I guess I gotta face the fact that it's over. It really did not hit me until I heard Clay Bennett speak at his press conference. I don't know what to be most disappointed about, but it probably is that we will never see Kevin Durant reach his full potential.
Don't think I have forgotten you Gary Payton. I don't care how big-headed you are—you deserve it just as much as you deserve to get your jersey raised in the rafters in Seattle. As I reflect on what it will be like dealing with this void in the winter, I have a few people I would like to thank.
Thank you, Howard Schultz, for screwing the people of Seattle and getting us in this mess in the first place. I'll never understand what went through your head when you signed the paper handing over the team to out-of-town buyers clearly wanting a team of their own. Drink Tully's.
Thank you, Christine Gregoire and the legislature of Washington, for screwing the people of Seattle by not even seriously considering a legitimate Key Arena renovation funding plan. It could have been done in the time frame that you had left. Even if it wasn't, do you not have it within yourselves to dedicate one or two days to a matter that affects hundreds of thousands of people?
Thank you to the coward owners of the NBA (excluding Cuban), who voted for the relocation of the Sonics. By letting this pass, you are reinforcing that the NBA model is broken and will continue to be broken until somebody fixes it.
What kind of league can this be where a group of rich guys from some wannabe major city buy a team with a 40-year history and an amazing fan base without raising any eyebrows from officials, hijack them, and bring them back to their own city without a scratch?
Funny thing is, if this can happen to Seattle, it can just about happen to any other NBA city. For not standing up against it by voting for the move, chances are it will happen to you along the road.
Thank you, Clay Bennett, for too many reasons to list. You may be a hero to the people of OK City, but anybody following this whole saga knows you are a person of weak character. Time after time you amazed us with your flat-out lies.
The final nail in the coffin was when you tried to play yourself off as a man possessed for getting an arena in Seattle. You may have been able to fool your boyfriend Stern, but the rest of society isn't that ignorant.
Congratulations on crying today—it must have been tough for you to fight so hard to keep the team in Seattle. No matter how hard you tried, the citizens of this town fought as hard as they could to reject your logical plans of creating a $500 million dollar arena in Renton, and you couldn't crunch the numbers to make staying true to the lease profitable.
Hmm...maybe you shouldn't have bought the team in the first place if you were able to see that coming.
And I think I speak for at least a few others when I say that now I am forced to hate OKC—and you know what, I don't want to. I'm sure that lots of people wanted a NBA franchise but didn't want to get it by stealing it right from the hands of others. It's probably a good town (definitely no Seattle), but now I view it as a one with a lack of class.
5 comments Last one added about 1 year ago — Leave a Comment
Doug Loudenback about 1 year ago
You left out a couple of someones:
1. Thank you Chris Van Dyk for your leadership.
2. Thank you citizens of Seattle for accepting it.
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Jason Krevey about 1 year ago
2. Thank you citizens of Seattle for accepting it.
???? WTF!! do you see anyone around here that isnt ready to tear Bennet's head off? accepting it my ass!!!!, every one of those cowards that sold us out will be out of office come next election, mark my words...now i know what it must feel like to be French
even though Howad Schultz is that #1 reason we lost the Sonics and is on eveyones sh*t list right now, i say fight on Howard, i remember watching the Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas fight and as i recall he beat 52-1 odds, i think we need a list of the top all time underdog / longshots victorys up in here to remind everyone that sometimes the impossible does happen, does anyone remember Dikembe Mutombo holding a basketball over his head laying on KeyArena floor??? i sure do...
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Doug Loudenback about 1 year ago
"2. Thank you citizens of Seattle for accepting it, " was in reference to accepting the leadership of Chris Van Dyk to the tune of a 75% margin on Proposition I-91. Voters didn't have to make that choice, but they did. Hence, that fact is a large factor in how this all came down.
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Jesse Wakk about 1 year ago
I-91 does not prohibit the use of taxpayer money for sport arena, I simply states that the city gets a fair return on it's investment. Every city in the US should also pass this same law, and stop these owners from holding up the fans, and taxpayers. Until every city in the US does the same as Seattle, nothing will change.
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Doug Loudenback about 1 year ago
Like I just said, Seattle voters did make such a choice. In the trial, part of Seattle's position was the "intangible value" of the team. I-91 rules out that factor from consideration. That's fine if a city choses to do that, but by making such a choice it should be recognized that consequences were and are present in such a choice which contributed to the end result. That sort of thing is for Seattle to say for itself, as it did. It is NOT for Seattle to say that every other city should follow Seattle's example.
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