Sonics Fan Turned Blazers Fan
by anitachampionship on Jan 3, 2012 8:41 AM PST
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For whatever reason, I have recently seen a number of posts about Seattle (specifically the Sonics), rants from Sonics fans against the Thunder, etc. and felt compelled to share my brief opinion and story.
When the Sonics actually moved, I was extremely angry. I had the jerseys, the hats, the memorabilia to prove my allegiance to the team. I felt like my identity had been stolen.
Now, after living in Portland for the past 5 years, I’ve seen people rooting for the Blazers, the Oregon Ducks, and the Oregon State Beavers. That is their identity. It’s a literal culture. I felt like when the Sonics left, I didn’t have anyone to relate to anymore.
At this point in time, my blame still rests squarely on the shoulders of ALL the leaders involved (Clay, Schultz, Seattle’s gov.,) but don’t hold a grudge anymore. As connected to the NBA as I am, it’s still ultimately a business where the fans unfortunately aren’t the most important aspect of the sport. The recent lockout is the perfect example. If the fans truly had a voice, ticket prices would be more affordable, players would take less in salary to create better teams, and NBA basketball would be the biggest sport in the world (and we wouldn't have had a lockout in the first place!)
From a personal standpoint, it still hurts that the Sonics are gone. It always will. I still love NBA basketball, and have fortunately been embraced by BlazersEdge community. It was hard to root for the “rival” Blazers at first, but it didn’t take long to find they’re an easy team to like! Now that I have bought a home in Portland proper and I am expecting my first child in the next week or so, it's safe to say that I'll be in Portland for the longhaul.
I still like all of the "former" Sonics (Durant, Collison) that are still with the Thunder. It wasn’t their fault or choice to move the team.
I’m not sure that if Seattle ever gets a team again that I would jump on the bandwagon, simply because it wouldn’t feel the same, especially if they hijack another team and bring it to Seattle.
I will always bare the scar of being a Sonics fan, but it's slowly being covered up by a red and black pinwheel.
As screwed up as the NBA is (business wise), it’s still the place to enjoy the best basketball anywhere on the planet., and as far as I'm concerned, the Blazers (and more specifically.. BlazersEdge community) is the most close knit and passionate fanbase in the NBA. Hands down.
I love me some Blazers basketball, and I'm expecting a 109-106 victory over the Zombie Sonics tonight.
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Players do take less in salary
to create better teams – and they get villified, ala LeBron (witness “great players want to play AGAINST the best, not with the best”. But if he goes to a team with no good players, suddenly he “doesn’t care about winning”).
Fans don’t have a say because they ultimately don’t have the games best interests at heart. Most NBA games sell out despite high ticket prices. If teams wanted to make more money, they’d charge even higher ticket prices and not care about sellouts – econ 101 tells you that if you are selling out, you aren’t charging enough.
M, period. Fresh, comma.
Players do take less in salary to create better teams – and they get villified, ala LeBron
Yep, I remember when Tim Duncan and Dirk Nowitzki each took less money to help create a better team around them and got vilified…. oh wait, they didn’t get vilified, they got praised?
Huh, I wonder what they did that was different than LeBron James…
yep, you gotta love to see the guys that actually care about the game more than their paycheck.
Needless to say, the guys mentioned above aren’t really taking a huge “cut” considering how much they make in endorsements, etc. :)
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 3, 2012 10:20 AM PST up reply actions
If Lebron stayed in
Cleveland he would still be loved. Instead he took the spoiled brat approach to move to a team he thought would be handed rings. Now as the spoiled tend to learn, things that really matter must be earned, not given.
I was gonna say--that's the key difference between Lebron and Nowitski/Duncan--
they stayed where they’re at.
