Cheers, Hurrah and Goodnight

[Sockin'Foes]

Tip your glasses y'all.

It's been a fun ride. I've been cheering for the Supes since 1978. Many good times, many tragic losses. In this moment, I keep thinking of all those crushing defeats: Mutumbo, Chapman, Barkley, etc.... It all hurts more now. Tip your glasses. So many memories, time with friends and honeys -enjoying a game and beers on a winter night. Tip your glasses.


Sweezo, thanks for setting the tone for the best Sonic's board on the web.

I'm out!

-S'Foes

[dre_1614]

cheers to that.

[DEEP3CL]

I really feel for you guys up in the Emerald City, I'll miss the Laker - Sonic rivalry. That was really the first rivalry I got a chance to see in the mid to late 70's with Gus Williams,Dennis Johnson, Jack Sikma, Fred Brown, Lonnie Shelton, Wally Walker man those Sonics was great.

I feel very confident you guys will get a team back up there just be patient.

[Huskies1947]

May you guys + Vancouver get your teams back... never should have left the two cities to begin with.

[JayMoney20]

Wow, I've been sitting here trying to figure out what to say, and I just don't know. It's been hard for me to even sign on and comment here at RealGM over the last couple of years with the very real possibility that the team would be moving, and now the reality has come to pass. The team is gone. I will always remember the memories. I will remember listening to Dale Ellis, Xavier McDaniel, Nate McMillan, Derrick McKey and company on the radio. I'll remember Ricky "Big Paper Daddy" Pierce. I'll remember Eddie Johnson. I'll remember Sam Perkins. I'll remember Payton to Kemp. I'll remember Kemp posterizing Alton Lister for the ages. I'll remember trading McKey for Detlef Schrempf. I'll remember trading for Kendall Gill and believing he was going to be a star. I remember Kendall Gill's testicular trauma. Yikes! I'll remember winning 63 games. I'll remember seeing footage of Mutombo rolling on the floor. I'll remember crying when the Sonics lost in '95 to the Lakers. I'll remember Kemp for Pippen... and the uproar that followed that supposed deal on KJR. I'll remember the '96 run. I'll remember Shawn Kemp saying "I will never put that uniform on again." I remember good Vin Baker... and bad Vin Baker. I'll remember bringing in Ewing, Horace Grant, Chuck Person, Vernon Maxwell and a host of other veterans in hopes of putting together another run with GP. I'll remember the day the Sonics traded Payton for Allen and being devastated that day. I'll remember Ray Allen putting up a near triple-double in his first game with a Sonics uniform on. I'll remember the surprise run of 04-05. I'll remember Rashard Lewis. I'll remember Ray Allen. I'll remember hearing Kevin Calabro and all of his wonderful play-by-play.


These are just some of the things I'll remember of my favorite sports team. The Sonics have always been my first team, and now they're gone. I can't say what I'll feel about another team coming to town, or how I'll feel about the NBA in general. But I know right now, I feel terrible.

As for RealGM, I want to thank all of you for all of the conversation, even though I've never been a 20 post a day guy, I've always read the boards. I've genuinely enjoyed my time here debating how best to improve our favorite team. Sonictecture, Sweezo, Bennith, Jenn, Hippie, Downtown, soybeanboy, and so many others, even Cassius-- I'm sure some of you remember him-- it's been fun. Though we oftentimes had different opinions on how to get there, we all had one common goal of building a championship team in Seattle. For the newer posters that have carried the banner for the last few years such as BenjaminH, Wiff (and all of your pictures),and the many others I've missed, I appreciate your passion to the end. It's been fun!

[Neapolitan Buck]

Wow, I've been sitting here trying to figure out what to say, and I just don't know. It's been hard for me to even sign on and comment here at RealGM over the last couple of years with the very real possibility that the team would be moving, and now the reality has come to pass. The team is gone. I will always remember the memories. I will remember listening to Dale Ellis, Xavier McDaniel, Nate McMillan, Derrick McKey and company on the radio. I'll remember Ricky "Big Paper Daddy" Pierce. I'll remember Eddie Johnson. I'll remember Sam Perkins. I'll remember Payton to Kemp. I'll remember Kemp posterizing Alton Lister for the ages. I'll remember trading McKey for Detlef Schrempf. I'll remember trading for Kendall Gill and believing he was going to be a star. I remember Kendall Gill's testicular trauma. Yikes! I'll remember winning 63 games. I'll remember seeing footage of Mutombo rolling on the floor. I'll remember crying when the Sonics lost in '95 to the Lakers. I'll remember Kemp for Pippen... and the uproar that followed that supposed deal on KJR. I'll remember the '96 run. I'll remember Shawn Kemp saying "I will never put that uniform on again." I remember good Vin Baker... and bad Vin Baker. I'll remember bringing in Ewing, Horace Grant, Chuck Person, Vernon Maxwell and a host of other veterans in hopes of putting together another run with GP. I'll remember the day the Sonics traded Payton for Allen and being devastated that day. I'll remember Ray Allen putting up a near triple-double in his first game with a Sonics uniform on. I'll remember the surprise run of 04-05. I'll remember Rashard Lewis. I'll remember Ray Allen. I'll remember hearing Kevin Calabro and all of his wonderful play-by-play.


