Save Our Seattle Suuuuuuuper Sonics! Uh, yeah right.

[Anonymous]

Good stuff guys. If you were able to watch last night you witnessed Seattle basketball at its finest. You witnessed that Seattle is a basketball city, with fans that do love this team...not the ownership. Sadly, they are linked somewhat, but this city loves basketball...you can't say otherwise...I watched last night. The Key was rockin out! I listened to KJR950am after the game and it was evident that the Supes are a team that belongs in Seattle, no and, ifs or buts about it...yeah, it's too bad Schultz sold us out...but the Sonics are alive with passion and energy; fuel for the future. If you didn't watch last night, you really have no idea as to what basketball really means to this area, and you can't really comment on how much this team really means to the community. Seattle will never be same, sadly, yes really, sadly.

[HillbillyGeek]

If you didn't watch last night, you really have no idea as to what basketball really means to this area, and you can't really comment on how much this team really means to the community.

Let me get this straight... missing last nights game means that I can't comment on "how much this team really means to the community"?

You obviously didn't put much thought into that remark. As a member of "the community", I am definitely qualified to comment on topics that affect the community -- regardless of whether or not I happen to be a sonics fan.

Cutthraotkiller, I admire your loyalty. Loyalty can be a good thing, but it can also cause people to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what's really going on around them. Having an NBA franchise in Seattle can be very positive for the community. However, when the owners, coaches, and players show zero loyalty to their home city and team fans, I find it very difficult to be a supporter of this franchise.

Looks like we will have to agree to disagree on this one. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it doesn't mean that one of us has to be wrong. We simply disagree. No biggie.
The ability to accept opposing opinions without feeling threatened is a sign of a mature mind.

[Anonymous]

Cutthraotkiller, I admire your loyalty. Loyalty can be a good thing, but it can also cause people to bury their heads in the sand and ignore what's really going on around them. Having an NBA franchise in Seattle can be very positive for the community. However, when the owners, coaches, and players show zero loyalty to their home city and team fans, I find it very difficult to be a supporter of this franchise.

Looks like we will have to agree to disagree on this one. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that, and it doesn't mean that one of us has to be wrong. We simply disagree. No biggie.
The ability to accept opposing opinions without feeling threatened is a sign of a mature mind. [/size]

You bet. My intent in saying that was a little off kilter so thanks HillybillyGeek for getting me back on track! What I meant to say was that if you haven't been at the Key and witnessed the love that this city has for this team it's hard to speak with a lot of validity on the subject. If you have been to games and have felt the energy and love of the Key Arena and Sonic fans then that is sweet... You are certaintly entitled to speak your mind and voice your opinion...I am glad you have done so, because it gives me something to talk about and for others to read and make their own opinions on the matter...but being there and feeling the energy, the drive; it's Seattle basketball at its finest...definately a agree to disagree subject...at least we know where we stand on the matter.

[Anonymous]

However, when the owners, coaches, and players show zero loyalty to their home city and team fans, I find it very difficult to be a supporter of this franchise.

And they are not helping their cause by having such a crappy season. Reminds me of the movie Major League. You ever thought that a lot of them just don't want to be here anymore. We are obviously not taking care of them, they don't want to play to win and they can't sell a seat. I use to love the Supersonics and would consider myself a fan, but with the recent events I feel we (the city) are way better off without them at this point. For one, there is no way to positively recover from this whole thing and two, who really honestly likes this team. COME ON! It's like this whole issue has given the fans something to believe in, fight for. Give value to a bad team. But in all reality if this wasn't taking place, you and all the other "die hard" fans would be BOOING them out of town and wishing they would leave. I say BYE-BYE.

Hey, we still have the Storm. Yaa!



fishnislife

[A9]

However, when the owners, coaches, and players show zero loyalty to their home city and team fans, I find it very difficult to be a supporter of this franchise.

