I’m still pretty angry about the Sonics leaving. I’m also not very optimistic about another NBA team coming here anytime soon. The political climate in Seattle and the State as a whole is just not strong enough.
I keep thinking about what would have happened if this situation took place in New York, Boston, or even in Los Angeles or San Antonio. Those cities would have fought. The leaders of those cities would have stood up to the forces trying to pull their respective teams away. The fans of those teams would have been heard, and would have been represented. And, in all likelihood, those teams would have stayed put. But not in Seattle. Our leaders rolled over and gave up. Total capitulation. Instead of fighting for what was right and just, they went for a payday and zero promise of a future return of NBA basketball to the city. Oh great, the NBA will notify you when a team might be available? Wow, how decent of them! No guarantees though, ok… If all the city ever wanted was a payoff, why not just ask for it up front? Why go through a federal trial and act all tough when you just so easily gave up? How pathetic.
And please, Seattle leadership, don’t act like you are the victors in all of this. You’re not. You were outsmarted and outclassed by a bunch of Okies. You can spin it anyway you want to, but the City of Seattle did not win anything on this day. In fact, we lost quite a lot – more than I think most realize.
Here’s our lasting image of basketball in Seattle, this taken following the final game in Seattle at KeyArena:
Pack it up, boys. Don’t forget those 41 years of memories while you’re at it.
Though I wasn’t alive in 1971, I imagine the feeling I have today is quite similar to the sentiment felt during the “Boeing Bust” of the early 70′s. During that time, the aerospace industry took a nosedive in Seattle resulting in huge job losses and a mass exodus from the Seattle area. A famous billboard was put up, partly in jest, that really summed up the feeling:
So, appropriately, and most unfortunately, I think it must be asked – Will the last SuperSonics fan turn out the lights?
