I can't blame Bennett

S0yb3anB0y · Post #1 » by **S0yb3anB0y** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 2:09 am

After a horrible last week, I am starting to accept the fact that the Sonics are leaving to OKC. I don't blame Clay for taking my team away from me. He and his companion are devoted loyal basketball fans from OKC. These OKC residence seem to be more supportive about having a basketball team than us Seattle people. It really hurts to say this but Bennett and OKC deserve the sonics just as much as us Hardcore Seattle Super Sonic fans. They went through hell and back for this team. Their tactics on moving the sonics is the only reason why they should be at fault on not having the sonics. I think I will support OKC and their new basketball team. At least I hope they don't bail out on the Sonics when the team will suck for at least another 2 season. If OKC does bail out, I WILL REALLY HATE OK period and will root against every sports team they have.

Dick Tate · Post #2 » by **Dick Tate** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 2:13 am

You're insane.

TheUrbanZealot · Post #3 » by **TheUrbanZealot** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 3:04 am

Dick Tate wrote:You're insane.

Eh, that's kind of immature. I agree w/ the poster. I mean Clay Bennett wanted to move the franchise all along. So what? If it wasn't sold to him to begin with, we wouldn't be in this predicament. Further, OKC fans have been getting a real bad rap, as though they' are at fault for stealing "our" franchise.

Bennett is only at fault for lying to the public- but then again, what else could he have done? If he says he wanted to leave from the get-go, he risks a complete boycott. He may be a liar, prick, whatever, but he's a businessman and he did what normal businessmen do- do what's best for his long term interests.

Schultz, on the other hand, is the one whom we should direct our angst towards. Not only did he lie, not only is Seattle HIS city, not only did he not make an attempt to front some of his own millions for a stadium, but he sold Seattle out to a group he KNEW was chomping at the bit to get them out. He's basically trying to play hero / get more money at the same time...

Post #4 » by **Sweezo** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 3:33 am

TheUrbanZealot wrote:
Eh, that's kind of immature. I agree w/ the poster. I mean Clay Bennett wanted to move the franchise all along. So what? If it wasn't sold to him to begin with, we wouldn't be in this predicament. Further, OKC fans have been getting a real bad rap, as though they' are at fault for stealing "our" franchise.

Bennett is only at fault for lying to the public- but then again, what else could he have done? If he says he wanted to leave from the get-go, he risks a complete boycott. He may be a liar, prick, whatever, but he's a businessman and he did what normal businessmen do- do what's best for his long term interests.

Schultz, on the other hand, is the one whom we should direct our angst towards. Not only did he lie, not only is Seattle HIS city, not only did he not make an attempt to front some of his own millions for a stadium, but he sold Seattle out to a group he KNEW was chomping at the bit to get them out. He's basically trying to play hero / get more money at the same time...

If only there were a forum for pro-OKC people like you and Soy to post on...if only...

Hardzy · Post #5 » by **Hardzy** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 4:18 am

Yep, Insane.

yearsago · Post #6 » by **yearsago** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 5:00 am

I don't blame Clay for wanting to ride into OKC on his white horse, bringing in the NBA.

What I DO blame him for, and will for ever wish him bad luck, is that he lied, cheated and basiclly stole the team.

wiff · Post #7 » by **wiff** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 6:40 am

S0yb3anB0y wrote:After a horrible last week, I am starting to accept the fact that the Sonics are leaving to OKC. I don't blame Clay for taking my team away from me. He and his companion are devoted loyal basketball fans from OKC. These OKC residence seem to be more supportive about having a basketball team than us Seattle people. It really hurts to say this but Bennett and OKC deserve the sonics just as much as us Hardcore Seattle Super Sonic fans. They went through hell and back for this team. Their tactics on moving the sonics is the only reason why they should be at fault on not having the sonics. I think I will support OKC and their new basketball team. At least I hope they don't bail out on the Sonics when the team will suck for at least another 2 season. If OKC does bail out, I WILL REALLY HATE OK period and will root against every sports team they have.

Dude, lay off the Meth.

jenn_gp · Post #8 » by **jenn_gp** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 7:11 am

S0yb3anB0y wrote:I think I will support OKC and their new basketball team. At least I hope they don't bail out on the Sonics when the team will suck for at least another 2 season. If OKC does bail out, I WILL REALLY HATE OK period and will root against every sports team they have.

