The NBA's business: Thoughts on the Sonics
I was 17 when the Sonics left Seattle, and frankly, I didn't care all that much. I know what that sounds like, an NBA blogger (Technically I am one of those right?) not caring that there home team being pilfered right from under there nose doesn't make all that much sense. Keep in mind, I was 17 and had bigger thoughts on my mind. Like who am I going to prom with and what will I do after high school. But I will say that the drafting of a skinny kid who couldn't bench 185lbs did peak my interest in the NBA. Just not enough to invest any significant time following the NBA at all. Ironically, my interest in the NBA started a little bit after the Sonics moved towns. The deeper I got into the NBA and the more successful OKC become, the hurt of losing a team I didn't fully appreciate began to settle in. I didn't understand the sadness and outrage of losing a team that had been moderately successful at the best. Now I understand more than I ever thought I would at 17.
It's the history, the ties to a community, the past players that makes a team more than just a team. It's the good times and the bad times and all that other sappy stuff that makes people care about a team and invest themselves with that team, even if it that investment doesn't translate to championships. As long as you have a team, there is hope for good times and some kind of return on your investment. Without a team it just feels like you are on the outside looking in. Maybe my understanding of the mix of bad emotions after the Sonics left is too sentimental, but this is how I feel and how I look at it. With Seattle on the cusp of gaining another NBA team at the expense of another city, let alone a city that cares just as much as their team as much as I care about the Sonics now, I'am super conflicted.
On one hand, I dont care. I want an NBA team and I don't care how it happens. I understand how selfish this is, but it is the way I feel. If it is at the expense of another city, so be it. The NBA is a business after all. But I am also human and have come to understand how and why it hurts to lose a team you care so deeply about. The sad thing about the King's situation is that their fans cares so much and their owners care so little. The sad reality is the King's fans invested in a team owned by owners that are horrible business' people, which is no fault of there own. I don't want to make another city hurt like Seattle did when the Sonics left, but I want another team at all costs. It's somewhat macabre reality that the phrase "The NBA is a Business" can be used by a city about to received a team from relocation and a phrase used by a city whose team is being relocated. Connotation is everything I guess.
However this Kings to Seattle thing shakes down, I will be just as conflicted as when Seattle didn't have a team. I understand that life isn't fair and not everyone gets what they want but that doesn't make the reality of the phrase "The NBA is a Business" any easier to swallow.
It's the history, the ties to a community, the past players that makes a team more than just a team. It's the good times and the bad times and all that other sappy stuff that makes people care about a team and invest themselves with that team, even if it that investment doesn't translate to championships. As long as you have a team, there is hope for good times and some kind of return on your investment. Without a team it just feels like you are on the outside looking in. Maybe my understanding of the mix of bad emotions after the Sonics left is too sentimental, but this is how I feel and how I look at it. With Seattle on the cusp of gaining another NBA team at the expense of another city, let alone a city that cares just as much as their team as much as I care about the Sonics now, I'am super conflicted.
On one hand, I dont care. I want an NBA team and I don't care how it happens. I understand how selfish this is, but it is the way I feel. If it is at the expense of another city, so be it. The NBA is a business after all. But I am also human and have come to understand how and why it hurts to lose a team you care so deeply about. The sad thing about the King's situation is that their fans cares so much and their owners care so little. The sad reality is the King's fans invested in a team owned by owners that are horrible business' people, which is no fault of there own. I don't want to make another city hurt like Seattle did when the Sonics left, but I want another team at all costs. It's somewhat macabre reality that the phrase "The NBA is a Business" can be used by a city about to received a team from relocation and a phrase used by a city whose team is being relocated. Connotation is everything I guess.
However this Kings to Seattle thing shakes down, I will be just as conflicted as when Seattle didn't have a team. I understand that life isn't fair and not everyone gets what they want but that doesn't make the reality of the phrase "The NBA is a Business" any easier to swallow.
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