A Week in The Life Of a Sonics Fan Circa 2006

ORIGINALLY POSTED: July, 21, 2006 www.myspace.com/cgmmsports

It has been a rough week in Seattle. I don't want to sound like a crybaby, but as a male, some of the only truly deep emotions I will admit to are related to sports.

I remember being nine years old, watching Edgar Martinez double down the left field line in the Kingdome to win the ALDS against the Yankees in 1995. I remember jumping up and down in my living room with my dad, which is a feat because the guy has bad knees, ankles, legs and back, so it goes without saying, he doesn’t jump much.

I remember when the Sonics played the Jazz to get to the finals, and every time Jeff Hornacek and John Stockton put a shot up everyone in the room would sing out "CHOIR BOY!", somehow, from either thirty, or hundreds of miles away, we truly felt we were psyching these guys out.

Last year, one of my most proud years as a Seattle sports fan, I got to see the Seahawks dominate the Panthers for four quarters and rest easy most the game, and begin speculation on the team's chance to win the Superbowl early as their was little doubt. As a sports fan in Seattle who was born after 1979, I have become accustomed to mediocrity from my teams, and I have become desensitized to the thought of them moving.

In the early 90's the Mariners were supposed to be the Tampa Bay Devil Ray's, however like a thief in the night, the founder of Nintendo, who has a local headquarters, came and saved my team.

Later in the decade Ken Behring, then owner of the Seahawks was looking to fill the football void in Los Angeles, and wanted to use the Hawks to do so. This time Paul Allen, co-founder of local Microsoft, donned the cape and saved our city once again. Under their new ownership, both teams have risen from the cellar to the ceiling of their respective sports.

So in 2001 when Howard Schultz, founder of local Starbucks, bought the Sonics for $200M dollars from Barry Ackerly, another local business man, it seemed as though all three Seattle teams were in the right hands. When the Mariners were sold, they immediately looked to replace the dreadful Kingdome, which housed baseball and football, with a brand new, baseball only stadium.

In its first year on the ballot, the plans for a new stadium were turned down, however between ballots Seattle officials approved a deal which would allow the team to construct Safeco Field.

There would not even be a vote for Qwest Field, Seattle officials would simply approve a loan to Paul Allen which would be paid off with the profits he made from the Seahawks. So it seemed safe to assume that the Sonics would eventually work something out, whether it be in Seattle, or in Renton or Bellevue, two nearby highly populated cities.

However, this is a whole new ballgame, Seattle has a new Mayor, and Washington has a new Governer, Christine Gregoire. Between them they have attempted to save Washington residents from themselves, and while that is a different conversation for a different day, I will give a short run-down of the changes that have been made under each of their terms.

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