And they are not helping their cause by having such a crappy season. Reminds me of the movie Major League. You ever thought that a lot of them just don't want to be here anymore. We are obviously not taking care of them, they don't want to play to win and they can't sell a seat. I use to love the Supersonics and would consider myself a fan, but with the recent events I feel we (the city) are way better off without them at this point. BYE-BYE

Hey, we still have the Storm. Yaa!



fishnislife

Storm go with em I believe if they take off...Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe both are gone when Bennett decides to move the team elsewhere....

[fishnislife]

I added a little to my post above. Sorry, I wasn't done.:cyclops:

I believe they were puchased and they are staying. Give me a sec, I will find it.



fishnislife

[fishnislife]

Here it is.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/wnba/346461_storm08.html


fishnislife

[Anonymous]

However, when the owners, coaches, and players show zero loyalty to their home city and team fans, I find it very difficult to be a supporter of this franchise.

And they are not helping their cause by having such a crappy season. Reminds me of the movie Major League. You ever thought that a lot of them just don't want to be here anymore. We are obviously not taking care of them, they don't want to play to win and they can't sell a seat. I use to love the Supersonics and would consider myself a fan, but with the recent events I feel we (the city) are way better off without them at this point. BYE-BYE

Hey, we still have the Storm. Yaa!



fishnislife

Storm go with em I believe if they take off...Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I believe both are gone when Bennett decides to move the team elsewhere....

Actually Sam you're wrong on that one. The Seattle Storm will stay. They were bought by a group of women earlier on. (note - fishnislife got to it a couple seconds before I did -- this is where the delete a post option would be nice FYI).

[Anonymous]

And they are not helping their cause by having such a crappy season. Reminds me of the movie Major League. You ever thought that a lot of them just don't want to be here anymore. We are obviously not taking care of them, they don't want to play to win and they can't sell a seat. I use to love the Supersonics and would consider myself a fan, but with the recent events I feel we (the city) are way better off without them at this point. For one, there is no way to positively recover from this whole thing and two, who really honestly likes this team. COME ON! It's like this whole issue has given the fans something to believe in, fight for. Give value to a bad team. But in all reality if this wasn't taking place, you and all the other "die hard" fans would be BOOING them out of town and wishing they would leave. I say BYE-BYE.

Hey, we still have the Storm. Yaa!

fishnislife

Fishnislife, wow! I honestly like this team with a lot of other people in and around the Pacific Northwest. Look, they got delt a bad deal here, but this team will bounce back (no pun intended) and will be a great team once again, patience my friend. To say no one honestly likes this team is a vague understatement that is ill founded. This team is not bad, they up ended the Spurs awhile back and go down to the wire with the Phoenix Suns during most contests...and last night we handed the Blazers their 25th loss. I mean, common, we argue this all day, you say BYE, BYE, but many others see right thru Bennett and Schultz...don't get caught up in their strange ways...value the team for what it is - a growing, maturing squad of young athletes with a bright future ahead of them. I'm proud to be a fan, and honestly can say that as well. There's 40 years of history here, and were going to kiss it all goodbye? That hurts, especially to Lenny Wilkins and the man Kevin Calabro...what do you think they feel right now? Hmm...probably sadness and a deep sense of love for this franchise.

[fishnislife]

I really do feel ya. But you have to admit that this season has (and will) taint this franchise forever. I had very high hopes for them in the beginning of the season and was excited to see them play. But when it comes to motivation it all starts at the top. You can't have a successful team with things like this going on. And expecially a guy like Bennett.
Having young players in this type of situation makes it even worse. If they are not playing through it and winning like I wish they would, they are just going to dislike the situation even more. Put yourself in their shoes. Granted they have played well against power house teams and they could have a promising future but what does something like this do to you team. How do you rebound? (no pun intended)
Do you really think (hypothetically) they stay and have a great season next year, the year after? Will the Arena ever sell out? Come on, what is it going to take. A new arena? A whole new team? one player? one coach? This could be the greatest thing that ever happened to the Sonics. (besides 79' and Kemp)
I dunno. I say BYE-BYE because it is inevitable and I am just dealing with it now instead of trying to hold on. Sorry guys, I have lost the faith.




fishnislife

[A9]

Here's a cool editorial which pretty much summarizes my thoughts on Bennett...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... ley18.html

[AdsBot [Google]]

Here's a cool editorial which pretty much summarizes my thoughts on Bennett...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... ley18.html

Yep, awesome article. I read Steve Kelly's stuff daily in the Seattle Times. Mr. Kalelafish and I see through the same lense here, and I see where you are coming from fishnislife, but now I feel like I'm beating an old drum, you know? The point is mute.

