Raptors Fans Supporting the Sonics Staying in Seattle

[superfan20]

Time to step up and show our support. Board meeting is this week....

http://www.petitiononline.com/rapsfans/petition.html

[HumbleBumbleBee]

i dont mean this in a rude way but...if the situation was in reverse i wonder how many americans would support keeping the raps in toronto

[lhd33]

i dont mean this in a rude way but...if the situation was in reverse i wonder how many americans would support keeping the raps in toronto

Who cares if they'd do the same.. it's us were talking about.. and we're a helpful bunch! That's what makes us Uniquely Canadian!

[expat_raptorfan]

A very worthy cause - Seattle is a great city and a great sports city. They deserve better.

[dacrusha]

If Seattle was such a great sports city then they'd do everything they could to keep the Sonics in Seattle: i.e. build a new arena.

[mangos]

anyone who knows anything about MLSE knows they will not lift a finger for the sonics...it's a bit absurd to expect owners to do anything that would compel another owner to do something against their perceived business interests, taking that kind of stand isn't in MLSE's interest

i support the sonics staying in seattle, but the petition isn't an effective strategy

showing david stern that this is hurting the publics perception of the league would, though

[from24ft]

I guess Seattle is the only place within driving distance for Vancouver NBA fans.


I wonder, if the NBA would ever take another chance at Vancouver, if so, Seattle being franchiseless would help a lot. (Than again, once the Vancouver tax payers get the bill for the Olympics, they won't be thinking sports for a while.)

[Fairview4Life]

If Seattle was such a great sports city then they'd do everything they could to keep the Sonics in Seattle: i.e. build a new arena.

I really disagree with that. Just giving away a free $500 million arena doesn't make you a good sports city.

[Raptorsrock]

If Seattle was such a great sports city then they'd do everything they could to keep the Sonics in Seattle: i.e. build a new arena.

Seattle tax payers already paid for a new baseball park and a football stadium. Add to the fact that building a new basketball area with tax payers money probably isn't a priority given the state of the US economy right now. Other than that your assesment is bang on

[cprompt]

Its a great cause, but they'll never vote against what Stern tells them to vote for. Its like politics - you show solidarity within your party, not turn your back on them (with a few notable cases).

With that said, I really hope something happens in Seattle to reverse the current situation. I can't imagine Toronto loosing the Raps after only 11 years in existence and the team not having achieved very much; can't even begin to guess what sort of emotional turmoil the Sonics fans must be going through. Best of luck guys!

[Yuri Vaultin]

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I really disagree with that. Just giving away a free $500 million arena doesn't make you a good sports city.

I agree. But, I find it kind of screwed up in the US - in the fact that the taxpayers end up paying for the arena that these filthy rich people owning the teams typically make a killing off. I would think that if you spend $300 + million on a franchise the onus is on you to build a facility. If I were to buy a Dairy Queen then threaten to close it down if the city didn't build me a newer and bigger restaurant I would expect to get laughed at.

[mangos]

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I agree. But, I find it kind of screwed up in the US - in the fact that the taxpayers end up paying for the arena that these filthy rich people owning the teams typically make a killing off. I would think that if you spend $300 + million on a franchise the onus is on you to build a facility. If I were to buy a Dairy Queen then threaten to close it down if the city didn't build me a newer and bigger restaurant I would expect to get laughed at.

Isn't this what MLSE basically did with the soccer stadium? They're as bad as the worst in the states when it comes to squeezing as much public money as they can.* I honestly don't think they would behave any differently than the other Clay Bennets of the world if push came to shove financially.


*The ACC was privately funded, but that was done by the previous Raptor owners. I'm sure it would have been a different story if MLSE was involved back then.

[Reignman]

Seattle Supersonics were my favourite team prior to the Raps inception. This will be a huge loss to the league. I've been to Seattle and it's a beautiful city and the fans used to be great when they had decent teams. It's really a shame.

[galeon110]

Just as they don't give a **** about the Raptors because we're in a different country, I don't give a rat's ass about the Sonics.

[DIEHARD_005]

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Seattle tax payers already paid for a new baseball park and a football stadium. Add to the fact that building a new basketball area with tax payers money probably isn't a priority given the state of the US economy right now. Other than that your assesment is bang on

Bang on with your assesment.

To the dude that made the original comment about Seattle not doing enough ie not forking out $500 million of tax dollars to build a new arena, nobody can reasonably justify the city forking out the tab for a new arena. Key Arena opened up in 95-96!! It's not even 15 years old yet! I think thats the biggest thing that boggles my mind in this whole ordeal...how can ANYONE justify building a new sporting facility, or even extensively renovating the older one when the arena is only 12 friggin years old?!?!?

It's a real shame with the way David Stern has handled this whole situation. The whole root of the problem according to Stern and Bennet is Key Arena being "obsolete"...last time I checked, a 12 year old arena was FAR from obsolete.

The scary part is that if Stern can take a franchise with over 40 years of history and simply decide that he wants them to move with no real justification, what's to stop him from doing it in other cities down the road? I think that's the part that makes me sympathize the most with their situation the most.

[ranger001]

I support the Sonics staying just because I'm an nba fan and an nba fan shouldnt have to see his team move due. However internet petitions dont accomplish anything.

http://www.snopes.com/inboxer/petition/internet.asp

[JN]

i dont mean this in a rude way but...if the situation was in reverse i wonder how many americans would support keeping the raps in toronto

Americans came over to Montreal Expos fan boards (one in particular that had media, a few players, and several fans as members) and pissed on us from about 1999 through 2004, cheering on our failure. The majority of these fans are from America's shithole of Washington, D.C. There was also a few from Portland.

That being said fans that hang on in such situations put up with a lot, and probably show alot more loyalty then fans of a champion level team.

I support the Seattle fans who have put there heart into the team and have remained loyal.

[gojoorange]

The Sonics are my link to Raptors games. It's crucial they remain in Seattle... or move to Vancouver.

[b0na f1de]

I have no idea how anyone who calls themselves a fan of the NBA would not care about what's happening to Seattle.

[gojoorange]

Without Seattle, Raptors fans in Vancouver will have to drive 5 hours to Portland to see a game.