Blazin'
A short thought about tonight's game in Portland.
A commenter from Oklahoma (at least I assume that's where he's from ), noted that Sonics fan at tonight's game who make rude and/or nasty remarks about the former Sonics will just belittle the efforts of Seattle in getting a new NBA team. Obviously, a few people took issue with what he said. But you know what?
He's right.
Look, I hate Clay Bennett as much/more as anybody. I've wasted so much energy in the last six months ripping Aubrey McClendon that you'd think I was working for his wife's divorce lawyer. But if people going to Portland for tonight's game think that cursing Clay Bennett or shouting obscene words is going to accomplish anything, they're wrong. Unless, that is, they intend to make themselves look like idiots, but that's all that that would accomplish.
Still, I can't expect anyone to sit on their hands during the game, not after what Seattle basketball fans went through for the past two years. So, what's left to do?
At Blazer's Edge, the suggestion had been made previously that the best reaction to the OKC Blunder is to make no noise at all, which is not a bad suggestion.
And while I agree with the point that ignoring bullies is usually the best way to deal with them, there's something to be said for righteous igdignation as well. So, here's my suggestion, when Oklahoma's roster is introduced, how about a "Save The Sonics" chant? (I'd go with "Save Our Sonics," but Rose City locals might not cotton to the "Our" part of it). After all, no matter how much Portland fans hated the Sonics, I'm sure they'd rather have Seattle in the league than Oklahoma City. Maybe kick up the chant again at random timeouts, or during a free throw attempt, or at the half when the juggling whozits are on the court.
The chant is effective, reminds people what happened, and lets the league know that despite their best efforts to sweep this disgusting incident under the rug, it's still festering, albeit quietly. Classy, tough, and smart - three items sadly lacking in our society.
8 Comments:
Cheer, boo, chant, swear... knock yourselves out, it doesn't matter. At most it will get a 5-second mention on Sportscenter then be forgotton by tomorrow. The league and fans around the country have moved on.
I don't know why there'sso much talk about disrupting the game tonight. I have not heard that myself. The Sonics were a huge part of my life. I took my son to the games for the past 20 years. Their loss has left a big void in our lives which we are filling by being more eco-conscious and doing other GREEN things.
My friend Kathy & I will be wearing Green & Gold for sure and probably carrying Sonics rally monkeys on our backs! We'll have Sonics hats, jerseys, & coats on. It should be a lot of fun. I know some people here are going to boo the Thunder, but I'm not. I love those guys too much. I spent a lot of time with Jeff Green last year in our own version of the War Room on Draft Day w my buddy Eric & several other fans. Jeff was real happy about the Sonics drafting Russell Westbrook. He thought that RW would help a lot, and he has. We'll just be cheering for all our favorite players on both teams and reminiscing about the Sonics' exploits of Durant, Green, Collison, Watson, Wilcox, Wilkens, Swift, Sene, etc., and, of course, I want to see the players that I haven't seen live yet, especially Russell Westbrook, and also Kyle Weaver, & Nenad Krstic.
We will also be rooting for our favorite Blazers like Brandon Roy & Greg Oden, Jerryd Bayless, & Rudy Fernandez.
- ZenDoc
Just watched the game, thunder lost. I'm a Blazer fan but I must say I miss the I-5 rivalry. I'm as pissed the Sonics moved as any Sonics fan. It was cool seeing those fans in Green and Gold showing their support for their team, the Sonics in Seattle. Hope you guys get a new Sonics team soon so we can continue that great rivalry.
Thanks Tim.
The supe's were my whole life (almost). I hate clay!
Former Sonics marketing coordinator Matt Heuer wore a Gary Payton jersey and held his 2-year-old nephew Zach Rankin, whose innocent face hid behind a sign Heuer held up that said "Clay Bennett Ruined My Childhood."
What a great game and a great time for all of us there last night. That was really fun to be there with a 100 or more Sonics fans in Green & Gold. Someone yelled "Sooper-" and we all chanted "SONICS" several times. It was pretty loud. That was after the game had ended. I took quite a few pictures, including one of the Sonics Gals who were there. I got a picture of the guy carrying the "Clay Bennett Ruined My Childhood" sign that you were talking about, Montana, but I didn't see the 2yo. I captured a handful of other signs with my camera and some of the people there. Unfortunately, several of the pics are blurry because I opened my shutter longer due to low lighting and I wasn't using a tripod. Forunately, I still have several that are crystal clear and I can post them somewhere if you want me to.
It was great to see some of the old S.O.S. people there like Steve Pyeatt, Jeremy "Speedcat", "T.", Paul Schneiderman, & I thought I got a glimpse of Brian Robinson once, but I never saw him again, so I can't confirm that it was him. I met several people there, too, like "FriedrichNietzsche" and "Phonatic#9" from the ESPN OKC Fan board.
My hat is off to the Portland Trailblazers. They really showed some class by inviting all of us Sonics fans to go down onto the court after the game and take photos and shoot free throws and generally have a good time. They helped us in our grieving process or just helped us forget what we lost for awhile. They may also be trying to convert us to Blazer fans, which may not take much doing after last night. They have such a young and exciting team. OKC Sonics gave them a real run for their money, but tired in the 4th Quarter because they were playing the 2nd of back-to-back road games. I'd like to hear from some other people who were there and what your experience was like. It was all good for me.
Zen, if you have any pictures you think captured the mood of the night, shoot me an email at supersonicsoul at hotmail dot com. We'd be glad to run them on the site.
I was pleasantly surprised to see the reception the Blazers' staff provided. Regardless of whether it was motivated by decency or in the interests of winning over Sonic fans to the Blazer Nation, it wasn't necessary, and showed them to be good people. Kudos to Portland for last night.
Maybe this link would be better in this thread:
There is a story on ESPN about the Sonics fans experience in Portland featuring the perspective of Kevin Pelton, entitled:
The Night of the Living Sonics
Pretty cool stuff, don't you think?
- ZenDoc
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