Sayonara Soy...if you feel this way, then go discuss your feelings with the people in the OKC forum.

You have some really messed up logic. It's not Clay's fault for us losing our team? While the blame is obviously not 100% on him, YES it is his fault we lost our team. There are multiple people to blame for the Sonics leaving, and he is on that list. You can't forgive him just because he wanted to bring NBA basketball to his hometown...what he did was shady and classless. To come to this city as an out of towner who owns our basketball team, he made a legal promise to act in good faith for ONE YEAR. Some of his first words he spoke at the press conference was all about his promise that he was keeping the team where it belonged--in Seattle.

And while I didn't believe him when he said that, everything else out of his mouth has been a lie.

Do you think we would even be at this point right now if Clay wasn't looking to bring the NBA to OKC? No, we would still have OUR team in OUR city. So yes, you CAN blame Bennett, and I do.

I cannot fathom any diehard Sonic fan rooting for an OKC team that used to be our's..I understand that there are a few players we've become attached to and I get that some people want to support them as the team moves on. I guess I just don't understand why anyone would root for a team with a complete A-hole of a owner. If anything, the one thing we wanted as fans was to keep our team history in Seattle. And without malice or remorse, the man decided he couldn't even give us that.

How can you support a business that has no morals and class?

S0yb3anB0y · Post #9 » by **S0yb3anB0y** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 9:05 am

Guys before you guys flame me, I AM ONE OF THE MOST DIE HARD SONICS FAN and will forever be. Logically we cannot blame Clay and OKC for losing our team. The city of seattle and the people that don't give a **** about the sonics lost the team for us. Seriously, if we had a loyal owner like Clay that was passionate about having an NBA and doing whatever it takes to have one, we would NEVER NEVER NEVER would have lost our team. I love you guys and over the past years, you guys have been my basketball family. BUT do realize that COLLECTIVELY (the whole city plus local owner) do not deserve the team. Mr. Shultz and the NBA are the one to blame and Mr Shultz will never be forgiven if he loses his lawsuit.

TheUrbanZealot · Post #10 » by **TheUrbanZealot** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 3:05 pm

Sweezo wrote:
If only there were a forum for pro-OKC people like you and Soy to post on...if only...

Reactive much? I mean seriously, no one is trying to play devil's advocate. The PLAYERS are not to blame in this situation. Because I am a fan of the players, I can't help but to root for them, even if it's Clay's team. Remember, you are holding your grudge towards Bennett. All these people saying they would never root for players just because they are on OKC are just being childish and stubborn.

At some point people are going to have to realize the cause behind all of this was Schultz. With Bennett we were merely delaying the inevitable...

Are many of you seriously going to be that stubborn where you can't even root for a Kevin Durant or Jeff Green or Nick Collison just because they play for OKC?

big L · Post #11 » by **big L** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 3:39 pm

Bennett simply lied about his intentions... how can he not be held responsible? I'm not saying he's the only one to blame, but come on.

And why do you think the fans of OK City are better than the ones in Seattle, or "more supportive," as you put it? Based on the fact that they voted for a relatively small arena improvement tax? Remember, Bennett didn't ask the people of OK City for $500 million. Maybe the folks of OK City are the best fans in the world, maybe they'll sell out every game for the next decade. But we just don't know.

I just don't get your logic, Soy.

Ex-hippie · Post #12 » by **Ex-hippie** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 4:32 pm

TheUrbanZealot wrote:Bennett is only at fault for lying to the public- but then again, what else could he have done?

Oh, gee, I don't know, let me think... how about NOT LIE TO THE PUBLIC?

If he says he wanted to leave from the get-go, he risks a complete boycott. He may be a liar, prick, whatever, but he's a businessman and he did what normal businessmen do- do what's best for his long term interests.

Bulls**t. Normal businessmen do not commit fraud to further their business interests. Those who do, like Andrew Fastow and Bernie Ebbers, usually get what they deserve.

Schultz, on the other hand, is the one whom we should direct our angst towards. Not only did he lie, not only is Seattle HIS city, not only did he not make an attempt to front some of his own millions for a stadium, but he sold Seattle out to a group he KNEW was chomping at the bit to get them out. He's basically trying to play hero / get more money at the same time...

