I would like to thank my good friend Jovan Heer for taking the time to write this post on the situation Seattle is facing. No, nothing serious just the fact that Seattle has been without an NBA team since 2008 and hasn't had an NHL back since the Seattle Metropolitains back in 1924. The Metropolitains became the first American team to win the Stanley Cup back in the 1917 beating the Montreal Canadians in 4 games in a best of 5 series. You can follow Jovan on Twitter @JovanHeer, he's happy to give his "professional" take on the Vancouver Canucks during the game. Bellow are his words, that's why I put them in bold lettering.
The Seattle Seahawks are on their way to the Super Bowl for only the second time in franchise history and all of Seattle is going absolutely insane over the team. The team has had an amazing amount of support throughout the years, this year more then ever. The last time the Seahawks were in the Super Bowl was back in 2006, where they lost to both the Pittsburgh Steelers and the refs 21-10. The team has worked so hard this season winning the NFC West and just recently winning one of the hardest fought NFC Championship games anyone has ever seen against the San Francisco 49ers.
The 12th Man is being talked about all over the world and you see it on the back of jerseys, home decorations, and even on the side of buildings. Century Link Field may be the loudest stadium in the NFL with the greatest fans, this season the fans broke the record for the loudest crowd in a game against the 49ers and then after the Chiefs fans broke the record the 12th Man broke the record again.
So that leaves us with the question, if the Seahawks win the Super Bowl will that open the door for an NBA and/or NHL team to arrive in Seattle? With a new arena in Seattle and with stable owners the city could support an NBA team again because of the passion that the fans in Seattle show towards both a departed NBA team and no NHL team. If a city can gather around a team and show as much and support for a team as they do for the Seahawks and the Mariners, it could open a door for another franchise coming in.
David Stern is set to retire from the NBA and I know a lot of Sonics fans are saying "Good ridden". In early February last year he was quoted saying "We're not focused on expansion at the moment. It wouldn't surprise me if Commissioner Silver was looking at strong applications from Las Vegas and Seattle in the coming years.", so that gives all those in Seattle hope for at least an NBA team in the upcoming years.
I personally don't see Las Vegas acquiring a team over a city like Seattle, just because of the limited fan base. Besides there's way too many things to do in Vegas, I mean who's going to want to go to an NBA game when they can go watch celebrities perform and lose all their money? Even when the SuperSonics were in around they were averaging 15,000 fans a game and around 600,000+ fans a season. The team was just starting to play well when Clay Bennett decided to team up with Stern and move the Sonics out of Seattle and breaking the hearts of thousands of Sonic fans. Since they have moved to Oklahoma City they have improve year after year and even earned a trip the NBA Finals 2 years ago but lost to the Miami Heat (no complaints).
Only time will tell if Seattle gets an NBA back, but nothing will change until the soon to be Commissioner of the NBA gets adjusted to the new position. On to the National Hockey League, Commissioner Gary Bettman is always reluctant to the idea of relocating teams even when in doubt.....just look at the Phoenix Coyotes situation. They have been losing money for several years and instead of folding the team and relocating it they have instead decided to pay for it until the new owner was found and lost money because of it.
Teams like Florida, Columbus, and Dallas are struggling to put fans in the seats but that may be because of the teams being down in the standings. That may open the door to them relocating any of these teams to a new city, but that doesn't mean it will be in Seattle. There are other cities in the US and Canada looking at the potential of also getting an expansion team or getting one of those franchise like Quebec City and Kansas City. In conclusion it will be easier to get an NBA team then an NHL team but both are something that fans might end up getting in the long run with it being a great opportunity to grow the city of Seattle once again.
Showing posts with label Seattle Sonics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seattle Sonics. Show all posts
Saturday, January 25, 2014
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
A boy and his dog
In the Christmas of 1998 my grandparents got me one of the greatest gifts an 8 year old could get, his first dog. They got me a 4 month old golden retriever puppy and they presented him to me in an awesome fashion, they made me close my eyes and yell out his name "Chewy" and as soon as I yelled it out he ran into the room and jumped into my lap and we were instantly best buds from the first moment we met.