These are just some of the things I'll remember of my favorite sports team. The Sonics have always been my first team, and now they're gone. I can't say what I'll feel about another team coming to town, or how I'll feel about the NBA in general. But I know right now, I feel terrible.

As for RealGM, I want to thank all of you for all of the conversation, even though I've never been a 20 post a day guy, I've always read the boards. I've genuinely enjoyed my time here debating how best to improve our favorite team. Sonictecture, Sweezo, Bennith, Jenn, Hippie, Downtown, soybeanboy, and so many others, even Cassius-- I'm sure some of you remember him-- it's been fun. Though we oftentimes had different opinions on how to get there, we all had one common goal of building a championship team in Seattle. For the newer posters that have carried the banner for the last few years such as BenjaminH, Wiff (and all of your pictures),and the many others I've missed, I appreciate your passion to the end. It's been fun!

Really a beautiful post. I feel really sorry for you, I just can't believe that happened. It's such a sad day for NBA history. For every team that has been in this league for a long time, it's like losing a brother. I hope NBA basketball will return to give you those emotions someday.

[S0yb3anB0y]

Wow, I've been sitting here trying to figure out what to say, and I just don't know. It's been hard for me to even sign on and comment here at RealGM over the last couple of years with the very real possibility that the team would be moving, and now the reality has come to pass. The team is gone. I will always remember the memories. I will remember listening to Dale Ellis, Xavier McDaniel, Nate McMillan, Derrick McKey and company on the radio. I'll remember Ricky "Big Paper Daddy" Pierce. I'll remember Eddie Johnson. I'll remember Sam Perkins. I'll remember Payton to Kemp. I'll remember Kemp posterizing Alton Lister for the ages. I'll remember trading McKey for Detlef Schrempf. I'll remember trading for Kendall Gill and believing he was going to be a star. I remember Kendall Gill's testicular trauma. Yikes! I'll remember winning 63 games. I'll remember seeing footage of Mutombo rolling on the floor. I'll remember crying when the Sonics lost in '95 to the Lakers. I'll remember Kemp for Pippen... and the uproar that followed that supposed deal on KJR. I'll remember the '96 run. I'll remember Shawn Kemp saying "I will never put that uniform on again." I remember good Vin Baker... and bad Vin Baker. I'll remember bringing in Ewing, Horace Grant, Chuck Person, Vernon Maxwell and a host of other veterans in hopes of putting together another run with GP. I'll remember the day the Sonics traded Payton for Allen and being devastated that day. I'll remember Ray Allen putting up a near triple-double in his first game with a Sonics uniform on. I'll remember the surprise run of 04-05. I'll remember Rashard Lewis. I'll remember Ray Allen. I'll remember hearing Kevin Calabro and all of his wonderful play-by-play.


These are just some of the things I'll remember of my favorite sports team. The Sonics have always been my first team, and now they're gone. I can't say what I'll feel about another team coming to town, or how I'll feel about the NBA in general. But I know right now, I feel terrible.

As for RealGM, I want to thank all of you for all of the conversation, even though I've never been a 20 post a day guy, I've always read the boards. I've genuinely enjoyed my time here debating how best to improve our favorite team. Sonictecture, Sweezo, Bennith, Jenn, Hippie, Downtown, soybeanboy, and so many others, even Cassius-- I'm sure some of you remember him-- it's been fun. Though we oftentimes had different opinions on how to get there, we all had one common goal of building a championship team in Seattle. For the newer posters that have carried the banner for the last few years such as BenjaminH, Wiff (and all of your pictures),and the many others I've missed, I appreciate your passion to the end. It's been fun!

