Saving The Sonics
Posted on February 29, 2008 - Filed Under General, Life, Sports
I just finished reading the Bill Simmons article about saving the Sonics and it’s a sad read. I think at this point it’s a done deal that the Sonics will be leaving Seattle soon, and David Stern let it happen because Clay Bennett is a friend with money.
Why should the fans pay for a 1/2 BILLION dollar stadium in Seattle for an NBA team? Let’s put it into perspective a little bit. 500 million for a new NBA stadium in Seattle is a lot of money so let’s compare it to other stadiums around the world. The Olympic Beijing National Stadium in China has cost 423 million dollars to build and can seat from 80,000 to 100,000 people. Are you telling me that Clay Bennett needs a stadium of that magnitude for the Sonics? I’m not the biggest Sonics fan in the world, but those numbers are insane. We already payed for an upgrade to Key Arena, something the Sonics signed off on.
My best Sonics memories start when I was a kid and got the chance to sit court side. It was an amazing thing to see the players up close, larger than life and hear the smack talk during the game. I even got the chance to talk to “Down Town” Fred Brown!
Later in life when the Sonics were hitting their stride in the 90′s with Shawn Kemp, Gary Payton and Sam Perkins I was a fan again, watching almost all of the games with friends and enjoying every minute of it. The Sonics were the glue that held those nights together (along with the beer), a common bond that was special and led to many nights of talking about stats and who was the best.
As a father, I was able to take my kids to a Sonics playoff game a few years ago. This was the first time my boys had been to an NBA game and it was electric. The crowd was fired up and the kids had a blast. Sadly, I wont get that chance with Alexander. The Sonics will be gone.
Thanks David Stern, I hope you are happy killing 41 years of NBA history in Seattle.
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