Now yes I know I was eight but as an eight year old a dog was something I had been waiting for, for at least the last 2 birthdays and Christmas's so you can understand how me and my first dog were best friends from the first moment he licked my face.
That first night he spent the night in my bed after I begged my parents to death to have him sleep with me the first night. During the first few months it was tough, only because I wasn't used to cleaning up dog poo once a week but me and my parents were able to house train him. After a few months 1998 turned into 1999 and that year marked a few things in Seattle sports, it marked the end of the Kingdome and the beginning of Safeco Field, the final year of Ken Griffey, Jr. in Seattle, and the first year of the Mike Holmgrem era for the Seahawks. So, not only did I get a furry best bud but some interesting sporting events happened so it was a fun first year with my awesome dog.
Now during the 1999 year before I went to any game Chewy would always come up to me not wanting me to leave and I would always say to him "Don't worry I'll be back later buddy" and we would always jump up with his paws on my shoulders and just lick my face trying to get me to stay home but it never worked though.
The first time he did that was the 22 run massacre the Mariners gave the Detroit Tigers. It became a tradition that before every game I went to he would always give me the "lick of death" and that year the Mariners went 11-1 to the games I went to. Chewy's lick of death was always good luck even when it came to the Seahawks game. I went to only one Seahawks game that year and he gave me the ol' lick of death and the Seahawks won that game, and in fact it was the final regular season game that was ever played in the Kingdome by the Seahawks as they beat the Kansas City Cheifs 23-14. So Chewy was basically one of the best and luckiest dogs any nine year old could have.
The next year in 2000 marked another successful "lick of luck" as I called it, after the successful '99 year. The year began with Chewy giving me the lick of luck during the game where the Seattle Sonics secured a spot in the 2000 NBA playoffs so the year got off to a great start. The lick of luck would work twice in the playoffs but the next game I forgot to get a big slobbery kiss from Chewy and the Sonics would lose Game 5 to the Utah Jazz 96-93. So since basketball season was done we moved to baseball season and so the lick of luck came useful in the Toronto Blue Jays series as the Mariners swept the Blue Jays 11-9, 17-6, and 19-7. During that season I went to 16 games and the lick of luck came in handy as me and Chewy had a record of 13-3.
The Mariners would squeeze their way into the playoffs and the bad part about being nine years old is you have elementary school and thanks to me being the biggest littlest Mariners fan in school I asked the principal if I could have a cable TV in my classroom that way I could keep an eye on the ball game. Thanks to being a huge sports nut he allowed it and thanks to three licks of luck by Chewy the Mariners swept the Chicago White Sox but the lick of luck didn't help that much in the Championship Series as the Mariners lost in 6 games.
The Seahawks didn't have a great 2000 season going 6-10 but the lick of luck came in handy as Chewy gave me an extra slobbery kiss when the Seahawks ended their 5 game losing streak against the San Diego Chargers. The lucky slobbery kiss also helped when the Seahawks beat the always hated Oakland Raiders 27-24. The Sonics would have a decent year and a few wins came on the lucky slobbery love of Chewy's kisses as they finished the season at 44-38. Then came the Mariners season, well the slobbery love from Chewy was luckier then ever! The Mariners would win an MLB record 116 games but would lose in the Championship Series to the Yankees again but this time in only 5 games. That year going to Mariners games me and Chewy were a perfect 10-0!
During 2001 the Nisqually earthquake would happen and the morning of the earthquake Chewy was acting very unusual as he asked to go outside ran around the yard then asked to come back in, then 5 minutes later asked again to go out and did the same thing again. So, during that 30 seconds of fear as an 11 year old kid I was only wondering if my mom and dad were ok and if Chewy was ok. The school let us go home early and as soon as I get into the house there Chewy is just sitting there with this look on his furry face that says "I tried to tell yeah but you didn't listen".
Anyways lets move onto 2002 shall I? The Sonics 2001-02 season would see the playoffs and the lick of luck didn't seem to work as the Sonics fell to the San Antonio Spurs in 5 games. The Mariners would see success but missed the playoffs and finished the season at 93-69 and the Seahawks would have another tough season.
