Sunday, April 24th, 2011 at 8:00 am  |  37 responses

Sonics Fans Watch Game 3 of Thunder/Nuggets

It’s been three years since Seattle last hosted a professional basketball game. But SuperSonics fans are making sure that the NBA doesn’t forget their existence. A group of them, led by filmmakers of the documentary Sonicsgate, had prime seating behind the Oklahoma City Thunder bench during last night’s contest against the Denver Nuggets.

They even brought cowbells to express solidarity with Sacramento Kings fans during the game.

No flash?  Listen to the clip here.

  • Add a Comment
  • Share
  • RSS

Tags: , , , ,

  • KB8TOSG8

    It would be awesome if KD signed those jerseys for them if they wanted to. Respect history I’d say. Still a lowblow by OKC though. Not the city, but the SOB.

  • http://www.slamonline.com Max

    I miss those Sonics jerseys man

  • http://dillanleuyahoo.com Holy Baller

    Cry me a river.

  • CryMeARiver

    It never was Seattle’s team. Seattle didn’t buy or own the franchise. NBA teams, like all professional sports teams, are owned by non government private owners and in the Sonics case, those private owners chose to sell it. And when they couldn’t find local buyers, they sold to an out of state group. Even then had they ponied up for new diggs, they could have ‘saved’ their Sonics. The people of Seattle chose not to. Just because these people live in some kind of fantasy world believing they somehow owned or were entitled to the team doesn’t make it so. The NBA is a business and as I said, the teams are privately owned. The owners and the league gave them terms and those terms were deemed unacceptable.

    Personally, I hope Seattle never gets another team. No professional ball player should have to spend his career working towards the mediocrity that is the hallmark of the Seattle sports scene. Well, no male athlete that is. Seattle women sometimes got game.

    Soncisgate? Yeah right. Tell you what, I’ll watch that right after the government reveals that aliens really have visited or admits that we never actually landed on the moon.

    And BTW, I grew up in Woodinville WA, graduated from Bothell High in 80. Loved the Hawks for 30 years (The ‘S’ at the end of my hande stands for Seahawks) and saw the Sonics win it all in 79. I know Seattle and I know the pathetic history of Seattle sports. Passionate fans? Yes. But they just can’t consistently field a winner.

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    I agree, cry me a river.

    HAPPY EASTER!

  • Disappointed

    Their appearance at the Denver game was meant to be disruptive. Bringing cowbells in support of SAC proves this to be true. There weren’t there to watch the game. They were there just get their mugs on TV. How dare they try to upstage the two teams, the wonderful city of Denver, and the event with their personal crusade. Their arrogance is matched only by their narcissistic personalities.

  • apache

    that documentary is amazing

  • Jer dawg

    Pretty cool. Really not understanding why they were there, but it’s awesome seeing the support. I don’t think the fans from Seattle were rooting against OKC, but it seems like they were cheering FOR them to win.

  • Johnny Freightliner

    No team is safe.

  • http://www,sonicsgate.org Camp Jones

    Disappointed,
    Sorry to disappoint you more but it was not about being disruptive, if they were disruptive they would have been asked to leave. Do have a problem with fans getting excited? Can you think about this for one second and realize that they were there to cheer for George Karl and for the return of their team?

    If you think they tried to upstage them you are mistaken. That is not possible. The goal was to demonstrate that there are Sonics fans who want a team back in Seattle.

    Sonics fans love seeing their colors and we love going to games. So what is this ‘crusade’ you speak of? Can you define it because bring back our Seattle SuperSonics seems pretty tame in comparison to a European invasion of the holy land.

  • Thunder Fan

    @cry me a river

    There were local buyers wanting to buy the team. Shultz CHOSE to sell to out of town buyers. The Sonics left because of a bad lease, a low revenue producing arena. That’s it. It wasn’t about fan support. Were selling out now A. Because it’s cool & new and B. Because the team is good and exciting to watch. If the team was in Seattle still they’d sell out as well. If this team is fortunate enough to stay in Oklahoma for 41 years and then were sold and moved to St. Louis or somewhere because the new owner wanted no part in help in build a new arena an instead asked the taxpayers to pay for it I’d be just as PISSED as Sonics fans should be. I very much enjoy the Thunder and the players, but Seattle was robbed by the NBA, it’s own politicians and lack of leadership and deceived by Bennett and the OKC group. I’m happy they brought us a team, but it was shameful in how it ACTUALLY happened.

