They're BASHING us in SEATTLE!

I can't believe that Seatte now wants the Supersonics and wouldn't mind seeing Clay Bennett and company lose $17 million a year playing in the ancient old KeyArena until September 2010. It does seem political...

The Seattle Times: View Forum - Sonics (http://forums.seattletimes.nwsource.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=44)

Nothing new.

I am suprised they are not focusing their efforts on pressuring the city and the state officials to work with team. Making fun of Oklahoma is just going do nothing more than help them get out of the contract.

IE: We are not welcome here, Why should we be forced to stay and lose money?

What a bunch of spoiled ignorant fools. So what if they've never heard of OKC before, and had to "look it up on a map". I don't know much about Seattle (could it be cause we're thousands of miles away from each other). Kuwait is one of the most prosperous places on the face of the earth yet its also located in a "dusty" little outta the way place. NO WAY.
Pure defensive responses. They're pissed that they're losing their team so they take shots. Oh well. We cant be that backwoods. We have an investment group powerful enough to purchase their team and get them all worked up and embarassed about losing to a city that is "so beneath them". How pathetic these arrogant people are.

Seattle needs to quit stroking their EGO and wake up.

This all really means nothing. A bunch of anonamous posters on an internet message board spouting off. If only message boards meant something. LOL.

As someone mentioned, this isn't anything new. They've been spewing hate since Bennett and group purchased the team. Just let them vent and us wait patiently.

I would invite you into one of the Sonics forums in Seattle and see what people from your neck of the woods are saying. We have been behind the team and trying to keep them from day 1. You have to realize how cheap it is for someone from another state buys a team with deep rich history with the sole intention of moving them out within 1 year unless they got a 500+ million dollar arena? If you think that is ok to do you need to get your head checked.

Sea Town,

We (I) could care less about what people in Seattle and even the naysayers from Oklahoma think. Business is Business and Sports is a business and is not a "right". When businesses close or leave after many, many years in a community, it is often sad, but it is business. oh, and we are more than willing to leave you your history, just like cleveland before they left for Baltimore

thats a nice gesture but I think we'll keep the whole franchise instead

Well if they're bashing us I guess that means I can let up for a while.

And I agree with Chuck. They need to wake up! Preferrably sooner
rather than later!

> I think we'll keep the whole franchise instead

Be certain and let us know how that works out for you. Me, I'm not a mega roundball fan, so it makes me little difference. Sonics, Hornets, a team to be named later ... it'll appen, all that's left is the who and when ... the IF has long since been decided. To bum a tag from some Ogles, that my 2 cents worth of rant

Whats new?

thats a nice gesture but I think we'll keep the whole franchise instead well how you going to keep the franchise if its already in oklahoma ? i thought you sea-town varmites were smarter than that you can not stop okies from doing what we want better shut up or we wont sell you anymore electric then who will be in da woods? we are more safisticated then washupington will ever be!

Schooner, I am in no way trying to censor you and you are under no obligation to do so. This is just a request from me: Can you please edit your post ASAP? You're making Oklahomans look classless, uneducated, and very inarticulate; no offense.

Schooner, I am in no way trying to censor you and you are under no obligation to do so. This is just a request from me: Can you please edit your post ASAP? You're making Oklahomans look classless, uneducated, and very inarticulate; no offense.

No. He's only making himself look classless, uneducated and inarticulate.

(well how you going to keep the franchise if its already in oklahoma ? i thought you sea-town varmites were smarter than that you can not stop okies from doing what we want better shut up or we wont sell you anymore electric then who will be in da woods? we are more safisticated then washupington will ever be!) i was a bit drunk when i posted this. i am suprised i could have posted anything then!

i was a bit drunk when i posted this. i am suprised i could have posted anything then!


Yeah....that makes it better.

Just think how they feel... if some guy from Portland came in and bought the Sooners and moved them to Oregon would you just go on like business as usual? I think you would be pretty upset as well... of course they're going to spout off and talk smack about OKC, this is a team they have had in Seattle for 41 years, for most it's like being married for 41 years and then having your wife/husband die suddenly... your not just going to get over it in a few days, weeks, or maybe even months....

Just think how they feel... if some guy from Portland came in and bought the Sooners and moved them to Oregon would you just go on like business as usual? I think you would be pretty upset as well... of course they're going to spout off and talk smack about OKC, this is a team they have had in Seattle for 41 years, for most it's like being married for 41 years and then having your wife/husband die suddenly... your not just going to get over it in a few days, weeks, or maybe even months....

Not really a good comparison. While the Sonics have an apparently great history in Seattle, the fans didn't support them. Well, not enough to keep them there.

People would die if the Sooners moved.

