Something you all may not know about me is that I am an NBA basketball fan. The past few years I have been a Sonics fan, even though they are losers. I have become emotionally attached to them and stood behind them on every game day, hoping they would get that win.
Yesterday was a sad day in Seattle. The Sonics played their last home game of the season, and possibly the last game ever as a Seattle team. They have one more game on Wednesday against the Golden State Warriors.
A guy named Clay Bennett from Oklahoma owns the Sonics now, and for a couple of years has promised he would not move them to Oklahoma. It became a political game, with the Sonics team as the pawn. Come to find out, there were emails circulating from the beginning that was Bennett’s intention. Our governor is calling it a sham, but she hasn’t done anything to prevent it from happening.
So I was able to acquire tickets to that last home game yesterday. We sat on the 5th row behind the Maverick’s bench. Shortly after the game began the crowd started chanting, “Bennett Sucks”. This went on for a while. The crowd was restless, unruly, and police protection was heavy. They thought some riots would break out. Seattelites are generally very polite and non-threatening. Every 10 minutes or so the whole arena would break out chanting, “Save our Sonics”. The players expected this and were charged up by the crowd. What a game! The Sonics kept up with the Playoff bound Mavericks and won! The crowd went wild! Rookie Kevin Durant is so fun to watch and he was responsible for us winning once again.
I went to the game with mixed feelings. A day earlier every time I thought about the possibility that it would be the Sonics last home game ever, I would get teary and emotionally upset. That is not something I do easily. The Sonics gave me a little joy in my mundane life, and something to look forward to each evening there was a game scheduled. I will miss them. And I will watch them in Oklahoma, if they play those games on our networks.
I still enjoy NBA basketball and will look forward to watching the Playoff games.
Farewell Sonics. We hate to see you go.