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 3, 2012 1:46 PM PST up reply actions
The method of announcement was also a big-time factor
If he’d announced it in a press release, praising Cleveland’s fans and apologizing for leaving, but that he felt it was best for his long-term goals, then buy a huge full-page “thank you” ad in the local paper, he would look like a very different player today. People would still be unhappy with him, but they’d not see him as so classless.
by Timmay! on Jan 3, 2012 3:11 PM PST up reply actions 6 recs
This and rec'd
That’s exactly why people hate him, it’s not because he left the team but the way he did it. If he would just signed with the Heat the way other players do there wouldn’t be any type of negative emotions from fans.
Why people can’t understand this is beyond me.
Ovechkin-Leich-Semin: The greatest line in hockey..............................Tee Hee
Proud supporter of the following clubs: Pittsburgh Penguins, Pirates and Steelers, Erie Otters, Columbus Crew, Boston Celtics and the best football clubs in the land: Manchester United F.C. and Celtic F.C..
All hail Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Emilio Renteria, Wayne Rooney, Nemanja Vidic, Phil Jones, Javier Hernandez and Nani for their brilliantness, defence and talent.
The Manchester United Football Club: Winning countless trophies and making City fans jealous and full of envy since 1902.
The Boston Celtics Basketball Club: Searching for Banner 18 since 2008. One of these days well get it....hopefully.
by Bradley James McEachern on Jan 3, 2012 9:47 PM PST up reply actions
totes.
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 7:11 AM PST up reply actions
Well, I do agree that they're somewhat orthogonal issues
But you can also point to GP and Karl Malone back in the day as guys that took less money to win titles without the fanfare of the decision and they didn’t receive LBJ level scorn, but it was certainly not covered especially positively. The only thing that seems to matter is staying in one, which is a fairly ridiculous proposition for most of these guys. Was a 38 year old Karl Malone supposed to take less money in the hopes that Utah could surround him with title contending talent instead of just going to a team with it already?
More or less, it was the same situation with the big three in Miami. I’m not sure anyone can argue that Lebron should have taken less money to stay in Cleveland and had faith their management would have used it wildly instead of going to a team where he knew he’d compete for titles, assuming that’s what he wanted. While no one can say anything for absolute sure, I’m pretty sure they only ended up in Miami because it happened to be the only team that could sign all of them. If you had swapped their cap situations last offseason, the likeliest outcome would have been the three of them playing together in Cleveland instead.
I want to see another movie with NBA stars and cartoons playing a crazy game of B Ball
by Kevlar Rocket on Jan 3, 2012 10:23 AM PST reply actions 2 recs
rec for most random comment of the day. love it.
which players would you put on the movie?
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 3, 2012 10:25 AM PST up reply actions
what about Greg Oden with robot legs?
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain_4.html#ixzz1IE4sPu16
by Tyler Durrden on Jan 3, 2012 10:37 AM PST up reply actions
i like it. I think dwight howard already looks like a cartoon by the way he's built. That dude is huge!
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 3, 2012 10:58 AM PST up reply actions
Congrats that you are expecting...
…a win over OKC and, oh yeah, a baby in a week. That’s a lot of expectations. Welcome to Trailblazer fandom. I know I would struggle if the Blazers ever got moved. I also am pretty sure I would never become a Sonics fan unless I moved to Seattle and was force fed as you have been.
In any case, I fully expect you to raise that child wearing a Batum jersey and you better teach him/her to say “Batuuuum Shakalaka”. It’s adorable coming out of the mouth of a toddler!
LaMarshmallow - Distant Memory.
haha, thanks my friend!
i will say that I’m super bummed he’ll never get to see Brandon Roy play live. That’s something to behold.
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 3, 2012 11:54 AM PST up reply actions
at least our generation will have youtube to show our kids what's up
"If I had a dime for every basket I made today, you'd still suck!" - from the book 'John Dies @ the End'
totally!
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 5:40 PM PST up reply actions
I think you can get a ticket for about $20. Is that not affordable enough? How can you complain about the prices being too high, when every game is sold out? That means tickets are actually worth more than they’re being sold for. It’s the food that is overpriced. I won’t spend $12 for a hot dog.
