Guest Post – Why This Seattle Sonics Fan Hopes The Sacramento Kings Stay

While the Sonics and Kings have become star-crossed franchises I must say it really is disappointing to see how the story is being treated on a national scale. I have already read the Kings’ obituary multiple times. See “sorry Sacramento.” 3 Is it too late to apologize? One thing is for certain. It is too damn early to when there is nothing to apologize for. I get that the geographic isolation of both cities relative to the overall landscape of the league will make for a good… footnote to this season. In one of the more scientifically relevant ways of determining mass appeal, the Kings have more than 114,000 twitter followers. That has to mean something right? Although, the nail might as well already be in the team’s coffin.4 At least KJ is doing everything in his power to refrain from being a pallbearer. The Sonics’ grim reaper Greg Nickels… unsurprisingly lost his next election. By the way, in reference to that aforementioned Sportsnation tweet… the media is a powerful conduit to the impressionable casual fan, especially in terms of promoting ignorance. 5 Laughs are cheap these days. All they cost is credibility, a credibility that may have never existed in the first place.

February 9, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Sacramento Kings fans hold up signs against the Maloof

Real journalism may not be extinct but it might as well be and I completely understand why. “Investigative reporting” does not sell and that for which does not sell is not worthy of a double take, let alone a first. Consider our nation’s the worldwide sports network of record. The Sonics/Kings narrative is only worth examining outside of the court every so often, needing to be limited to thirty minutes of course. I know it is all about focus groups, the 25-54 demo, and pandering to the lowest common denominator of sports fans but it would be nice to not be treated like second rate, ‘filler’ franchises. Let the story speak for itself. By this I mean do not insult our intelligence by creating and/or fabricating (hypothetical) nonstories best reserved for the hallways of high schools. Even when the truth goes outside Nielsen statistics is it not important to be disseminated? Stan Van Gundy probably thinks so.

To sum this all up, it is puzzling to me how Mr. Stern can sit back and watch as one wrong is to be righted only at the collateral cost of another loyal fanbase. I would not call this atonement rather, poetic injustice. Whatever ends up happening oh well, time to prepare for your farewell tour and ride off into the sunset this time next year Commish. All will be well in this Stern basketball world. Simply take a page from friend Stu “Inaction” Jackson’s relocation playbook and say “it’s not [your] fault.”

Am I ever going to accept the Kings as being the Sonics? No. So give us expansion, or continue our NBA death!

With April 18th fast approaching this struggle will reach its ultimate crescendo. The outcome of the ensuing question could alter the league for many years to come? Will the Lakers make the playoffs?

With sincere respect,

Corbin G.

1 http://seattletimes.com/html/localnews/2008003427_sonitrial18.html

2 (What were they thinking writing this?) http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/47565/an-open-letter-to-sacramento-kings-fans-from-the-producers-of-sonicsgate

3 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/25/sports/basketball/return-of-supersonics-would-fill-void-for-seattle-fans.html?_r=1&