At the end of the Seahawks season Chewy began to show signs that something was wrong with him. After two months of making trips to the vet office the doctors announced that Chewy had had a rare bone and muscle cancer. The doctors gave Chewy 3 months to live, and so in January I made the hardest choice of my life and told my parents that I wanted Chewy to be put down out of his misery.
The day came and as I sat there with Chewy knowing that he would be gone in a few minutes I took the time to remember every great memory I had with him and all the great times we had and the luck that his kisses brought to a lot of games I watched and went to. As the vets were getting ready to inject Chewy, he looked at me and gave me one last slobbery kiss.
I didn't wipe the slobber away all I did was hug him and didn't let go. The vets inject the serum and Chewy slowly slipped away and I never stopped hugging him and as Chewy was gone my parents left me alone with him and I just lay there with him for about 5 minutes and as I got up to leave the room I said only three words to him "I love you".
That day I lost a best friend and a great dog but I still remember everything we did and all the times we spent sleeping together, playing together and watching sports together. But even though he's gone I always have kept every memory of my first dog and first furry best friend.
RIP Chewy.
Now yes I know I was eight but as an eight year old a dog was something I had been waiting for, for at least the last 2 birthdays and Christmas's so you can understand how me and my first dog were best friends from the first moment he licked my face.
That first night he spent the night in my bed after I begged my parents to death to have him sleep with me the first night. During the first few months it was tough, only because I wasn't used to cleaning up dog poo once a week but me and my parents were able to house train him. After a few months 1998 turned into 1999 and that year marked a few things in Seattle sports, it marked the end of the Kingdome and the beginning of Safeco Field, the final year of Ken Griffey, Jr. in Seattle, and the first year of the Mike Holmgrem era for the Seahawks. So, not only did I get a furry best bud but some interesting sporting events happened so it was a fun first year with my awesome dog.
Now during the 1999 year before I went to any game Chewy would always come up to me not wanting me to leave and I would always say to him "Don't worry I'll be back later buddy" and we would always jump up with his paws on my shoulders and just lick my face trying to get me to stay home but it never worked though.
The first time he did that was the 22 run massacre the Mariners gave the Detroit Tigers. It became a tradition that before every game I went to he would always give me the "lick of death" and that year the Mariners went 11-1 to the games I went to. Chewy's lick of death was always good luck even when it came to the Seahawks game. I went to only one Seahawks game that year and he gave me the ol' lick of death and the Seahawks won that game, and in fact it was the final regular season game that was ever played in the Kingdome by the Seahawks as they beat the Kansas City Cheifs 23-14. So Chewy was basically one of the best and luckiest dogs any nine year old could have.
The next year in 2000 marked another successful "lick of luck" as I called it, after the successful '99 year. The year began with Chewy giving me the lick of luck during the game where the Seattle Sonics secured a spot in the 2000 NBA playoffs so the year got off to a great start. The lick of luck would work twice in the playoffs but the next game I forgot to get a big slobbery kiss from Chewy and the Sonics would lose Game 5 to the Utah Jazz 96-93. So since basketball season was done we moved to baseball season and so the lick of luck came useful in the Toronto Blue Jays series as the Mariners swept the Blue Jays 11-9, 17-6, and 19-7. During that season I went to 16 games and the lick of luck came in handy as me and Chewy had a record of 13-3.
The Mariners would squeeze their way into the playoffs and the bad part about being nine years old is you have elementary school and thanks to me being the biggest littlest Mariners fan in school I asked the principal if I could have a cable TV in my classroom that way I could keep an eye on the ball game. Thanks to being a huge sports nut he allowed it and thanks to three licks of luck by Chewy the Mariners swept the Chicago White Sox but the lick of luck didn't help that much in the Championship Series as the Mariners lost in 6 games.
