I absolutely hate what is happening to my Seattle SuperSonics, and am tired of hearing Clay Bennett and his boy-toy David Stern say Seattle doesn't care. I've loved the Sonics since I was a kid, and have so many memories that will never be taken away from me no matter what happens to the team. 41 years and it might all be for nothing! I feel like I'm in the position because I have this site to call attention to this issue and hope others will be pissed off by what David and his posse of NBA owners are doing and feel compelled to act. Check out this video of one of the greatest SuperSonics ever, Shawn Kemp!

From the kurtman31 of youtube.com - If you liked this video check out another video by DesmondJames.
I went to the 1996 Western Conference Finals Game 7 against the Utah Jazz and I would have to say without a doubt that was the greatest game I've ever gone to (and the LOUDEST!)!!!

ESPN2 did a big story covering this topic (The Save the Sonics Mailbag by Bill Simmons), and here is some of the emails that were received.

City: Seattle
Name: Steve Hamilton

Forty-one years. Our first professional team. Our only championship. And they want to take this away from us. Why? Can anybody give us a good reason? Is basketball failing here? Is the market the team is getting moved to so much larger or better? Nobody can give any good reason why this should happen except some crap about an arena. The sad thing is that the outcry over this is so muted. The Sonics owners have done a trememdous job of completely alienating the fan base. They got rid of every single person associated with the team that had any recognition with Seattle. Every player the fans liked, every executive with some history. Everyone. So now this is just a crappy team full of players we don't know. Why should we or why would we care? By the way, the real villain is Howard Schultz and his complete betrayal of every Sonics fan. Boycott Starbucks.

City: San Jose, Calif.
Name: Doug

As a lifetime Sonics fan living outside of Seattle, I've found that most people are having difficulty finding a way to express concern about the move. People try to say the standard, "Hey man, I heard about what happened, and I'm sorry things worked out that way," as though my wife just skipped town one day with a guy she met at a bar. But the problem is, it's not like that. It's more like my wife was kidnapped with no ransom notice. How do you deal with that? I can't think of a more disgusting situation in sports.

City: Seattle
Name: Ben

I've taken enough history classes to know that most actions are influenced by a struggle for power. In the case of the Sonics' relocation, the NBA owners are obviously going to side with Clay Bennett. They want to preserve their power to force cities to buy $500 million arenas for them. Sports franchises hold immense power over the communities they cater to. Look at Seattle; we gave Paul Allen and the Nintendo Corporation taxpayer dollars for two stadiums because we didn't want to lose teams we loved. Professional sports franchises will continue to exploit their hometowns until more cities like Seattle refuse to buy jerks like Clay Bennett stadiums.

I'm not saying this as someone who doesn't care about the Sonics and simply doesn't want to pay extra taxes to keep them here. I grew up watching Shawn Kemp catch oops from Gary Payton, and am one of only two people who went to Sonics HQ to protest the sale the day it happened. I love the Sonics with all my heart, but I've realized that pro sports have exerted unfair power for too long, and their greed is ruining the relationship between communities and the teams and games they love so much.

City: Seattle
Name: Justin Hjelm

We've been through this before, with the Mariners shopping for houses in Tampa and the Seahawks having trucks packed for LA in the mid-'90s, but this has taken it to a whole new level. Clay Bennett, with David Stern standing idly to the side, has completely demoralized a fantastic basketball town. This is a team that should create some excitement. The record is horrible, but we can watch Kevin Durant and Jeff Green on a nightly basis, and get excited for another top-5 pick next season, not to mention the other first-round picks we have coming out of our ears. There really isn't a good guy in the situation. The city and state governments have completely crapped the bed, and Bennett will never be welcome in Seattle again. In the end, as usual, it's the fans getting screwed. It is just amazing to me that the NBA would willfully exit the city of Seattle, especially as they attempt to expand into Asia, for Oklahoma City. The nonsensicalness is off the charts. Just thinking about the whole situation makes me more depressed than "There Will Be Blood."

City: New York
Name: Andy

When the Sonics owners pretended they wanted to stay in Seattle, they forced some numbers indicating how awesome sports are for Seattle. Now that they are trying to leave, they are making the opposite argument, that Seattle wouldn't care if the Sonics left. (Their evidence? One politician that nobody likes) I used to be on my college's debate team, and in debate lingo, that's called a double turn. In real life, it's called lying.

What bothers me the most is how most columnists and commentators who know nothing about the financial history of the situation (which is inexcusable if they're going to cover professional sports) just assume it's natural to get public funding for any arena proposal and that any city who doesn't jump at the opportunity to pay for more money-making ventures for rich billionaires is automatically the one at fault. This is as shaky as the White House's "us vs. the world" logic -- you're either for the NBA or you're against it.

Look, Seattle has paid for NBA arenas in the past. In 1995, KeyArena opened and Stern called it a model arena. People quickly forget. Honestly, if the tables were turned, I wouldn't want Oklahoma City's team if it was stolen under these conditions. I don't think any decently-hearted NBA fan would want it.