Seattle’s oldest franchise, the Supersonice are packing up their things and bolting for Oklahoma City in a dark day in Seattle sports history

SCOTT JACOBS

It’s over.

What else can you say about the Sonics 41 year run in Seattle.

O sure. They’ve still got their colors, and their logo, and the unique team name. But last time I checked, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have a team.

The moving trucks have arrived, and overnight the Seattle Supersonics will go from Seattle’s Sonics to Oklahoma City’s whatevers.

You know what, it doesn’t matter.

The details, and the stadium leases and the “Save Our Sonics” signs are now history. A lost cause to save a beloved franchise.

When the Sonics played what turned out to be their final home game, April 13 against Dallas, you could feel the desperation and sense of betrayal their fans felt. 41 years. For this?

I understand the whole business element of pro sports. I totally do. But there’s also the emotional attachment that comes with it. It’s one thing to take the Hornets out of Charlotte, or the Grizzlies out of Vancouver. Those teams had short histories in their city anyways.

The Sonics didn’t.

They called Seattle home for 41 years. They were a fabric in the community.

Now they’re gone.

Sure the history stays in Seattle. But the team goes to Oklahoma.

You can’t move a team that has won a championship Seattle argued. Apparently, things change. It doesn’t matter if they’ve been to the NBA Finals three times. What matters is they’re not hip and cool anymore. If you don’t have a shiny new toy of an arena, loyalty no longer matters. Seattle renovated Key Arena 14 years ago. The NBA couldn’t care less.

How about Seattle’s 21 playoff appearances? That’s a moot point now.

The Sonics played in five different arenas. But it was the sixth arena (the one they couldn’t get) that ultimately cost them their team. Because it doesn’t matter if your team wins six division titles or has six retired numbers that will now hang in the dark of an arena that was no longer good enough for pro hoops. It matters if you shell out the cash.

The team that’s had 19 different head coaches is bolting for the midwest. Faster then you can saw Mocha latte, they’ll be gone.

“We made it,” said Clay Bennett. Yup, Clay you did it. You took basketball out of a big market and put it in a little one. You destroyed 41 years of memories, with $45 million dollars. You officially found the pitchfork to pile drive into Sonics’ fans hearts. You made Seattle’s next election a whole lot more interesting.

Now you’re off to Oklahoma City, to a college sports town with the ambitions to go pro. Well, now they have their chance. And thanks to the epic mess this became, the whole nation will be watching.

That is, if they don’t tune the NBA out forever, for robbing a good city of a beloved team.

There’s only one good thing that can come of this:

An expansion team in Seattle. Because I’d much rather see the two cities fight it out on a court then in court.

There’s simply nothing to dispute about that.

It’s funny too. Because a few years ago the Sonics lucked out in the NBA lottery and got the number two pick. Fans were calling into a sports talk show that I was listening to, and saying how great it was to have bright prospects and a promising future.

I bet those people didn’t think that future would be in Oklahoma.

So RIP Seattle SuperSonics. We lay you down gently, in hopes of a later return.

OKC apparently knows nothing about such a thing.

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