The Seahawks didn't have a great 2000 season going 6-10 but the lick of luck came in handy as Chewy gave me an extra slobbery kiss when the Seahawks ended their 5 game losing streak against the San Diego Chargers. The lucky slobbery kiss also helped when the Seahawks beat the always hated Oakland Raiders 27-24. The Sonics would have a decent year and a few wins came on the lucky slobbery love of Chewy's kisses as they finished the season at 44-38. Then came the Mariners season, well the slobbery love from Chewy was luckier then ever! The Mariners would win an MLB record 116 games but would lose in the Championship Series to the Yankees again but this time in only 5 games. That year going to Mariners games me and Chewy were a perfect 10-0!
During 2001 the Nisqually earthquake would happen and the morning of the earthquake Chewy was acting very unusual as he asked to go outside ran around the yard then asked to come back in, then 5 minutes later asked again to go out and did the same thing again. So, during that 30 seconds of fear as an 11 year old kid I was only wondering if my mom and dad were ok and if Chewy was ok. The school let us go home early and as soon as I get into the house there Chewy is just sitting there with this look on his furry face that says "I tried to tell yeah but you didn't listen".
Anyways lets move onto 2002 shall I? The Sonics 2001-02 season would see the playoffs and the lick of luck didn't seem to work as the Sonics fell to the San Antonio Spurs in 5 games. The Mariners would see success but missed the playoffs and finished the season at 93-69 and the Seahawks would have another tough season.
At the end of the Seahawks season Chewy began to show signs that something was wrong with him. After two months of making trips to the vet office the doctors announced that Chewy had had a rare bone and muscle cancer. The doctors gave Chewy 3 months to live, and so in January I made the hardest choice of my life and told my parents that I wanted Chewy to be put down out of his misery.
The day came and as I sat there with Chewy knowing that he would be gone in a few minutes I took the time to remember every great memory I had with him and all the great times we had and the luck that his kisses brought to a lot of games I watched and went to. As the vets were getting ready to inject Chewy, he looked at me and gave me one last slobbery kiss.
I didn't wipe the slobber away all I did was hug him and didn't let go. The vets inject the serum and Chewy slowly slipped away and I never stopped hugging him and as Chewy was gone my parents left me alone with him and I just lay there with him for about 5 minutes and as I got up to leave the room I said only three words to him "I love you".
That day I lost a best friend and a great dog but I still remember everything we did and all the times we spent sleeping together, playing together and watching sports together. But even though he's gone I always have kept every memory of my first dog and first furry best friend.
RIP Chewy.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Flashback Friday: The Kid
In 1994 I had just moved back to Washington after spending 2 years in California. It was spring time when me and my mom and dad moved back so baseball was about to start. Now, when I moved back I didn't know anyone and I didn't have any interests in anything so I was one of those shy kids. At the time of the move back to Washington spring training had started for the Mariners and at the time I was not into sports of any kind, but one day my grandma called me into the living room and she sat me down and turned onto the first Mariners game of the 1994 season.
Now for the first three games I didn't show any interest in the team but the fourth game of the year changed my life forever. In the top of the fourth inning a young slugger by the name of Ken Griffey, Jr., stepped in and drove a deep drive for his first homerun of the season, when I saw that homerun hit with the sweetest swing in baseball I immediately fell in love not with just the Seattle Mariners but with Ken Griffey, Jr. Now, Griffey made me love the game of baseball even more in the top of the seventh inning by hitting another sweet swing homerun of the year. Unfortunately the Mariners lost the game 8-6 but I was instantly hooked on the team.
The 1994 baseball season was cut short due to the players strike but after that year I would become not just a fan of the Mariners but a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Supersonics. I had the privilege of watching my first Seahawks game with my grandmother as well and got to see them dominate the Washington Redskins 28-7! The Supersonics did the same thing to me in their first game as I got to watch both Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp beat the Utah Jazz 110-101. My love for sports grew so much in one year and every since 1994 I have not stopped loving the game of baseball, football, or basketball.
1995 would see my love for the Mariners reach a new height, I watch the team go to their first playoff series in their franchise history but I also attended the team's home opener. That first game would be amazing for me being a 5 year old, when Griffey came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning I cheered my loudest and told my dad that Griffey would hit his first homerun of the year and Jr., didn't disappoint as he hit a 3-run homerun to put the M's up 3-0 on the Detroit Tigers and Randy Johnson also dealt an incredible game throwing 6 innings of shutout baseball and striking out 8 batters.
