I tried to resist commenting but I can't. The people of Seattle under-estimated OKC and over-estimated Seattle relative to OKC. I think that some of them are still pissed because they cannot imagine a scenario where lowly OKC could get the better of them in a fair contest. I do not think that they fully appreciated the serious challenge that a group of Oklahoma businessmen could make. This was not the first time that one of their teams had been threatened. They had managed to overcome the challenges in the past. No third-rate city like OKC could be expected to be able to ultimately prevail. I believe that they saw OKC as a pawn that was being used to strengthen the bargaining position. I believe that they felt that no persons in their right mind would choose OKC over Seattle. It just could not happen. The NBA owners would not approve it. As far as they were concerned, that flat, dusty, unsophisticated town in flyover country would be a place that the other teams would want to avoid at all costs, especially if the other choice was their great city. They failed to realize that their perception of OKC was not necessarily the reality. Had Las Vegas or San Diego or almost any other city gotten the team under the same circumstances they would not be as upset. But because it was Oklahoma, they must have cheated somehow. They did not see OKC as a serious threat so they did not do all they likely could have to keep the team. OKC has grown and is continuing to grow stronger. Those who are in competition with OKC and have not been paying attention could find themselves in a similar situation as Seattle.

Um, can you blame the people of Seattle for not perceiving OKC as a "threat?" I certainly wouldn't paint them as being ignorant here. After all, greater Seattle has 3x the population of OKC and an economy 4x larger than OKC's--and let's be honest, Seattle is one of the country's better urban centers. As much progress as OKC has made, it simply does not compare.

Um, can you blame the people of Seattle for not perceiving OKC as a "threat?" I certainly wouldn't paint them as being ignorant here. After all, greater Seattle has 3x the population of OKC and an economy 4x larger than OKC's--and let's be honest, Seattle is one of the country's better urban centers. As much progress as OKC has made, it simply does not compare.

But OKC was a threat. The Seattle area is larger but it also had to split resources between NBA, NFL and MLB. That reduced the amount of resources that they could or were willing to commit to the NBA. I would not paint them as ignorant. I think arrogant would be a better description. Their arrogance blinded them to the reality that while OKC is not the equal of the whole of Seattle it did not have to be.

Why can't they just be happy with their own WNBA team? Are they not proud of females bouncing the ball?