TWell first off I think a lot of the social media stuff has come about more recently because many of them didn't exist 10 years ago. I think Twitter has been invaluable to the Here We Stay movement, if it had existed a few years ago maybe things are different, or maybe not who knows? As far as businesses and government goes I share your disappointment, i really do, but these last three years have been hell on the economy of the state. Businesses have been more focused on surviving, than paying for the Maloofs to get a new arena. Local government has been in much the same boat during this time, that's not to excuse the inaction previous to this bad economic time, but it is unfortunately what it is. The last sentence is really striking. What did the fans in Sacramento do to earn your spite?
The Kings are a business too, and they have the right to make decisions in the best interest of the team. The Kings don't belong to the city, and aren't a charity. Local businesses may have been hit from the economic downturn, but they will get hit again once this team leaves. They still have a stake in this, and yet there was no coalition to push for a new arena. In fact, may local businesses opposed efforts that included any new tax on local business to get a new building. Also, myspace and team forums have been around for years. The lack of the presence of twitter or facebook in 2005 isn't exactly hurting my point, because there still wasn't a massive community presence pushing this issue. Where were the grassroots efforts to do what the media would not: inform the public? Where were the people speaking up about why this needed to happen, and the benefits to the community? Where were the people calling out politicians for doing little more than trying to keep their jobs? And lastly, I'm not taking my anger out on the loyal fans who supported the team and realize the value of the team staying in Sac. I'm doing it mostly for the people who are/were so ignorant that they allowed this to happen. And that includes people who think a single game sellout on March 2nd, 2011 makes a difference.
I'm not not privy to what goes on behind closed doors, but are you? I can't figure out why you seem to have such a rosy view of their past negotiations when you have as little info as I do. Because I'm not privy to behind the scenes info I can only go on what is public (city council meetings news reports, public comments by the city, Maloofs and the NBA, etc). Everything that's out there available for consumption tells us that these meetings were nothing more than very general feelers that never got off the ground. So I ask you to please enlighten us with your apparent insider info on the negotiations behind closed doors.
You are the one making an unsubstantiated claim. Your view of the lack of strong campaigns shows the lack of dedication from the maloofs to stay. I challenged that because it lacks substantiating information. My point is simply this: there have been several reports of efforts over the years to get a project going, none of which panned out. That could be a sign of the difficulty and resistance of the area to the project, or as you pointed out, the lack of dedication from the Maloofs. My point is that there isn't the evidence to point the finger at the Maloofs and say their lack of efforts was the reason other projects didn't progress. And knowing Sac, it's less of a stretch to say nothing gets done here for a reason, and that without the Maloofs, we will see the same kind of lack of progress, so that tells me the lack of substantial plans for the project has more to do with the area's mentality than with the Maloofs.
Very rosy picture you're painting of our argument, but with all due respect I disagree. I'd go as far to say that your posts have pulled zero people to your side. Not only that but I also think every one of your posts have shown a blatant and some might say illogical hatred and spite at the people of Sacramento and Kings fans in general.
I haven't attacked fans of the Kings. I've attacked those in Sacramento who are responsible for how **** the area is and will always be until them and people with similar viewpoints are no longer in the area. It's a crappy town and will always be a crappy town unless you are 65 or want to raise your kid in a bubble. And that's fine if that's what the people want, which it apparently does. But that doesn't mean I have to like it, support it, or endorse those that do. So don't complain about the team leaving if that's what the community wants. If I'm going to complain about the team leaving, then I'm also going to call out the community that had a major hand in why it's no longer staying.
I do think it's adorable that you think you're winning though
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There is no winning. I pointed out facts, called out those who had their heads in the sand, and people who did didn't take very well to me pointing out their own ignorance. It's not winning, it's rather sad. I think it's quite pathetic this is the state of this team and the fanbase.
