It's not entirely their own fault, because much of the blame lies with the ineptitude of the previous regime.  As president and GM, Wally Walker tarnished the memories of seasons past, turning the Sonics from a high-flying dynasty into Northwest Division cellar dwellers.  His biggest sin came when he got rid of Nate McMillan, the best coach the Sonics have had since George Karl, by failing to sign him to a contract extension.

 

But even Walker isn't the only reason the Sonics are set to leave and never come back.

 

 

Another strike against the team is the apathy of its Seattle fan base. The trouble started with the departure of Gary Payton. Don't get me wrong, I love Ray Allen—but he couldn't fill Payton's shoes after the pair were traded for each other in 2003.  The Glove was a leader, both for his teammates and for the fans; he wasn't afraid to speak his mind, which fired up the locals and put butts in the seats. Allen on the other hand, leads by quiet example—and he doesn't do much to get anybody excited about the Supersonics.

Having one spectacular player on the roster isn't enough to bring people out to watch for an entire season. There has to be a fire there—a fire that, right now, the team and the city are both lacking.

Take me, for example. As a Seattle native, I should care about the impending doom and relocation of my hometown hoopsters.  But I don't.

I did when Howard Schultz, the previous owner of the Sonics, first made the announcement.  But I don't anymore.  I don't care, frankly, because the Sonics franchise has become as apathetic as its fans. The team passed this offseason as if nothing was different, as if nothing had changed—and, most importantly, they went through this offseason without making the people of Seattle realize what they are going to lose when the lease for Key Arena expires in 2010. Put simply: They acted like THEY DIDN'T CARE.

When a team stops caring about its city, when it only cares about itself and its bottom line—that's when an entire city turns its back on the team.

Seattle just passed an initiative that will prohibit public funding for a new arena.

Let that sink in.

This means that if the Sonics are going to build a new home, as the new ownership has said they must, they have to come up with $400 million in private funding. This is an impossibility.  If it does happen?  I'll be proved wrong, and I'll be happy to still have my favorite basketball team in town. But I'm not holding my breath.

There are about sixteen thousand people in Seattle who still care about the Sonics.  These are the people who go to the games, who long for the good old days of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton.  These are the people who can remember the rivalry era, back when the Sonics were the cream of the NBA crop along with Utah and Chicago.  These people are all the Sonics have left.

Seattle will lose the Sonics.  It will be a sad day for the city, which will say goodbye to the only real championship team it has ever known. The Sonics will leave without a fight from the fans, because the fans have all been lost to better memories of better days.

A last word? Here's to the people of Oklahoma City.  Good luck with the Sonics. Treat them well.  Have fun watching players who only care about their paychecks.  Have fun watching a point guard who couldn't play defense if his life depended on it.  Have fun watching night after night of 110-105 losses in which the Sonics choke late. Yes, treat the Sonics well, Oklahoma City, and hope that they can start to care about themselves and their fans again.

I'll be hoping for the same thing.