I think that you can search for affordable tickets to a degree, but it's not like the Mariners where you can grab a seat for $7
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 7:10 AM PST up reply actions
LA is our real rival :P
was that too mean? I’m sorry, just saying I was brought up in the 90s. I was happy to play the sonics. (no disrespect RayRay)
by Sheed30 on Jan 3, 2012 7:42 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
What 90s were you watching?
The 90s I watched had the Sonics finishing first or second in the conference for six straight years! :)
Check that
After actually looking it up, it they went 3rd, 1st, 4th, 1st, 2nd, 2nd. Dang fallible memory. Still… not bad!
it was the I-5 rivalry! Lakers are everyone's rival :)
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 7:09 AM PST up reply actions
very true Lakers have always been our rivals
not sonics not okies now
La Illaha Illallah Muhamadur Rasulallah
Nice sentiments, anitachamp...
I’m glad to know you were able to turn your allegiances the Blazers way after the Sonics. In no way do I intend to belittle the anger you felt, but just know it would be different for Blazer fans if it had happened in Portland. When the Sonics moved to OKC, Seattle was still left with the Mariners and Seahawks (and the Sounders, although I don’t consider MLS to be on the same level as any of the other major leagues). In Portland, the Blazers are all we’ve got (again, Timbers don’t count). The Ducks and Beavers athletic programs are treated almost on the same level by some, but there are a great many Oregonians and Blazer fans who associate only with Portland and are indifferent to the UO and OSU. If the Blazers had been the team uprooted to Oklahoma City, it would have been a whole different level of anger and identity theft…
I think you were full of it when...
you said you didn’t intend to belittle how he felt, because that’s exactly what you seem to have set out to do.
“If the Blazers had been the team…” But they weren’t. The Sonics were. This guy loved the Sonics and it hurt when they left. Does this somehow challenge the depth of your Blazers’ fandom?
Think what you will, walkie...
Ever since the Sonics moved I’ve thought a lot about about how it would feel if the same were done to the Blazers. As such, when these topics come up I like to share my two cents.
P.S. At least I didn't assume "anitachampionship" was a "he" or a "guy".
Sure, it could be nothing more than a simple pun but I don’t know too many dudes named Anita… :)
haha, i'm definitely a dude.. and the blazers definitely "nitachampionship"
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 3:52 PM PST up reply actions
No offense taken. I will say I could care less about the Mariners and Seahawks.
I enjoy other sports, but basketball has always been my first love, and for much of my life that love was shown through my Sonics fandom. The day it happened, I remember there was a thunderstorm rolling through Portland, and I waited over an hour on the Seattle sports radio phone line to voice my disgust with how everything went down. I was ready to cry. I could care less that Seattle had the Mariners or Seahawks ;)
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 7:08 AM PST up reply actions
People who have lost a child
say they never get over it. It doesn’t mean they love their other children any less.
BTW--gotta love that win over the thunder last night. Called it on every forum I was on yesterday!
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 7:12 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Welcome to the fold.
You know, I always loved the Sonics growing up. They were never my team but I loved that they had passionate fans, a cool logo, a great mascot and players who really fit the community. It was a great, great basketball town.
I’ll never forgive the NBA, Howard Schultz and Clay Bennett for taking that away. Even if it was never my team, it happened to fans I respected and admired, and it happened in such a preposterous, sad and dishonest manner. Because of this I cannot bring myself to ever call that team anything other than the “Zombie Sonics”. I really feel for you guys.
As a Blazer convert, I miss even more having a true rival; last night was fun but it would have been 1000x more fun if it had been in Seattle.
agreed.
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 4:08 PM PST up reply actions
Glad to have you...
I know if the Blazers were to be moved it would be very hard for me to cheer for any NBA team let alone a former rivalry team.
Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company.
thanks buddy!
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 4:06 PM PST up reply actions
Welcome!