[A9]

I believe Schultz is as much to blame for this as Bennett is. Neither of these men strike much, actually close to very little praise in my book.

We could go on and on for days about Bennett and keeping the sonics here, but it's all been covered and everyone has a different opinion. All I know, is that the Sup's need to stay.

[Anonymous]

Maybe Steve's lastest article will clear some things up, and offer some insight into why the Seattle Super Sonics made the trades they did, and why they actually are very good: (I also found this article quite smuggishly humorous) --

ARTICLE: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/s ... ley24.html

Sonics might be awful, but they're not tanking

Steve Kelley

Seattle Times staff columnist

There isn't a more corrupt notion in sports. It's cheating on a scale grander than the use of performance-enhancing drugs.

Movies have been made about down-on-their-luck fighters who tanked bouts for a decent payday.

Tennis is trying to fix the tanking fix it finds itself in.

Over the years, college basketball has been rocked by a series of tanking scandals.

And it seems, every season, about this time, fans start warily watching the NBA to see which teams really want the No. 1 pick in the June college draft and to what depths those will drop to get there.

At tanking time, teams shut down starters with curious injuries. Head-scratching trades are made. Lineup rotations look like they were designed by soothsayers. And don't even ask about shot selection.

Make no mistake, even with a lottery system that doesn't guarantee the worst team gets the first pick, there is tanking in the NBA. The Sonics, bless their barely beating hearts, lost nine of their final 10 last season to complete a 51-loss season.

This season, tank talk has started early.

Pau Gasol was traded from Memphis to Los Angeles, guaranteeing the Lakers will be a championship contender until, oh, about 2015. Jason Kidd left New Jersey for the lush life of contention in Dallas.

Memphis also shipped Bonzi Wells. The Grizzlies would have dealt Graceland if it belonged to them.

And the Sonics traded veterans Kurt Thomas and Wally Szczerbiak, as well as point guard Delonte West.

The Sonics have stockpiled six first-round and seven second-round picks, but they've also fueled local conspiracy theorists, who believe the tank is in.

It isn't.

I repeat, it isn't.

Despite the "Fire Sam" sign — the first of its kind — that was taped to a KeyArena wall Friday night, new Sonics general manager Sam Presti is doing the right thing. He is building the Sonics the way this long-desultory franchise should be built — slowly and with great care.

Still, if you're worried about the specter of tanking in Seattle, here are the top 10 signs the Sonics are tanking.

• 10. Coach P.J. Carlesimo announces he is giving 7-foot center Francisco Elson the green light.

• 9. Wally Walker is invited back on a 10-day contract as a shooting guard.

• 8. Intrigued by the NBA's announcement that it will play an outdoor exhibition game next October and fed up with the inadequacies of KeyArena, Sonics chairman Clay Bennett moves the team's final 2008 home games to the outdoor courts at Green Lake.

• 7. Bennett petitions the league for an emergency rules change: When Seattle is on offense, the arc will be renamed the 2 ½-point line.

• 6. Board member Aubrey McClendon tells an Oklahoma City business journal it was the Sonics' intent all along to ask for the 2 ½-point line.

• 5. Presti picks up Calvin Booth on waivers from Philadelphia.

• 4. Adrian Griffin agrees to let the Sonics replace his name on the back of his uniform with the word "Flotsam."

• 3. As March turns into April, Bennett, desperate to make a buck, decides to auction off all of the Sonics' uniforms and go shirts-and-skins for the final eight games. Griffin supports the move.

• 2. The Dunking Ushers are activated for the Sonics' home game with Denver.

• 1. Line in the box score: Kevin Durant: DNP Owner's Decision.

