As the Thunder rolls, Sacramento fans fight not to become the next Seattle
“In an effort to spread the word on behalf of Sacramento fans and in hope of preventing the Kings from moving, a group of dedicated boosters is hitting the road in a “wrapped” RV and touring the USA”
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After all they’ve been through you might think that the NBA fans of Seattle would be saying “not like this”.
Their city is aggressively bidding to wrestle the Kings away from Sacramento in order to restore NBA basketball to the Pacific Northwest. An ownership group led by hedge-fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer has an agreement in place with the Maloof family, the current owners of the Kings, to purchase 65% of the team and to relocate it.
The situation doesn’t lack for irony.
Seattle famously lost the Super Sonics back in 2008 after a prolonged battle with David Stern over the city’s failure to build a new arena. An eleventh hour proposal that would have provided a new facility fell of deaf ears. David Stern’s mind was made already made up that he wanted to do business with oil tycoon Clay Bennett.
Similarly, the City of Sacramento is willing to build a new arena, but Stern finds the Seattle proposal more attractive. “I think right now it is fair to say that the offers are not comparable,” Stern says.
Relocations of professional sports franchises can be utterly devastating to fans. The departures of the Baltimore Colts and Cleveland Browns proved this, as did that of the Super Sonics.
In an effort to spread the word on behalf of Sacramento fans and in hope of preventing the Kings from moving, a group of dedicated boosters is hitting the road in a “wrapped” RV and touring the USA.
It’s called the Playing to Win Tour and it’s being organized by Sacramento radio personality “Carmichael” Dave Weiglein. Weiglein Tweeted, “We will most likely cover 20+ cities.We will meet the Mayor in Manhattan April 3rd, and present him with a banner of support from the nation.”
Among the cities the tour will visit is Oklahoma City, the very place the Seattle Super Sonics relocated to. No word yet as whether or not the RV will pay a visit to Seattle to plead for mercy. The tour is believed to be heading to Denver at some point, although probably not when the Nuggets play the Kings on March 23rd.
The South Stands supports the Sacramento cause. It’s not likely that the Playing to Win Tour will influence the NBA at all, though. David Stern has demonstrated that, when it comes to relocation, money talks and sentimentality walks.