Just think how they feel... if some guy from Portland came in and bought the Sooners and moved them to Oregon would you just go on like business as usual?.....

Honestly, your analogy doesn't really make sense. Seeing as how the Sooners are a college team, They would have to move the whole college, not just any of the teams. I do understand what you were going for though.

With that said, they can bash us or cry or whatever they are doing. They have plenty of people to blame up there as well. If they are just bashing only OKC and not those other parties, then they are just ignorant. If they are bashing both OKC and those parties, then I cannot hold that against them.

It was a hypothetical... there was a lot of fan support for the Sonics, just no fan support for Clay Bennett's tactics... if what you are saying is true about there not being any support, why was SOS formed? Why were there an upwards of 2000 fans outside the courthouse during the trial, and why is it so hard for me to explain to my 6 year old daughter that she won't be able to see the Sonics play next year? I realize there are people out there who are ignorant, and think it's the people of Oklahoma who are at fault, and I don't feel that way. There are a lot of people out there to blame but you guys are not one of them, you wanted a professional team I don't blame you for that, but to say the fans of the Sonics didn't care (and I say that because I live in Portland, Oregon) than your the one who is ignorant... I realize the fans did too little too late, but considering past experiences with the Seahawks and the Mariners, we thought we had a little more time, and you must admit ATLEAST if you have an decency, that Clay's tactics were a little bit shady

If the fans showed up to the games and the team was profitable, they wouldn't have moved.

Too little, too late.

If the Sooners were to up and leave, there would be a lot more than 2,000 folks at the court house.

If you followed the case, there was testimony stating that 40% of profits would come from playoffs... that team had no hope of making the playoffs anytime soon... this is common practice with most NBA teams

Sorry it was in the middle of a work day... but most people in Seattle DON'T work at a fast food restraunt like the okies do... I would have been there, but Hewlett Packard needed me

I tried to be nice dude, but the Seattlites are right, you guys are a bunch of ingnorant uneducated morons...

So is one of you guys going to tell my daughter why she can't watch the Sonics anymore?? Do you have no compassion for the people that DID follow this team, some for all 41 years of their existance, or in my case, all 25 years of my existence??

I've never said an ill word about Oklahoma, I understand your side, now understand ours... you weren't in Seattle, you didn't see what was going on from our side, all you got was the biased news from your Oklahoman which is owned by Bennett's wife... I'm sure that paper didn't tell you how Schultz has a darn good chance of winning even if it is just the promise of another team once we strart to rebuild the Key, or how the NBA and David Stern are sweating bullets because of this upcoming suit... or the rally we had at the last Blazers Sonics game in Seattle, where we had the whole arena, which was at 90% compacity on a Monday night shouting SAVE OUR SONICS for the entire game... so loud actually, that the players heard, and Kevin Calabro, the VOICE of the Sonics since I can remember was completely silent for over 2 minutes so everyone could be heard.... I had people back home in Portland calling me asking if we were really shouting save our sonics.... So you can blame Schultz, you can blame the Seattle government, and you can even blame the fans for not acting correctly, not building the arena, and for putting I90 in place but do NOT blame it on the fact that we didn't support the team... beacuse that is complete and utter bull and you all know it

Here we go...

Here we go...


oh no we don't... take it to the Seattle boards.




I tried to be nice dude, but the Seattlites are right, you guys are a bunch of ingnorant uneducated morons...


I have to add one thing, if you are going to insult people in Oklahoma on an Oklahoma board, can't you at least spell 'ignorant' correctly?

Please, let's not turn this into an insulting match between cities on this board.

I was having a friendly conversation and I have every right to be here... it's when people are as close minded as you guys are when stuff like this happens... read my previous posts, I was in no way trying to start anything with you guys... just having a conversation with the other side man

and sorry about my misspelling, I was typing kinda fast....

but one typo in that whole rant... gotta give me credit

I agree. The move had almost nothing to do with the fans. Not everyone posting understands the entire situation, which is not surprising, as it's rather complicated. However, you shoot yourself in the foot with your fast food comment. Obviously, that is an incorrect statement, and it reflects badly on you. And, I don't care what anyone says here, I have read nothing remotely approaching the vitriol and ignorant insults that were a daily part of the Seattle newspaper forums. I seriously doubt many of the people who post here had anything to do with the trolling going on on the Seattle forums, so this is probably not an appropriate place to respond to what was admittedly a difficult and annoying situation there.

There's no one on this forum that had anything to do with the move here. It was an unfortunate situation, although it is not unique. I don't know what you tell your daughter. I guess you tell her that the owner of the team couldn't afford to keep it and so he had to sell it to someone who could. At the time, he couldn't find anyone in Seattle who wanted to buy it, and that's why it happened. I wonder what the children of the people who worked at the GM plant here told their children. Or the Kerr-McGee company. Somebody closed or bought our company and now, either mommy and/or daddy doesn't have a job, or we have to move to Houston. That's a bigger deal. This kind of thing happens, and children have to learn to deal with it, sadly.