JayMoney,
Your post brought tears to me. I never did like sports until I was 9 when my friend first game me a Ricky Pierce collectors card. That was the a year before they had the best record in the league where they lost to Denver in the first round. I was not a huge fan yet but started to really like the Sonics. Kemp was my inspiration on learning how to play basketball. I would always see his highlight dunks and would go to my friends house and try to copy his dunks on a 7ft hoop.

If I could say the last time I was this emotional about the Sonics was the year they made it to the finals and faced the Bulls. They were down 3 games in the serious and prevented getting swept by winning game 4 and 5. If I could remember correctly in game 6, the sonics went down to the wire and lost a close game. I cried when the game was over. I couldn't believe how we still lost with Mac 10 slowing down Jordan. I really hated Jordan and wished he never came back from retirement. We had a dynasty and I truly believed that we would have been back in the finals and beat the Bulls. Unfortunately all hopes was lost when Kemp demanded a trade. I was terrified but still had hope that Baker would be good enough for us to make a run at the championship.

But any how, I stayed by my sonics. Every year, I could tell who is passionate about the sonics. The posters that are regulars even when the sonics were bad. We had lots of new members during our mini playoff run 2004/2005 year but most of them are gone.

Well its 4:00 AM now and it's time for bed. I lost enough sleep over this. Goodnite guys. I really thank all of you. It was a wonderful 6 years being on Realgm.

[cdcastellon1]

Im sorry for you guys, im from spain (europe) and i remember 12 years ago when i started to like basketball, a close friend supported the Seattle SuperSonics, now we are 26-25 years old and i will say him soon Seattle team is done.... thats rly sad, theses things only happen with the NBA, i expect thats the business or something ;( Kinda sad.

[DIEHARD_005]

I'm so sorry about this devestating loss for you guys in Seattle. Although I live in Toronto and I am a Raptors fan, I've been following the situation in Seattle over the past couple years or so. It's really a sad day in the NBA when a city with nearly 50 years of history can just be uprooted and taken away leaving behind a whole generation of fans who have supported the team for decades. Not to mention the employees of the Sonics organization/Key Arena some of who have probably been with the organization for years. I, like many of you guys, am hoping that KD will bolt and leave the team the first second he can and that this franchise crumbles in OKC. Stay strong guys.

[TheBobcatDan]

You guys cannot be bitter (as hard as that is) about the current players who played hard for the city of Seattle and are moving onto Oklahoma City. I didn't wish New Orleans to crumble, but I definitely was mad like you guys are now. I wanted the Hornets to succeed in New Orleans because they gave so much to the city of Charlotte that I wanted them to give the city of New Orleans the same good times as Charlotte got.

My day will come whenever the Bobcats become a contender and while this day is horrible to you, the sun will always rise the next day and I think this is going to send the motion towards another NBA franchise coming to Seattle.

[6_Rings]

wow no more basketball for Northwest fans. no Vancouver, no Seattle. guess you can all support Portland then.

[Det the Threat]

wow no more basketball for Northwest fans. no Vancouver, no Seattle. guess you can all support Portland then.

eh...not really...

As others have, i also want to thank everyone on this board, which has been great. Thanks to Sweezo, bennith and tecture for being great moderators and thanks to people like Jenn, DJtheSonicsfan, Downtown, Ex-Hippie, yearsago, wiff, HeavyP and all the others for making this forum a great place to talk Sonics basketball, during the last 4 years.

Cheers Det

[Ex-hippie]

I guess this is the goodbye thread.

Thanks to all the Supes fans for great conversation over the years -- AbdicatedReign, andreaguiar, Anjonez/TUZ, Argyle, BenjaminH, bennith13, big L, Big_Mac79, blackery, BrockEvil, CatchNShoot, chad42, colombianbrew, D5150, deen, Det the Threat, Dick Tate, djthesonicsfan, DoctorEvil, Downtown, elbowthrower, FARMERMAN10, HeavyP, Hiphophead101, jambalaya, JayMoney20, jenn_gp, jsonic007, myELFboy, Oz_Sonic, pr0wler, Relientk101, richboy, ryantony, seattlefan35, slick_watts, SnoBrdrRob, Sockin'Foes, sonic-ben, Sonics3408, Sonics-FAN, sonictecture, S0yb3anB0y, Soundbite, splifton, Sweezo, Tony Starks, Troy McClure/emraldchild, Unsupersonic, vegas_runnin_rebel, whitedolemite, wiff, yearsago, Yoshi2kx, anyone else I've forgotten (who probably hasn't posted lately; sorry).

