As You Root for the Thunder, a Reminder (Must See for any NBA Fan)

[huzy]

With Perkins in OKC, I'm sure more Celtics fans are watching and rooting for the Thunder than last season. I also can't help myself from rooting for them, but this film reminded me just how dispicable their ownership group is...

Aside from the Celtics, the Sonics were always my team. (I still own Kemp, Fortson, and Ridnour jerseys) The success of the Thunder is bittersweet and an unfortunate aftershock to a Seattle fanbase that deserved so much better.

If you have two hours to kill, watch Sonicsgate, an exceptional documentary about the history of the Sonics move to OKC. I've been meaning to watch this for two years but just got to it.

http://www.sonicsgate.org/movie/
(Free to Watch)

If this has been posted before, apologies for any repetitiveness...

Also, for any Celtics fan who doesn't think they'll relate, here's a quote from a Sonics fan about Mr. Game 1 that reminded me how fortunate we have been at Seattle's expense.

“We had Ray Allen here. Ray Allen is very likely the best shooter who has ever lived. There is likely nobody on the planet who has ever been able to do this one thing better than Ray Allen. Imagine that, in this city lived a human being who was better at their thing than any other human being who has ever lived. He lived here he played here. There were 41 nights a year, 50 nights a year when you could have gone and seen that. The ultimate expression of the human endeavor, human skill…. and people let that go.”

Again, I know this topic has probably been dissected at every angle in the past. I just wanted to take the opportunity to pass on this wonderful film.

[Roy H.]

I feel for the fans of Seattle.  I wish they still had their team, and I fondly remember the Kemp and Payton-era Sonics.

At the same time, the fan base in OKC has been great, and management has put together an excellent team.  As a fan, I can't worry too much about rival owners.  I mean, most of these people are billionaires, and I'm sure that a lot of them have engaged in business practices that I would find less than savory.

[bruinsandceltics]

Saw that movie about a year ago, it was just fantastic. Really felt bad for Sonics fans. That is exactly why we need to get one of the four teams out of California back to Seattle. (Think about that, 4 teams in California. That is nuts)

[huzy]

At the same time, the fan base in OKC has been great, and management has put together an excellent team.

Agreed, Presti operates with a scalpel while most other GMs are working with knives and the rest with with machetes!

That is exactly why we need to get one of the four teams out of California back to Seattle.

The same fan I quoted was brilliant in the end of the film. He basically said, "If we get another team, it will be because of another fans misery."

[Kiorrik]

Sorry, haven't watched it yet, posting to tag it and make it come up in my "Updated Topics" list a bit.

TP, huzy.

[Chelm]

Saw that movie about a year ago, it was just fantastic. Really felt bad for Sonics fans. That is exactly why we need to get one of the four teams out of California back to Seattle. (Think about that, 4 teams in California. That is nuts)

Not that I really care, but 4 teams in CA doesn't seem THAT crazy... I mean they ARE 12% of the USA.  There's 5 MLB teams in CA, and was 4 NFL teams before the Rams booked it out of there.

[Chris]

I don't think this was ever something that we should really hold against the team, because obviously, they had nothing to do with it, and the more and more I hear about it, the less I think we can really blame Bennett either.

Now, don't get me wrong, he is the one behind this, but ultimately, what did he do?  He bought an NBA team with the plan to move them to his home town of OKC.  Sure, he put on the dog and pony show to make it seem like he was actually going to try to stay in Seattle, however, the more information that comes out, the more it is clear that not only did he never have any plans to stay in Seattle, but that the NBA was well aware of these plans ahead of time.

So, sure, its easy to blame the businessman, but I think the league in general, and all of the owners who voted to allow him to buy the team are the ones really responsible for this. 

He had no connection to Seattle, and no reason to want to keep the team there, but the league should have been the ones that stepped in and stopped it from happening.  They didn't, because they knew that having the modern precedent of a team leaving a great basketball city because the local government would not give them the support they wanted would greatly benefit them when it came to negotiations with their own cities. 

This was a political move staged and carried out by the league and all of their owners, and Bennett was just an actor in it, and Seattle was just the innocent victim.

[StartOrien]

I don't understand why for as much talk there was about how great the Seattle fan base was that in their last year in Seattle, w/ Kevin Durant in his rookie year the team was 26th in attendance.

I feel for any fan base that loses a team, especially one with a storied history, but that point is worth being broughten up.

[action781]

I don't think this was ever something that we should really hold against the team, because obviously, they had nothing to do with it, and the more and more I hear about it, the less I think we can really blame Bennett either.

Now, don't get me wrong, he is the one behind this, but ultimately, what did he do?  He bought an NBA team with the plan to move them to his home town of OKC.  Sure, he put on the dog and pony show to make it seem like he was actually going to try to stay in Seattle, however, the more information that comes out, the more it is clear that not only did he never have any plans to stay in Seattle, but that the NBA was well aware of these plans ahead of time.

So, sure, its easy to blame the businessman, but I think the league in general, and all of the owners who voted to allow him to buy the team are the ones really responsible for this. 

He had no connection to Seattle, and no reason to want to keep the team there, but the league should have been the ones that stepped in and stopped it from happening.  They didn't, because they knew that having the modern precedent of a team leaving a great basketball city because the local government would not give them the support they wanted would greatly benefit them when it came to negotiations with their own cities. 

This was a political move staged and carried out by the league and all of their owners, and Bennett was just an actor in it, and Seattle was just the innocent victim.

Holy crap.  This all just blew my mind.

Did you get all this from the documentary?  (I haven't seen it yet)  Or did you come up with this on your own?  I'm not usually one into conspiracies, but I'm intrigued.