    @cry me a river

    If you want the honest unbiased truth, watch Sonicsgate. When we need a new arena it’ll be interesting to see if Bennett asks the same from us. If so, I’d think there is NO way OKC gives him $500 million of tax dollars.

  • D12FSU

    That must have been like watching a jilted ex-lover have sex with their new hot partner

  • Mark B

    NEWS FLASH: Sonics fans aren’t going away until we get another team. We want to bring the NBA and a new Sonics franchise back to Seattle. Was Charlotte on a “crusade” when they brought in the Bobacts? They were not trying to upstage Denver. They were rooting against the franchise (not the fans)that screwed us and for Denver and George Karl. The NBA being a part of the public fabric of a community is exactly what they sell cities on. They are unique businesses. No city in the world will build a facility for a McDonalds or a Jiffy Lube. If you have no civic pride in your civic sports scene, thats fine, but a lot of people love more than one team in town. Stop Hating. Sonics Fans need awareness to get an arena deal and bring another team to Seattle. Here you are all talking about… The SeattleSupersonics. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

  • CMON SON

    Can’t believe there are people on here pissed about these guys showing their support for a team that was stolen from them 3 years ago. Sure technically Seattle didn’t “own” the Sonics, private owners did. But that doesn’t mean that Sonic fans or any fans aren’t allowed to attend other team’s games. So get over it, this was an AWESOME DISPLAY OF TRUE FAN LOYALTY.
    Kudos to these Sonic fans, great documentary as well.

    LONG LIVE THE SEATTLE SUPERSONICS

  • Federico

    This is something that from Italy I’ll never understand about USA. I agree that a team is not owned by a city. But do you guys REALLY think that a team isn’t, in some way, a PART of a city? Can you think about New York without the Yankees, Dallas without the Cowboys, Boston without the Red Sox? A team takes MONEY from a a region, from people who’s in some way proud to cheer them representing the city. Usually, his name means SOMETHING in that area too. I know that nothing lasts forever, but I could accept a team folding and creating a new one, for sure not transferring a team in another city. Players, coaches, owners care about money, but people watches games just for PASSION for the game. I think that a league should RESPECT the fans who cheers for so many years, since without THEM, nothing at all could ever exist…

  • Thunder Fan

    AMEN Frederico.

    I certainlet hope Seattle returns to the NBA soon. Hornets? Grizzlies?

    The Sonics/Thunder games will be extremely heated to say the least. I wonder if Bennett & Stern would actually attend one?

  • OKC

    I’m in OKC, and while it’s sad Seattle lost a team that they loved, it’s not OKC or the players fault. The city of Oklhoma City has fully embraced this team, even when we were simply put terrible. We are up in attendence and ticket sells and had more than a few players say how loud and active the fans are at the game. Oklahoma City deserves a team, and it made more business sense for Bennet to move the team. I hope Seattle gets a team again for history sake but Oklahoma City does deserve a team fully.

  • bob oliver

    if i was the NBA based on lack of fan support that was one of the reasons the sonics owner sold it to clay bennett and co the fans have no class….at all i bet NBA never returns to Seattle. THUNDER UP !!

  • 2-0-Sickness

    OKC, no one in Seattle blames the fans or the players. Sure OKC has embraced the team, but they haven’t been “terrible” since you all got them. We’ll see how fan support there is when the team returns to the basement of the NBA (happens to everybody) and after 40 years there when the novelty wears off. That will be the true test of fan loyalty, not how loud you are at a couple playoff games. Also moving a team from the 12th largest media market to OKC did not and does not make business sense. There’s simply no economic argument to be made for the NBA on this front. Seattle, with a renovated Key Arena, is up there with Portland, Boston, and a couple others as the best towns for professional basketball in the country. Have fun with your new team, support them fully, or you guys might be next. . .