And best wishes to some of the newer posters on this forum -- I didn't get to know your stuff that well and it's a shame, since it looks like you had some good contributions. Folks like Banana Bandit, BBen, bobcatsinfour, bruiser89, dre_1614, Kenny0873, kjtruong, london sonic, McG, nuke the whales, nwsports253, Patches Pal, RiseoftheSonics, shmin1234, and Skum. Good luck to all of you.

Thanks also to the many fans of other teams who posted their supportive words in the various relocation threads. It helped restore just a little bit of my faith in humanity.

Anybody wants to find me, I'll be on the Seahawks and Mariners boards. You can also reach me at a new email address I just created: exhippie.realgm@gmail.com. Talk about whatever. Maybe some of us can learn about hockey or something.

Definitely, if you're coming to the NY/NJ area, drop me a line and we'll grab a beer.

[Banana Bandit]

I can't believe it ends like this...

I just wanted to say that I've been a long-time lurker on RealGM. It wasn't until we got the #2 pick last year that I finally registered, I was so excited of a future with either Durant or Oden. I discovered this site a few years ago when I was in college at Western Washington University & I can honestly say that there isn't a better basketball forum out there IMO. There is no other forum with this many passionate & intelligent Sonics fans from all over the country who care so deeply about the team.

There are so many posters out there that I deeply respect and admire, you all brought something to this forum that made it so enjoyable that I had to check this site every day, even though I wasn't even registered here yet. It's sad, not only do we lose the team we love, but the forum that I loved to visit no longer becomes the place that it used to be. So to all of you guys & girls, keep your heads up high. It was fun while it lasted. Take it easy guys!

[bujabra]

Sorry about your Sonics. I liked the franchise, my darkhorse in the west.

I like Seattle, no one is moving that city anytime soon, i hope.

I hope you guys stay on the forums and contribute somehow because i've met some really cool Sonics posters scattered around the forums. I'd stay if the Celts somehow left, due to my addiction to the sport of basketball and the league.

Follow the bouncing ball.

[bennith13]

I haven't been posting as much as I used to because of the situation. I am not even sure what to really say. So many ups and downs over the years.

I have not heard anything about the forum being closed down at this point. It is possible that this forum stays open for if/when Seattle gets a new Sonics team. I know many of us said we would not support the NBA again, and I still feel that way as long as David Stern is in charge, but it is fun to talk to all of you. Just a though.

[Downtown]

It's hard to believe that I've been posting on this site since 2001. Time has flown by. Living in Vancouver and being a Grizzlies fan that went to both their inaugural game and final game, I thought that once the Grizzlies were gone and I switched loyalty to the Sonics that was it. I can't believe it's happened again!

My earliset sketchy memories of NBA basketball was watching the Sonics back in the early 70''s(yes, I guess that makes me a bit older than some). I've been a devoted Sonics fan for well over 30 years and only swayed away once we got the Grizzlies here in Vancouver. I can pick up the pieces and move on with the NBA, but I know that there's so many great basketball fans in Seattle that bitterly are now giving up on it forever. It's a shame and a travesty that big money bags can pull out the rug from under the devoted people who pay their hard earned dollars to support their teams. There was absolutely zero consideration from Clay Bennett for the history and spirit of over 40 years of the Sonics. None.

What makes it harder for me is the insult that all along it was said by the league(David Stern in particular) that a renovated arena was not acceptable and only a brand new shiny building would do. He outright threatened the city. Now that the settlement is done he goes on record and says that a renovated arena would suffice for the future. Lie, lie , lie is all his type knows. And the owner, Clay Bennett, one of the biggest liars and cheats I have ever publicly witnessed, now says that he hopes that the Ford Center can be "RENOVATED" in a timely fashion for his new toy. Hypocrite should be tattooed on his forehead.

Sorry for sounding so bitter but that's the only way I view this. It's been a big stinking pile of you know what from all the power people involved, and the ones who have paid for tickets got it up the hoop and in the end the fans really didn't matter one bit.

To the fans of all the teams, just remember that you don't matter, it's just your money that the owners care about regardless what they say. Love and support your team, but don't ever trust or think that they put the entertainment out there for you. You're just a buyer that's needed to make their business run, period.