The scare of my young life came in that game where Griffey raced to make one of the greatest catches of his career but on that play Griffey broke his left wrist and would be sidelined for 72 games. Once Griffey made his return the Mariners pulled together to make a late season surge to take their first American League West title. The 1995 Division Series was just as nerve racking as the season was but as a 5 year old you would think that I wouldn't pay much attention but your dead wrong, my eyes were glued to the screen and everything my grandmother did I did. Going into Game 3 we were worried that we would be swepted by the New York Yankees, but that would not be the case. The Mariners made sure that they would continue their new slogan "Refuse To Lose" and came back from a 2-0 deficit in the series and won the series to move on to their first American League Championship Series against the winningest team in baseball that year the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners would lose in 6 games.
The 95 season would see the Seahawks finish 8-8 but would see the Sonics go 66-14 and would lose in the NBA Finals in 6 games to the 72-10 Chicago Bulls.
Now the blog is named The Kid for a reason, because Ken Griffey, Jr., was the reason I got into sports. From 96-99 season I attended 100 games in the Kingdome and I also attended the final Kingdome game where Griffey would hit one more homerun in the beloved stadium. Griffey was not just a player to me, he was a God and he was then and still my favorite player and hero. When I played on a baseball team I made sure I was the first one to snatch up the number 24 and I continued to wear that number with every baseball team I played for. When Jr., was traded away to Cincinnati I was devastated and I wrote him a letter telling him he was the reason I watched Mariners baseball, and he actually wrote me back saying in the letter "I appreciate your letter and your interest in baseball. Because of the thousands of letters I receive each week, it is not possible to respond to each one personally. I am enclosing you a special baseball card, and hope that you enjoy following the Mariners and Major League Baseball. Best wishes from your hero Ken Griffey Jr." After I received that letter I told myself to not to continue loving the Mariners but to also following him as his career continued in Cincinnati.
The 2000 Mariners season saw Mike Cameron make plays that made me just love the Mariners still and the team made a great American League Wild Card champion run in the playoffs by sweeping the Chicago White Sox but falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. Griffey had a terrific 2000 batting .271 slugging out 40 homeruns and batting in 118 RBIs. Over the next 4 years would see Jr.'s superstardom decline as the injuries crept up on the aging superstar. 2004 would see Griffey hit his 500th homerun of his career on Father's Day. 2005 would see Griffey renew his career by hitting 35 homeruns and driving in 85 RBIs and winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year. 2006 would see Griffey play well again and he would play for Team USA in the first World Baseball Classic, as he batted .524 and hit 3 homeruns but the USA failed to make the semifinals, Griffey would make the All WBC Team and would finish tied for the most RBIs in the tournament with 10.
The regular season Griffey would hit 27 homeruns and drive in 72 RBIs. After both the 2007 and 2008 season the Mariners announced the signing of Griffey and as I knew this day would come again I celebrated all night. I attended 18 games that year at Safeco Field and I was able to watch Griffey hit 8 homeruns in those 18 games, he would finish the year off 19 homeruns. The next year Griffey signed again with the team but it would turn out to be the worst season of his career as he would not hit any homeruns and batted a mediocre .184, in the middle of the season Griffey just left the state of Washington and announce that his career was done.
It was a sad day when my hero retired, I admit that I did cry knowing that I would not see that sweet swing anymore. Ken Griffey, Jr., was not just a player to me, he was an inspiration, he was a terrific athlete, he was my hero, and he is the reason that I have a great love of baseball and sports. If I never would've watched that one game in 1994 I don't think I would've never gotten into sports or have a love for the Seattle teams. So to Ken Griffey, Jr., I want to thank you for being that one inspiration I needed to develop such a love for the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks, the Seattle SuperSonics, and for getting me involved in playing sports.
Thank you Jr., for everything that you have done for me. For making me fall in love with the game of baseball and for making me a Seattle Mariners fan.