Relax. Teaching, not tanking, is in, in Seattle.

Presti has given the team flexibility for this and the next several offseasons. By summer 2010, the only players under contract will be Durant, Jeff Green, Nick Collison and the first-round picks from this year and 2009.

With the stockpile of picks, Presti can keep his, which are guaranteed to be good, and use the others in trade. And, with the millions in salary-cap space he has cleared, he can make trades he wouldn't have been able to make if he kept his high-priced veterans.

Of course, the specter of the move to Oklahoma City looms over all these moves, and the skepticism over this franchise's motives is warranted. Bennett has lied too many times before.

But these deals were done to make this franchise, which has been listing so badly for so long, a chance to be competitive again.

And if the city wins its lawsuit and Bennett has to keep the team in town for two more years, these moves could be a rallying cry to help build a new arena and convince the nearsighted NBA owners and their commissioner, David Stern, that the future of the league is in Seattle, not that small town in Oklahoma.

Steve Kelley: 206-464-2176 or skelley@seattletimes.com

[Anonymous]

You know what, I'm wrong. After a week of contemplative thought and watching this miserable team...I'd rather actually not endorse this team or buy a ticket and support Mr. Bennett. They have given ZERO effort since the trade, and don't care one bit. It's sad, but I've come to realization that this team sucks as much as its ownership, so I'm done supporting a team that doesn't even support itself...oh well, I tried. I'd rather watch the Memphis Grizzles instead of the Sonics. IMO, the Super Sonics are the absolute worst team in the NBA. Trying to support this team is like trying to support Hillary Clinton...it's not possible. So, I'm off...off to a far away land where the New Orleans Hornets play, cause they play with passion, Tyson Chandler, Chris Paul, Mr. Pargo, this team is going places, s**** the Sonics. I'm surprised it took me so long to figure this out...

[fishnislife]

You know what, I'm wrong. After a week of contemplative thought and watching this miserable team...I'd rather actually not endorse this team or buy a ticket and support Mr. Bennett. They have given ZERO effort since the trade, and don't care one bit. It's sad, but I've come to realization that this team sucks as much as its ownership, so I'm done supporting a team that doesn't even support itself...oh well, I tried. I'd rather watch the Memphis Grizzles instead of the Sonics. IMO, the Super Sonics are the absolute worst team in the NBA. Trying to support this team is like trying to support Hillary Clinton...it's not possible. So, I'm off...off to a far away land where the New Orleans Hornets play, cause they play with passion, Tyson Chandler, Chris Paul, Mr. Pargo, this team is going places, s**** the Sonics. I'm surprised it took me so long to figure this out...

Welcome to the dark side brutha. I'm glad you finally see the fading light. And look it only took you 5 days since you posted your original statement.
Now you know how I feel. Now, can we both say.....BYE-BYE!


fishnislife

[AdsBot [Google]]

Welcome to the dark side brutha. I'm glad you finally see the fading light. And look it only took you 5 days since you posted your original statement.
Now you know how I feel. Now, can we both say.....BYE-BYE!

fishnislife

I'm surprised it took me 5 days. Had to think about it a bit, ya know. But they're better off somewhere else cause this team plays with ZERO effort. How can someone support a Center like Sene and Petro. It's impossible. They're horrible. I swear I could play better than Sene...and wasn't he one of the Sonics 1st round blotched picks? Uhum, wow...pretty pathetic...now they're given Mickele Gelebale playing time. He was just in the D League a week ago. Enough said.

[Drewp]

Mr. Cutthroatkiller, I hereby declare your new name: John Kerry. :albino:

[HillbillyGeek]

I think it's awesome that Cutthroatkiller has been able to analyze all of the facts and change his mind.

There are a lot of people out there who blindly stick to a belief and refuse to consider any new information that may come their way. ("My mind is made up, don't confuse me with facts".) This self-imposed retardation is especially prevalent in politics and religion...

[iPodrodder]

(note - fishnislife got to it a couple seconds before I did -- this is where the delete a post option would be nice FYI).

Wish granted.