a few games with my buddies. Shawn used to come around all the time because(suprise) he had a girl in the dorms and one time he actually played ball with us all.
The exact moment I was hooked was the horizontal alleyoop dunk during the playoffs agaisnt Golden State. Man Kemp reached out so far to snag that ball and throw it down. Was that when KC coined the phrase “get up on that magic carpet”?
I had to throw Kevin a note today to tell him I appreciate him.
Recent highlights are off the court. How bad ass is it that I got to pick Xavier McDaniel up, in my car, and he told the whole story about how Dale Ellis hit him with a 2×4? I got to hear that first hand and it was classic. What a cool guy X is.
I got to talk with Gary Payton about that dunk against Golden State and he glowed when telling me how it felt.
And good old Kevin Calabro walking right up to me in a crowd and putting his arm around me, knowing my name, and saying “Man Brian I appreciate you and everything you do.”
Sometimes the ride is worth it even if you lose the game.
Houston in the playoffs in 94? That damn Phoenix series? I even remember so clearly one of my best friends near tears that she had scheduled her wedding on a day that wound upbeing game 5 of the Denver loss. We were all standing outside in our tuxes aruond a car listening to the radio…
Game 7 in 96 counting to 10 every time Karl Malone shot free throws…our throats were so dry.
God the memories are good. Even of the bad times the emotions were incredible.
October 29th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
My favorite Sonics memory was Mutumbo lying on his back with the ball over his head after he embarassed the overrated Sonics in the first round of the playoffs.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
While I still have mixed feelings about the NBA, I was always a basketball fan before a “league” fan. I am still watching games, kind of a weird feeling not rooting for anyone, but these athletes are phenomenal - no matter what the politics behind them and the game are.
That being said, in response to Brian’s hatred (ok maybe a little exaggeration here) towards Ray Allen: I have had many conversations with Ray and his now wife - believe me when he said he loved Seattle, I believe he truly did. That doesn’t make Ray a good person - personally I don’t care for the guy. But I don’t think you can blame Ray for not being excited about the overall product on the court. He was very active in the community, and made Seattle his primary residence. It’s obviously easier for the players to move on (Example Nick Collison), than it is for us left behind.
My 2 fav Sonic moments:
#1 - Western Conference Finals - I was sitting row 2 courtside. Best basketball game I’ve ever been to in my life.
#2 - Last seasons final game. I’ve never felt so much emotion FROM a basketball game in my life.
October 29th, 2008 at 9:46 pm
For me, when the SuperSonics beat the Pistons in their first-ever playoff series in 1975, that put Seattle professional sports on the map. Up until that point, Seattle was a Husky football & Hydro kind of town.
(kind of like the current OKC)
The nation took note of Bill Russell, Spencer Haywood, Slick and Fred Brown.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:09 am
This is for Husky Boy!! It is my favorite Sonics Memory!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6gjop66Xmvc
October 30th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
It’s sad. But my hatred and anger towards the league and what has happened doesn’t allow me to look back at Sonics history nostalgically. It’s all or nothing right now with me. Kinda like right after a messy break up with an ex. Kinda hard to get all mushy about the good ol’ days when you are angry and want to go and beat the living crap out of the new guy she’s seeing.
October 30th, 2008 at 7:35 pm
I hear ya, EJ.
October 30th, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Word, Sonicsman… that one was right up there.
I only wish we’d gotten more video of that one.
BR said: “Sometimes the ride is worth it even if you lose the game.” I’m so happy to hear that from you Brian. IMHO you deserve every good ride that’s coming your way.
October 30th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
Awwww.
This feels like death.
I want to die.
I want my sonics back.
Favorite memory:
I was a young teenager, and to see vin baker in his prime was kind of awesome. It got me over shawn kemp getting traded.
But overall, the sonics got the shaft quite of bit of the rtime by stern. This is nothing new.