It's time to let this rest. Whether David Stern is quaking in his boots, or Howard Schultz is burning Seattle's bridges at a mad pace is open to discussion. I guess we will find out. So far, half the people who've made grand pronouncements on this issue have been wrong. At this point in time, it's probably wiser to stick with opinions rather than certainties.

Yeah, true.

You have to pin it on the previous owners. If Seattle fans want to get mad at someone, that is who.

And believe me we are pretty mad at him, though most believe he'll be able to bring the team back with his lawsuit.... I believe at the best he will get Stern to guarentee us another NBA team... And I do appologize for my comment... I'm just sick and tired of both sides of this misunderstanding the situation...

Though I'm mostly mad at Nichol's for going back on what he said about not letting Bennett buy out the lease, but living in Portland, I don't get to see too many games, so I never got to really say my goodbyes.... though I have thought about heading down to OKC for opening day to see one more game, so if anyone wants to join me, I'll buy drinks!!

I agree completely with Betts and her, per usual, level-headed comments.

I, too, trolled the Seattle boards and found on them nothing but whining and adolescent name-calling. The same can be said for the boards on the Daily Oklahoman site, except the name-calling was most often started by an outraged Seattle fan.

Do the Seattle fans have a point? Yea.

Were Bennett's actions "slimy?" I can certainly see how someone could perceive them to be so. But any person who was in their right mind would have had to realize that the moment Bennett bought the team, given the Hornets' success here in OKC, what his real motives were. To think otherwise is to pull the wool over your own eyes.

I do empathize with the Seattle fans, and have no problems admitting that. The team had history there, won a championship there, and had an obviously loyal, yet dwindling, following. Frankly, it took me a long time to warm up to the idea of the Sonics as my allegiance fell with the Hornets, and I still have a soft spot in my heart for them.

And frankly, I kind of feel weird that we'll be putting up banners and championship memorabilia from a history that was never part of the experience in Oklahoma City.

But the point remains that Schultz, et. al. KNOWINGLY sold the team to an out-of-state investor. Had they truly wanted to keep the team in Seattle, they should have found local investment. Afterall, aren't most Seattlites quick to point out that Mr. "Richest Man in the World" Gates lives in Seattle? Give ole Bill a call and ask him to pour out a cool hundred mill or two. Must be chump change to a billionaire.

As for what to tell your daughter? Tell your daughter that the team was sold and will move to another state. Tell your daughter that there are disappointments in life, and that not everything keeps going the way we WANT life to. Tell your daughter that she needs to learn that disappointment and sadness are sometimes a very real part of life. Tell your daughter that there are bigger things in life to worry about than a f@#*&$ game played by a bunch of spoiled millionaires. Take her to a homeless shelter, do charity work, show her that life is sometimes real, and hard, but that you have to find your own joy even when things don't go your way.

Sounds like you might need to learn that lesson, too.

I grew up on this team, my mom grew up on this team and I was hoping my daughter would as well... I probably was a little too into the team when I was younger... even got a few tattoos that pertain to the team (yellow and green stars on my wrists and then recently an I bleed green and gold tattoo across my back) but really... the Sonics were the only thing I could ever count on as a kid, if the schedule said they would be on TNT at 7pm, Id turn on the TV and there they be! out there giving 110% like always... and near the end they SUCKED... hardcare sucked... but I could never seem to give up on them.... so I really do truely hope you guys enjoy the team, take care of them, and support them no matter what... there will be ups and downs (not like the Sooners, they seem to be good every year) and all i gotta say is GO RED SOX!

I personally think we are going to get the team. I'd be surprised if Seattle plays in Seattle next year.

Heck, they'll probably not even call them the Sonics anymore.

Is it just me or is everyone in Seattle a barista?/sarcasm off

I'd tell my daughter the Sonics are on a break. When Seattle gets a team back, and they will, although it is my opinion that the Schultz lawsuit is far, far, far from a sure thing, the Sonics will be back. The only thing about a team that never changes is the name. The team that will be playing here this fall is not the Sonics. In four years, there will probably be no one on the team who has played for more than one year in Seattle, the coach could easily be different and there will be nothing recognizable as the Sonics. I think there will be a huge outcry here about hanging banners in the Ford Center, so I believe those duplicates will be packed away in a box somewhere. So, whatever team playing in Seattle with the name Sonics will be as much (more) the Sonics as the team here in OKC at that time. It's the name, colors and mascot that make a team, and thankfully, Clay Bennett left the essence of the team in Seattle.