Today is one of those days where I’m not proud to be a sports fan.

Today the Seattle SuperSonics and over four decades of history and tradition are now officially just that. History and Tradition.

They’re gone because current ownership bought this team with the intent of taking them to their hometown of Oklahoma City. And they were able to do it because the Seattle area had the gall to actually vote down a public referendum on a half billion dollar showplace to replace “aging” Key Arena. I mean, how dare the good folk there do that considering their taxes had already been used to:Spend 74.5M$ to completely renovate it in time for the 1995-96 season(they had been forced to play in Tacoma the previous season due to the work.)

Spend 517M$ to build Safeco Field for the Mariners(who of course used the threat of moving if the taxpayers didn’t pony up)

Spend another 300M$ to build Qwest Field for the Seahawks(also under a very real threat of moving - see Behring, Ken.)

So lets see, get shaken down again to leave a building that opened in its current state just one season prior to the opening of HSBC Arena here in Buffalo. That’s an obsolete venue???

Of course the voters the new arena proposal down(to say nothing of current economic times), and of course the new Oklahoma ownership(and Commissioner scumbag Stern) knew this would happen. Thus handing ownership an excuse to bolt and helping to grease the skids to do so.Last ditch efforts to save the team did come into play after it became apparent that things were out of hand. Microsoft bigshot Steve Ballmer suddenly wanted to buy(sorry, not for sale. Where were you in ‘06?) And the city of Seattle sued to force the Sonics to honor the lease at Key Arena through its conclusion in 2010.

Which leads us to today, as the city and the Sonics came to a monetary settlement of 45M$ so the Sonics could buy out the remainder of the lease and bolt for Oklahoma ASAP. Why this happened is a mystery considering that many legal experts believed that the city had a strong case against the Sonics, and a win in court could have given the city two more years to possibly frustrate slimeball #1 Sonics owner Clay Bennett into selling the team to local interests.

Still out there is a lawsuit filed by former Sonics owner and Starbucks magnate Howard Schultz, claiming that Bennett violated terms of sale by not negotiating in good faith to keep the team in Seattle by bolting for OKC just one season after purchasing the club.

Just one thing Mr. Starbucks….you really weren’t that naive. Were you???? I mean, how exactly did you build one of the preeminent franchise chains of this generation thinking like that? You ain’t got a chance in hell of winning that one. I gotta admit though, that’s a pretty smooth PR move.

So off go the Slimeballs to Oklahoma City. Gone with it: the first major pro sports franchise to call Seattle home. The only one to bring Seatlle a title(1979). The franchise that gave made Lenny Wilkens into a Hall of Fame player and coach. Shawn Kemp was known only as a player on the court in Seattle, and what a player he was. Tom Chambers winning the All-Star Game MVP at the Kingdome……The Glove- Gary Payton….Jack Sikma’s hair. Could go on and on.

And to think folks, as we debate the economic viability of pro sports in the future in our own city. Seattle is a booming city,12th largest market in America with corporate megagiants such as Starbucks, Boeing, and Microsoft to name a few. A city that plays in modern, state of the art venues all built or renovated in the mid 90’s or later. A city that has all the ingredients to keep(or steal) a franchise in today’s day and age.But none of those factors could save the Sonics. I shudder as to what could happen here.

I leave it with a couple more youtube clips…..

the ear splitting hysteria of Key Arena during pregame intros during the 1996 NBA Finals. For my money, the strains of Pink Floyd’s “Run Like Hell” was the best intro song EVER. And also a clip of the final home game as fans plead to “Save our Sonics”.

-Peter Farrell

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