Now for the first three games I didn't show any interest in the team but the fourth game of the year changed my life forever. In the top of the fourth inning a young slugger by the name of Ken Griffey, Jr., stepped in and drove a deep drive for his first homerun of the season, when I saw that homerun hit with the sweetest swing in baseball I immediately fell in love not with just the Seattle Mariners but with Ken Griffey, Jr. Now, Griffey made me love the game of baseball even more in the top of the seventh inning by hitting another sweet swing homerun of the year. Unfortunately the Mariners lost the game 8-6 but I was instantly hooked on the team.
The 1994 baseball season was cut short due to the players strike but after that year I would become not just a fan of the Mariners but a fan of the Seattle Seahawks and the Seattle Supersonics. I had the privilege of watching my first Seahawks game with my grandmother as well and got to see them dominate the Washington Redskins 28-7! The Supersonics did the same thing to me in their first game as I got to watch both Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp beat the Utah Jazz 110-101. My love for sports grew so much in one year and every since 1994 I have not stopped loving the game of baseball, football, or basketball.
1995 would see my love for the Mariners reach a new height, I watch the team go to their first playoff series in their franchise history but I also attended the team's home opener. That first game would be amazing for me being a 5 year old, when Griffey came up to the plate in the bottom of the fifth inning I cheered my loudest and told my dad that Griffey would hit his first homerun of the year and Jr., didn't disappoint as he hit a 3-run homerun to put the M's up 3-0 on the Detroit Tigers and Randy Johnson also dealt an incredible game throwing 6 innings of shutout baseball and striking out 8 batters.
The scare of my young life came in that game where Griffey raced to make one of the greatest catches of his career but on that play Griffey broke his left wrist and would be sidelined for 72 games. Once Griffey made his return the Mariners pulled together to make a late season surge to take their first American League West title. The 1995 Division Series was just as nerve racking as the season was but as a 5 year old you would think that I wouldn't pay much attention but your dead wrong, my eyes were glued to the screen and everything my grandmother did I did. Going into Game 3 we were worried that we would be swepted by the New York Yankees, but that would not be the case. The Mariners made sure that they would continue their new slogan "Refuse To Lose" and came back from a 2-0 deficit in the series and won the series to move on to their first American League Championship Series against the winningest team in baseball that year the Cleveland Indians. The Mariners would lose in 6 games.
The 95 season would see the Seahawks finish 8-8 but would see the Sonics go 66-14 and would lose in the NBA Finals in 6 games to the 72-10 Chicago Bulls.
Now the blog is named The Kid for a reason, because Ken Griffey, Jr., was the reason I got into sports. From 96-99 season I attended 100 games in the Kingdome and I also attended the final Kingdome game where Griffey would hit one more homerun in the beloved stadium. Griffey was not just a player to me, he was a God and he was then and still my favorite player and hero. When I played on a baseball team I made sure I was the first one to snatch up the number 24 and I continued to wear that number with every baseball team I played for. When Jr., was traded away to Cincinnati I was devastated and I wrote him a letter telling him he was the reason I watched Mariners baseball, and he actually wrote me back saying in the letter "I appreciate your letter and your interest in baseball. Because of the thousands of letters I receive each week, it is not possible to respond to each one personally. I am enclosing you a special baseball card, and hope that you enjoy following the Mariners and Major League Baseball. Best wishes from your hero Ken Griffey Jr." After I received that letter I told myself to not to continue loving the Mariners but to also following him as his career continued in Cincinnati.
The 2000 Mariners season saw Mike Cameron make plays that made me just love the Mariners still and the team made a great American League Wild Card champion run in the playoffs by sweeping the Chicago White Sox but falling to the Yankees in the ALCS. Griffey had a terrific 2000 batting .271 slugging out 40 homeruns and batting in 118 RBIs. Over the next 4 years would see Jr.'s superstardom decline as the injuries crept up on the aging superstar. 2004 would see Griffey hit his 500th homerun of his career on Father's Day. 2005 would see Griffey renew his career by hitting 35 homeruns and driving in 85 RBIs and winning the National League Comeback Player of the Year. 2006 would see Griffey play well again and he would play for Team USA in the first World Baseball Classic, as he batted .524 and hit 3 homeruns but the USA failed to make the semifinals, Griffey would make the All WBC Team and would finish tied for the most RBIs in the tournament with 10.