Part of me is happy to see any Seattle resident who doesn’t root for the thunder. Anyone who has seen sonicsgate knows what kind of bad karma that team in Oklahoma has. I always cringe when the NBA media doesn’t mention how much of a tragedy it was when the sonics left seattle, and how the NBA helped them to leave seattle and now is making half-hearted promises to return NBA basketball to seattle. All we can hope for is future success for the blazers and poor knee health for kevin durant, because that would be fair.
by StocktonNEP on Jan 4, 2012 4:51 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
and or course
whenever that Oklahoma team comes to play in the rose garden, break out your green and yellow! make them remember!
I don't wish any ill-health on Kevin Durant, don't think he was pulling the strings
I wouldn’t mind them losing every time we play them though!
I don't give a damn for a man that can only spell a word one way.
Mark Twain
Read more: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/m/mark_twain_4.html#ixzz1IE4sPu16
by Tyler Durrden on Jan 4, 2012 5:41 PM PST up reply actions
I know you're teasing about Durant
but he’s one of the best players in the league, and is good for the league with his humble demeanor and incredible skillset. I hope he continues to be great for years to come, and that the blazers continue to find ways to stop him..and that he stays injury free!!
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 5, 2012 12:33 PM PST up reply actions
I live in Seattle
I used to love it when they were here, me and my kids could get seats for $7 and sit courtside
that place was a ghost town, nobody seems to ever talk about how they had ZERO fan support
now I have to drive and pay NBA prices to see my Blazers
or take the train
La Illaha Illallah Muhamadur Rasulallah
when was it a ghost town though? towards the end when the team was gutted and Clay purposefully stripped all interest from the team?
the key arena was BOOMING in the 90’s with Kemp and GP, and was equally nuts when Ray Ray and Rashard were in their primes.
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 4, 2012 10:36 PM PST up reply actions
Towards the end
And I didnt know Lewis ever had a prime
I think he was here when I came here
La Illaha Illallah Muhamadur Rasulallah
No, Seattle was a great, great basketball town.
Towards the end people tuned out because they the team was horrible and everyone could see the writing on the wall about the team leaving.
Back in the 90s that arena was LOUD. The city loved that team. Heck, I wasn’t even a Sonics fan and I loved that team.
by mattisnotfrench on Jan 6, 2012 12:54 AM PST up reply actions
haha--have averaged over 20 pts./game for 3 seasons straight in Seattle
He “peaked” at 22 points and 7 boards in the 06-07 season, and was nearly shooting 40% from 3. Pretty good baller back in the day.
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 5, 2012 8:09 AM PST reply actions
what is the sentiment up in Seattle ?
I go to school in Tacoma and people generally resent the Blazers…
by CaptainSexyJacob on Jan 5, 2012 2:41 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions
Just curious--for what reasons do they resent them?
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 5, 2012 3:00 PM PST up reply actions
sure.. it took me a while to get over that as well. and everyone outside of portland
still refers to the team as the Jail Blazers. But.. being from seattle, then loving Nate, Roy, Jamal Crawford as they’re all from seattle, it was a no brainer.
plus.. the team flat out rules. and the culture of the fanbase down here compared to seattle is wayyyyyyyy different (aka better)
A displaced Sonics fan that has somehow emerged as a Blazers fan (and loves it).
by anitachampionship on Jan 5, 2012 5:51 PM PST up reply actions
I am very happy that You are a Blazers fan
The culture is very different
I hate to say it but it appears that there is a racial element to it up here in Seattle that made it very easy for them to turn their back on the only .500 team that they have ever had
Okay I dont hate to say my opinion but I am sure that there is some Latte sipping Seattelite with a mexican gardener and a black butler who will be offended by me stating the obvious
La Illaha Illallah Muhamadur Rasulallah
Portland is a much whiter city and metro area.
What makes you think the Seattle area is more racist?
Is it the stronger business culture?
by CaptainSexyJacob on Jan 14, 2012 6:30 PM PST up reply actions
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