  • Thunder Fan

    @OKC

    Agreed, it’s loud and players love it! For history’s sake Seattle deserves a team and Bennett needs to do the right thing and give the Sonics’ history back from ’67-’08. It’s only fair and we keep what is truly ours from 2008-09 thru present.

    Business sense? After he couldn’t get the arena “he wanted”, remember The Staples Center in LA costs $375 million, yep. Bennett wanted an arena at the same price as Safeco Field? He knew that wasn’t realistic in Seattle an it certainly wouldn’t be anywhere else INCLUDING Oklahoma City. Bennett’s whole purpose was a “win-win” for him. He gets the arena and increases the VALUE of the franchise and sells it and gives him a profit then buys the Hornets or Bobcats. If not he gets the team he bought. I think in a way Seattle saw through the BS (later proved through emails) and gambled and lost due to incompetence and stupidity. Bennett should’ve been honest from DAY ONE.

    Anyways, the Thunder look GREAT! I hope after the lockout (yes there will be a long one) that it doesn’t hurt business too much and we can afford to keep Westbrook and resign Durant to an even longer deal. That’s my fear. Westbrook goes to the Lakers or Clippers (he’s from LA) and Durant bolts after his deal is up after 2016 to Brooklyn, Knicks or other larger markets.

  • TheGlove

    OKC, no one in Seattle blames the fans or the players. Sure OKC has embraced the team, but they haven’t been “terrible” since you all got them. We’ll see how fan support there is when the team returns to the basement of the NBA (happens to everybody) and after 40 years there when the novelty wears off. That will be the true test of fan loyalty, not how loud you are at a couple playoff games. Also moving a team from the 12th largest media market to OKC did not and does not make business sense. There’s simply no economic argument to be made for the NBA on this front. Seattle, with a renovated Key Arena, is up there with Portland, Boston, and a couple others as the best towns for professional basketball in the country. Have fun with your new team, support them fully, or you guys might be next. . .

  • Mr. Wet

    @CryMeARiver

    Actually some sports teams are owned by their respective cities. The Packers being one of them. The city of seattle actually tried to buy the team to keep it their if i remember correctly.

  • Nara

    Mr wet – not sure where you heard that rumor. Not true. Also not true that there were local buyers in Seattle. The team was put up for sale and folks out of town were the only bidders.

    Glad the guys on sonicsgate wasted their money getting to watch the Thunder win.

  • Sonics 4 Life

    Hey Cry me a river you are a sorry ass excuse for a Seattle sports fan… People like you give Seattle sports fans a bad name. Im born and raised in montlake and will be a sonics fan for life…

    Nothing against the OKC fans, but you have to acknowledge the truth, that you are cheering for a franchise that was stolen from Seattle… Although I still put Schultz as the number one villain, followed closely by Aubrey/clay and stern…

  • GreenRanger

    It’s all just pissing in the wind folks. Seattle will never have another NBA team because the league will fold under the weight of it’s own hubris, greed and poor economics eventually.

  • curt

    grow up , yer city leaders did nothing now we gotem there is no more sonic team baby its oklahoma city thunder and we will support them 4ever

  • Seattle sports fan

    hey Cry me A river you are a disgrace to your home town. shut your mouth. Watch the movie before you start spouting off your mouth you uneducated idiot. you are not welcome back to seattle

  • robzilla

    To say that Sonics fans have nothing against OKC Thunder fans is uninformed at best and disingenuous at worst. Check out any forum and you’ll find a constant stream of badmouthing directed at OKC and Oklahoma in general.

    Sonicsgate is much less a documentary and more a propaganda piece produced by a Seattle group that, much like An Inconvenient Truth and Michael Moore’s work, gives a very one-sided view of more complex issues.

    To lay the blame solely at the feet of Howard Schulz and the OKC ownership group is flat-out deceitful. The blame for the loss of the Sonics is equally shared between Schulz, Seattle and Thunder ownership.