The regular season Griffey would hit 27 homeruns and drive in 72 RBIs. After both the 2007 and 2008 season the Mariners announced the signing of Griffey and as I knew this day would come again I celebrated all night. I attended 18 games that year at Safeco Field and I was able to watch Griffey hit 8 homeruns in those 18 games, he would finish the year off 19 homeruns. The next year Griffey signed again with the team but it would turn out to be the worst season of his career as he would not hit any homeruns and batted a mediocre .184, in the middle of the season Griffey just left the state of Washington and announce that his career was done.
It was a sad day when my hero retired, I admit that I did cry knowing that I would not see that sweet swing anymore. Ken Griffey, Jr., was not just a player to me, he was an inspiration, he was a terrific athlete, he was my hero, and he is the reason that I have a great love of baseball and sports. If I never would've watched that one game in 1994 I don't think I would've never gotten into sports or have a love for the Seattle teams. So to Ken Griffey, Jr., I want to thank you for being that one inspiration I needed to develop such a love for the Seattle Mariners, the Seattle Seahawks, the Seattle SuperSonics, and for getting me involved in playing sports.
Thank you Jr., for everything that you have done for me. For making me fall in love with the game of baseball and for making me a Seattle Mariners fan.
Friday, May 10, 2013
Flashback Friday: A Sonics finale
So the year is 2008, and for most of the basketball year myself and other Seattle Sonics fans have been in suspense for the most of the year. The reason why is because the new owner of the Sonics and a full time Nazi Clay Bennett was trying to relocate the team to his home of Oklahoma City. The city of Seattle wouldn't give out the money to build the new arena for the team but the fans were gathering and chanting "Save Our Sonics! Save Our Sonics! Save Our Sonics!". I went to 10
Sonics games that year and during that year I actually met the greatest Seattle fan Big Lo (BigLo66). Now during the 2007-08 Sonics season was one to forget, but the good news was that Kevin Durant was making a name for himself.
The Sonics though did not play the greatest season ever going 20-62 for the whole season. But that's not the point of this flashback Friday blog, the point of this blog was the last Seattle Sonics home game I ever went to was the final and last one. Now the 10 games I went to that year were very memorable. The first game I went to the Sonics lost by 2 points to the Utah Jazz after Carlos Boozer made a 17 footer with 17 seconds left. Next game I went to they won their first home game against the Indiana Pacers as Kevin Durant put down 35 in a 95-93 win.
Ok I've told you the first two games that I went to, now lets get to the final game. I bought my ticket and decided that after this game, win or lose, I would save the ticket, because I knew that this would probably be the last home game that the Sonics will ever play at KeyArena. Before the game began I decided to head to the team store and with only $100 in my pocket that my parents gave me.......well ok I basically coned them by asking them both for $50. Anyways I headed to the Team Store knowing that I had to grab some gear before the game and before the team moved to Oklahoma City.
I was able to grab a Sonics hat, a Ray Allen jersey, and a Rashard Lewis jersey. Now how much did I pay you ask, only $46.86 not bad for a hat and two jerseys huh? Well after that I grabbed a quick slice a pizza and then headed down to the court to try and get some autographs......didn't really work out for me but I did manage to have a cool chat with Luke Ridnour but for some reason I forgot to ask him to sign my basketball. So after all the exciting pre game stuff I did I headed to my seat and I actually sat in the same spot I sat in the last win, which was only 7 days ago when the Sonics won 151-147 in overtime.
