So Long Seattle Supersonics: The Blame Game Goes into Overdrive

And so another professional sports team picks up and deserts a band of loyal fans, caring not a whit for the emotions of those who have poured their hearts and souls into cheering for them, sweating with them,  booing them, and of course, shelling out hard-earned cash for the right to line the pockets of another greedy owner.

But is that the honest truth in the Seattle SuperSonics move to Oklahoma City? Become dispassionate for a moment and, as Fox Mulder used to opine, "The truth is out there".

First, let's dig into the City of Seattle and their role in this passion play.

Key Arena is a dump, and not even the most loyal of fan or those who yearn for that "home court" feel should disagree. I've been there and found it to be a wonderful place to play basketball. If we're playing in the 1980's, that is.

Let us not forget one of the memorable moments in its history where the roof started to leak and dropped Spencer Haywood like a bag of Benjamins thanks to a puddle. Then, and only then, did the City of Seattle wake to the realization they had to spend money to renovate.

It's an old tale that's been played out in too many cities. A place to play and gather, for sports and concerts, tumult and truck shows allowed to fall into disrepair and then rescued only when it begins to resemble a tree house built by the neighbor kids.

Of course, this means taxpayer dollars. Also, there is a hefty amount more from those taxpayers than would have been spent had the words "proper maintenance" been used in the lexicon of City fathers and mothers.

Bill Ingram of "Hoops World" can be heard commenting on this at www.speedingbulletnetwork.com, placing the blame squarely on the City of Seattle for their lack of foresight and allowing Key Arena to become a black hole, which one pours taxpayer cash into. And I must partly agree with Bill that the City must shoulder its share of the blame.

Naturally, they long ago realized the error of their ways and launched a tidy disinformation campaign against Sonics owner Bill Bennett, painting him as something this side of Darth Vader.

In the same breath however, Bennett deserves his tag as carpetbagger and greedy toady. Simple research shows that almost from the moment he bought the franchise he sought to better deal it by packing up for his beloved Oklahoma City. 

But Bennett was smart like a fox in this one. He knew the Arena was a place fit only for those tractor pulls (no offense to those who enjoy a little horsepower on display), and the City would remain mired in their own muddy political payoffs to see the problem before it became a crisis. He had them right where he wanted them, and they played right into his hands.

Bennett though is like so many other ego laden businessmen who yearn for the chance to own a sports franchise and impress his buddies on the golf course. He would follow the model established by his penny pinching peers and demand the City use taxpayer dollars, (notice how that phrase keeps turning up here), to build him a palace to play and rake in the cash. 

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