    When that small group of Sonic fans who continue to deny reality and insist that the entire NBA fanbase in Seattle was as passionate and committed as them, they’ll be a step closer to coming to terms with the loss of their team and moving on.

    Until then, we’ll keep seeing their bitterness spill out in forums and the occasional cameo at NBA games.

    BTW, Bennett and the OKC folks have already committed to returning “all things Sonics” to Seattle if/when they get another NBA franchise. Personally, I doubt the league will be returning to the city.

  • SonicsFan

    Hey robzilla, go to hell you thunder fan.

  • Thunder Fan

    Robzilla, as a Thuder fan you’re an uneducated embarrassment. Your comments are opionated and not FACT. There were local buyers and even Larry Elliston tried to buy the team, but said he’d move them immediately to San Jose. Bennett was the highest bidder, but said he’d “try” to keep the team there. He won by not saying his TRUE intent. If he had, we would be watching the Sonics vs Nuggets. I love our team, but can’t say Seattle doesn’t have a right to be pissed and try to be heard and do what I can to see their beloved Sonics return. If an when they build a new arena or massively renovate Key Arena the NBA will return in a heartbeat. Seattle as to much history, wealth (more than us) and is too late of a media market to be ignored. Stern even said they’d be back once an arena is built (plans approved). On the other hand the jabs by both Seattle and OKC at the people have to stop. It’s embarrassing an unnecessary. Seattle, continue chanelling your energy into getting a team back and OKC put yours into enjoying your team. As a previous posted if we think we’re immune to sale & relocation we are VERY wrong.

  • SonicsNeverDie

    Thunder Fan is legit. Nice to see someone who knows the facts.

  • Todd

    Want a team? Pay up. Pay up like Orlando just did. Don’t like it? Don’t cry when your team leaves then. Remember the old saying “You don’t get something for nothing”? It’s pretty much true. It’s sad the Sonics left, but it’s sadder that fans act like an owner should smile about losing millions, smile when the city is getting all the arena revenue, smile when the fans don’t care enough to personally pony up a few dollars in taxes. If Seattle has 4 million people, a $500 million arena would cost each of them $125 dollars. For that they let the team go, and they have the gall to whine about it. Stern wouldn’t have let Bennett move the team if Seattle had built an arena and everyone with any brains knows that’s true.

  • haizman

    @Todd – the majority of NBA franchises loose money on operations every year, but see large gains when it’s time to sell.

    Howard Schultz’s group moaned about losing money every year, but made out like bandits when they sold the franchise to Bennett’s group.

    I don’t think there are too many pro sports teams that have all the stars aligned to produce consistent positive revenue every year.

  • Super Bobo

    scratch oklahoma. you guys are nasty.
    +40 years supporting a start-up. talk to me in 2039.

    Hey, NBA! pound sand.

  • Nuggetfan

    I was there. Section 346. I saw you guys and could read your signs from my seat. Good stuff.

  • http://slamonline.com Thart

    okc thunder fan here. I sympathize with seattle and it’s loss of their nba team. But I will repeat that we fans had nothing to do with it. it is a business and that’s how it needs to be looked at. obviously HS was losing money or he wouldn’t have sold it. You can’t believe the nasty comments by supposed sonics fan on anything thunder. I suggest put all that passion and energy into getting another nba team, or supporting the pro teams that are still there. And yes I would be upset if the thunder moved from okc, (blatant attacks on our city are uncalled for) but i am mature and intelligent enought to know it is business, and if they start losing money here, they will move, and while I myself would vote for a tax increase to keep our team, majority rules and if the majority of okc residents voted against it, there would be nothing I could do. So here’s to hoping Seattle gets a new nba team, but I have read countless comments by some people in seattle saying they don’t even want another team. How can anyone not like basketball?

  • steve

    I grew up in Tacoma, WA and now still hate the fact the sonics are gone. OKC is doing great, but I just can’t help but want them to lose. How would L.A. react if the lakers became the Oregon Rain or something? Or what if the Bulls moved to north dakota and became something else? Obviousely L.A. would have riots and all that. But really?

Advertisement