Save our Sonics!

[AKA]

I'm not a big sports fan, but what Howard Schultz has paved the way for, as well as what Clay Bennett and his B.F.F. David Stern are doing, is absolutely disgraceful.

As sports fans, you should all care, because if it can happen in Seattle, a definite "basketball city" for 41 years, it can happen in your city or to your team.

Click here for some well-written, passionate and at times funny letters from Sonics fans from all over the world regarding the probable movie to Oklahoma City.

Here are some of my favorites:

City: Seattle
Name: Craig Codlin

The five phases of losing an NBA franchise:

(1) Denial -- OK, maybe the team was just acquired by a group of people who are all from a minor league city who just leased an NBA franchise for awhile and now are desperate to get their own team? So what if these guys will be hometown heroes for life if they relocate the Sonics to Oklahoma? How on earth would the NBA allow such a move, given the successful history of this franchise and a lucrative Seattle market with a gazillion high-profile corporations? It'll never happen.

(2) Anger -- Now these SOBs want us to shell out tax money to pay for a new arena when we just paid nearly $200 million to renovate KeyArena a few years ago? Not to mention that the city is tapped out from the Qwest Field and Safeco Field stadium builds. Screw them! It's a bluff. Stern would never let them leave this town.

(3) Bargaining -- So what's a few hundred million dollars in the whole grand scheme of things? Can we get that stadium after all? Maybe in Bellevue? Or Everett? Come on guys. Work with us.

(4) Depression -- Thanks a bunch, commish, for working so hard to keep the team here. You really went to the mattresses for the loyal fan base in a top-tier market. I guess Seattle is nothing compared with such awesome markets as Sacramento and Oklahoma City. What's up next for you? A press conference in which you name the Dolan-era Knicks as a model of how a franchise should be operated? Screw the NBA. What? The Lakers are in town tonight? OK ... I'll go. But I won't enjoy it.

(5) Acceptance -- How much are season tickets to the new Major League Soccer team Drew Carey is bringing to town? I'll buy four seats."

City: New York
Name: Andy

When the Sonics owners pretended they wanted to stay in Seattle, they forced some numbers indicating how awesome sports are for Seattle. Now that they are trying to leave, they are making the opposite argument, that Seattle wouldn't care if the Sonics left. (Their evidence? One politician that nobody likes) I used to be on my college's debate team, and in debate lingo, that's called a double turn. In real life, it's called lying.

What bothers me the most is how most columnists and commentators who know nothing about the financial history of the situation (which is inexcusable if they're going to cover professional sports) just assume it's natural to get public funding for any arena proposal and that any city who doesn't jump at the opportunity to pay for more money-making ventures for rich billionaires is automatically the one at fault. This is as shaky as the White House's "us vs. the world" logic -- you're either for the NBA or you're against it.

Look, Seattle has paid for NBA arenas in the past. In 1995, KeyArena opened and Stern called it a model arena. People quickly forget. Honestly, if the tables were turned, I wouldn't want Oklahoma City's team if it was stolen under these conditions. I don't think any decently-hearted NBA fan would want it.

City: Seattle
Name: Kyle

PLEASE tell me why this city should get its team ripped from them? You can't hear the announcer over the cheering ... and the game hasn't STARTED.

City: Seattle
Name: Jim Allison

David Stern is the Billy King of commissioners. This millennium he moved the Vancouver Grizzlies (2.2 million population metro area) to Memphis (1.3 mil) ... moved the Charlotte Hornets (2.9 mil) to New Orleans (1.3 mil) ... expanded to Charlotte (2.1 mil) instead of San Diego (2.9 mil) ... might allow a move where Seattle (3.2 mil) goes to Oklahoma City (1.2 mil). This amounts to a total population loss for the NBA of 5.3 million people, which is more than the markets of Memphis, New Orleans, Oklahoma City and Milwaukee combined. It's like he wiped four NBA teams off the map. I wonder how that plays when negotiating the next TV contract.

City: Spokane
Name: Jason

This reminds me of that scene in "The Lion King" where Nala is hunting Pumbaa and Simba recognizes her and Timon is baffled. "Whoa, whoa, timeout. Lemme get this straight, you know her, she knows you, but she wants to EAT him ... AND EVERYBODY'S OK WITH THIS??? DID I MISS SOMETHING?" Pumbaa is the Sonics, Nala is Clay Bennett, and Simba is Stern, and Timon is the small but passionate fan base trying to save the franchise and raise awareness. Only in this ending, Simba isn't going to save his friends. Pumbaa is going to get slaughtered and packaged and sent to Oklahoma.

City: Johnson City, Tenn.
Name: Jason Horne

Moving basketball out of Seattle is going to make all of the Xavier McDaniel references in "Singles" seem really weird to viewers in the future. I think a child who is born today who watches the movie will probably think that the Seattle SuperSonics are a made-up team and "The X-Man" is a made-up guy and a loose reference to the X-Men, which will cause all sorts of confusion. In short, moving Seattle will make '90s pop-culture references more difficult for future generations to grasp.

City: Seattle
Name: Brian

I don't need to say anything else.

City: Brier, Wash.
Name: Danny Mero

Dear David Stern,

Enjoy your 30 pieces of silver. Hope it was worth it.

Sincerely,
Sonics fans everywhere

(That's right, I went biblical on him.)

City: Seattle
Name: Jason

Keep in mind that Clay Bennett isn't only stealing our beloved Sonics, but he's leaving the WNBA Storm in town. Gee, thanks, Clay! That's the equivalent of having your girlfriend move out of your place for some other guy and taking all of the essentials like the TV, stereo, and XBOX live subscription, while leaving her pink throw pillows and Hugh Grant DVD collection.

[MrCleveland]

The Oklahoma Supersonics? Dosen't sound right.

What about Las Vegas, was the NBA going to have a basketball team there, or St. Louis? (It's been 40 years since St. Louis had a basketball team.)

[theshark8777]

Hey it happened to Cleveland with the Browns...
It CAN happen anywhere.

[James]

FWIW, there is a drive-in chain based in Oklahoma City called, ironically, Sonic. Check out www.sonicdrivein.com.

[isiahthomas]

I think the Sonics should stay in Seattle. Why should the team be forced to move just because they won't get a new arena built? What's wrong with the arena they have now? Kevin Durant is gonna be a future all star for many years to come. He's easily gonna win rookie of the year this year.

[AKA]

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3353270

[Brian Damage]

I think it is a disgrace that the Sonics will move. Seattle is the 15th biggest market in the US, while Oklahoma City is like the 47th biggest.

[TJ]

Even if Seattle were to lose the Sonics, I'm sure they would get another expansion franchise within a few years. The Hornets left Charlotte for New Orleans and then they got the Bobcats not long after.

It is hard to believe that their arena could be called outdated so quickly. Seattle is a good sports city. It would be terrible for them to lose the NBA.

[rperegrine75]

The N.O. Hornets played two seasons (2005-2007) in Oklahoma City after Hurricane Katrina, I guess the people in Oklahoma got bitten by the NBA Bug.