I feel sad for the good people in this forum and sonicscentral, which I also posted in from the beginning, that now will give upon NBA basketball. There's too many names to mention but it has been a great time. I will say that I will continue to visit this site and post. I love basketball too much to let it go. But I will do so as an independant fan with no loyalty to any single team. The Sonics are not my team anymore even though I'll give my two cents worth about them, like I do about other teams.

[jenn_gp]

As the only resident "girl" on this forum, I just have to say, that it's been a great ride. Thank you Sweez, Downtown, Catch, Det, yearsago, Bennith, emraldchild (Troy McClure), Oz Sonic, 'Tect, chad42, andreguiar, Hippie (Ex-Hippie now), vegas_runnin_rebel, and Soy (Sorry--I know there's others but it's been such a long time since I first joined) for making me feel welcome and knowing that my opinion is valued on this board right from the start.

Sweezo, you have been the absolute best moderator on Realgm..always sticking up for us and there at the drop of a hat during a crisis, as you were yesterday.

Other Sonics fans who have come along our way over my past five years here on the board-- AbdicatedReign, Anjonez/TUZ, Argyle, BenjaminH, big L, Big_Mac79, blackery, BrockEvil, colombianbrew, D5150, deen, Dick Tate, djthesonicsfan, DoctorEvil, elbowthrower, FARMERMAN10, HeavyP, Hiphophead101, jambalaya, jsonic007, myELFboy, pr0wler, Relientk101, richboy, ryantony, seattlefan35, slick_watts, SnoBrdrRob, Sockin'Foes, sonic-ben, Sonics3408, Sonics-FAN, Soundbite, splifton, Tony Starks, Unsupersonic, whitedolemite, wiff, Yoshi2kx, it's been an awesome experience. Whether we've had good memories or bad, I have enjoyed the opportunity over the past five years talking about my first true love--the Sonics. Thanks for all the great memories. I will never forget--and this is the most recent happy memory I have of our time on this board, back in 2005 when it truly felt like a family in here. I will never forget, whose av I had (Nick Collison) as we tried to represent each player on the board.

I have spent countless hours on this forum, created so many memories, it is tough to say goodbye. I am not sure what else to do or say at this point. I will not continue to post on this board when it comes to basketball. While I wish players like Nick, Luke, Kevin, Jeff, and people who have been life-long Seattlites like Mark St. Yves who have to try to possibly pack up and leave for a different city. Most of all, I wish Kevin Calabro the best of luck. I will be able to tell my kids that I grew up getting to listen to him. He is like no other, truly one of a kind and no one can call a game better than him.

I am not sure if I will be able to get into the Mariners at this point (more of a casual fan over the past few years), and I have never been a die-hard when it comes to the Seahawks. The Sonics were pretty much all I had. Maybe I will peek in those forums on realgm just to say hi to all of you every now and then. But my days posting on this Sonics forum are sadly coming to a close.

So thank you to each and every one of you and goodbye.

[yearsago]

Oh my goodness.

Here we are.

This really really sucks.

Everyone before me has listed out all the great names and fans of this forum over the past 6 years for me already.

Just wanted to thank all of you for having me here, seriously, after SC went down the first time (when Kevin Pelton was running the place), RealGM was my home.

Memories, lots and lots of memories.

Rally in the Alley at Jalisico's with KJR, All the songs created (Not in our house, supersonics, oh yeah!).

LA Sucks, and everything else that I remember (which I can't remember right now).

The one thing that I still remember was the tagline from Apollo 13 (the movie), when we were beating up Houston up and down the court...Tom Hanks saying "Houston we have a problem"

Argh.

So now what?

Oh and one more thing, a big shout out to Brian and Steve and everyone else with SOS.

[Joel Embust]

Man, I really don't know what to say after all that has happened in such little time. You guys have said it all already. There are so many memories, the good, the bad, they're all worth it. I was a little kid during the Payton/Kemp era so I couldn't enjoy it. I've seen tapes though, that makes it even harder to believe that a franchise with such great success, so many great memories and such a good reputation around the league has to go. At least we have our memories.

I want to thank the realgm crew for creating this place where we can interact with other dedicated fans. It is the best board by far, with people who actually know what they are talking about. I've been here since 2001/2002. (Had tons of nicknames in the beginning ) It was part of my routine, wake up, have a cup of tea and go to the Sonics board on realgm.

I want to thank all of you (I had this big list of members but it would be unfair to those who I forgot) for visiting this board regularly and sharing your opinion and emotions with us. It has been fun, even though things weren't going that well in the recent years.

I will always bleed green and gold.