This is as bad an argument as it was in the beginning. Who's worse: the guy who sold his soul to the devil, or the devil himself? Both have some culpability, but I'm laying the blame with the devil himself. Like the Aesop fable of the frog and the scorpion: the frog was naive for thinking the scorpion would deviate from nature, but that doesn't make the scorpion less evil.

Sonics3408 · Post #13 » by **Sonics3408** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 5:01 pm

I didn't blame Bennett either...at first. I don't blame him for wanting a team in his home town.

It was the means to his end that he used that I take issue with. The repeated and continued lying and all the games he played with the people of Seattle is just too much.

yearsago · Post #14 » by **yearsago** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 5:32 pm

S0yb3anB0y wrote: Logically we cannot blame Clay and OKC for losing our team. .

He lied and cheated this team away, Sure he is not the only to blame, but to hold him blameless is just wrong.

elbowthrower · Post #15 » by **elbowthrower** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 6:56 pm

The one thing I will agree with in the aftermath of all of this is that some of the people in Seattle really piss me off. Reading and hearing so many people say they don't care or even some saying "good riddance" is almost as bad as seeing the team go. I wonder how they would feel if I said that about the things they value in the city and the community.

But to root for OKC at this stage is crazy. I'm rooting for them to fail. Hopefully Green and Collison can get traded to other teams so I can cheer for them. The rest of the players I don't care much about, including Durant who was kind of rude to my kids.

I can understand OKC people wanting a team. Eventually they're going to learn though that pro sports teams are all about money, the leagues could give a rat's ass about the fans, and that the people who run things are greedy liars. It's just a matter of time.

Post #16 » by **Sweezo** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 10:44 pm

TheUrbanZealot wrote:All these people saying they would never root for players just because they are on OKC are just being childish and stubborn.

You have no business calling people names after they've just lost their team. They're free to react how the want...who are you to tell someone their emotional reaction is incorrect?

TheUrbanZealot wrote:At some point people are going to have to realize the cause behind all of this was Schultz. With Bennett we were merely delaying the inevitable...

It is the definition of narrow-minded to try and pin all the blame for the move on one person. Many, many people had a hand in it, and they all deserve to be villified for the role they played.

TheUrbanZealot wrote:Are many of you seriously going to be that stubborn where you can't even root for a Kevin Durant or Jeff Green or Nick Collison just because they play for OKC?

I wouldn't root for any of those players if they played for the Lakers, so...why would I root for them now?

Go back and look at my old posts to see how much I rooted for former Sonics greats like Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton after they were no longer Sonics. I root for the team...

jenn_gp · Post #17 » by **jenn_gp** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 10:49 pm

I think this just proves that people react differently in the face of adversity. I understand that not everyone feels the way I do about this, and I respect that.

What I don't understand is how you can't give any portion of the blame for losing our team to the guy who told numerous, countless lies to our city when it came to trying to keep our team here. Whether you believe it or not, he IS to blame. If there was no Clay Bennett around looking to buy an NBA team, the Sonics would still be here in Seattle, would they not?

Dick Tate · Post #18 » by **Dick Tate** » Wed Jul 9, 2008 11:45 pm

Nope, they'd be in San Jose. Isn't that the real motivation behind Howie's suit... that he feels he was cheated out of pocketing an additional $75M since he could have sold to the Ellison group for that much more?

It is the definition of narrow-minded to try and pin all the blame for the move on one person. Many, many people had a hand in it, and they all deserve to be villified for the role they played.

I agree. Schultz, Bennett, Mayor, Gov, City & County Clowncils, Legislature, Seattle Constituents (thanks a bundle for I-91!)... on & on...

Sonics3408 · Post #19 » by **Sonics3408** » Thu Jul 10, 2008 12:00 am

San Jose >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> OKC

(in terms of my preference for their ultimate destination. I would have been able to see a few more Sonics games at least. I am never, ever going to OKC.)

big L · Post #20 » by **big L** » Fri Jul 11, 2008 1:00 pm

And I must add, I've been snooping around the OK City board and NOBODY has really commented on how well Westbrook has been playing in the summer league!?!? Uggh!