So after all the pre game rituals tipoff began and the Dallas Mavericks took the first quarter easily outscoring the Sonics 26-19. Now the Sonics took the second quarter with Jeff Green scoring 7 points and Damien Wilkins scored all 12 of his points as well. The Sonics came out of the locker room and again outscored the Mavs 31-27 and lead 81-78. Now during most of that season whenever the Sonics had the lead going into the 4th quarter they found someway to blow the lead and lose the game. This game was different both teams didn't shoot well in the fourth quarter but in the final minute of the final Sonics home game, the crowd of 16,272 including myself got up and started chanting, Save Our Sonics, Save Our Sonics, Save Our Sonics. The final buzzer sounded and after that the Sonics waved their final goodbye's to the fans and the city of Seattle and traveled to Golden State and won their final game in franchise history 126-121 on Kevin Durant's then career high 42 points.
Since then the KeyArena has only been home to the Storm and lets face it......who cares about the WNBA anymore? Seattle fans have been without a team since 08 but Chris Hansen continues to give the Seattle faithful hope as he put down another $75 million today on the Sacramento Kings. So when will we see the Sonics play again in Seattle? Only time will tell.
Sonics games that year and during that year I actually met the greatest Seattle fan Big Lo (BigLo66). Now during the 2007-08 Sonics season was one to forget, but the good news was that Kevin Durant was making a name for himself.
The Sonics though did not play the greatest season ever going 20-62 for the whole season. But that's not the point of this flashback Friday blog, the point of this blog was the last Seattle Sonics home game I ever went to was the final and last one. Now the 10 games I went to that year were very memorable. The first game I went to the Sonics lost by 2 points to the Utah Jazz after Carlos Boozer made a 17 footer with 17 seconds left. Next game I went to they won their first home game against the Indiana Pacers as Kevin Durant put down 35 in a 95-93 win.
Ok I've told you the first two games that I went to, now lets get to the final game. I bought my ticket and decided that after this game, win or lose, I would save the ticket, because I knew that this would probably be the last home game that the Sonics will ever play at KeyArena. Before the game began I decided to head to the team store and with only $100 in my pocket that my parents gave me.......well ok I basically coned them by asking them both for $50. Anyways I headed to the Team Store knowing that I had to grab some gear before the game and before the team moved to Oklahoma City.
I was able to grab a Sonics hat, a Ray Allen jersey, and a Rashard Lewis jersey. Now how much did I pay you ask, only $46.86 not bad for a hat and two jerseys huh? Well after that I grabbed a quick slice a pizza and then headed down to the court to try and get some autographs......didn't really work out for me but I did manage to have a cool chat with Luke Ridnour but for some reason I forgot to ask him to sign my basketball. So after all the exciting pre game stuff I did I headed to my seat and I actually sat in the same spot I sat in the last win, which was only 7 days ago when the Sonics won 151-147 in overtime.
So after all the pre game rituals tipoff began and the Dallas Mavericks took the first quarter easily outscoring the Sonics 26-19. Now the Sonics took the second quarter with Jeff Green scoring 7 points and Damien Wilkins scored all 12 of his points as well. The Sonics came out of the locker room and again outscored the Mavs 31-27 and lead 81-78. Now during most of that season whenever the Sonics had the lead going into the 4th quarter they found someway to blow the lead and lose the game. This game was different both teams didn't shoot well in the fourth quarter but in the final minute of the final Sonics home game, the crowd of 16,272 including myself got up and started chanting, Save Our Sonics, Save Our Sonics, Save Our Sonics. The final buzzer sounded and after that the Sonics waved their final goodbye's to the fans and the city of Seattle and traveled to Golden State and won their final game in franchise history 126-121 on Kevin Durant's then career high 42 points.
Since then the KeyArena has only been home to the Storm and lets face it......who cares about the WNBA anymore? Seattle fans have been without a team since 08 but Chris Hansen continues to give the Seattle faithful hope as he put down another $75 million today on the Sacramento Kings. So when will we see the Sonics play again in Seattle? Only time will tell.
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About Me
Im a huge Seattle sports nut. Thats basically about me. But im an upcoming blogger who writes only about the Mariners, Seahawks, Sounders, and when they come back the Sonics. Now if you would like me to write about something tweet me and i will write it. Now i should mark that im also Irish and have a beard that is feared above Brian Wilson's beard. His beard can kiss my beard's ass!