SEATTLE v. OKC THING

[Sweezo]

With the franchise in a state of flux, and some posters using that as an opportunity to irritate, perhaps it's wise to set a few simple ground rules...

1. This is a Seattle Supersonics forum. Be aware of that. Until the name of the city changes, that's the way it shall be.

2. The list of ways to win a disagreement with a Seattle Supersonics poster is not to take a cheap shot about the future of the franchise. That will not, and hasn't been, tolerated. Sonics fans don't root for other cities to lose their franchises, even as a possible replacement for the Supersonics. Please extend us the same courtesy.

3. There's discussion of topical issues, and then there's blatantly trolling and/or baiting. That will be dealt with on a case by case basis, which isn't anything new.

This is a board that feels very passionate about its franchise, despite having a duplicitous "owner," a commish that is far from supportive, and a team that fields a product that we hope doesn't get blown out on a nightly basis. We're not a doormat, and we're not here for your amusement, so take note.

EDIT: If anyone thinks I'm joking, two posters today alone have learned the hard way that I'm not. It's not too much to ask people to subscribe to common rules of decency, regardless of the team you root for.

[Kobe_not_MJ]

I want every Sonics fan to know that you guys are getting shafted big time by Clay Bennett and David Stern. It is truly disgraceful that Seattle's first professional franchise, which won a title in 1979, has been hijacked by these two greedy buffoons. Yeah, you guys need a new arena. Yeah, your lease truly sucks (the team gets NO revenue from parking, that money goes to the city).

That's no excuse to blame the fans or hold them hostage simply because they didn't want to give an enormous handout to the CEO of Starbucks (Howard Schultz) when he could have easily built an arena with his own money if he really wanted to. Just like Bennett would have put forward more money for his proposed $500 million dollar palace if he really wanted to stay in Seattle.

I truly believe that the Sonics have a loyal fan base and deserve a team (and THIS team, not some expansion franchise down the road). It's looks like it's going to be a repeat of the Cleveland Browns when Art Modell turned his back on millions of passionate and loyal Browns fans and moved the team to Baltimore (and won a Super Bowl there).

Seattle has the 14th ranked market in the country and is complete with corporations such as Starbucks and Microsoft. It is also ranked as one of the top five cities in America to visit. I mean, the NBA could/would/should make a ton of money out there (that's what it's all about, right?). OKC is 49th or something. I'm not saying OKC doesn't deserve a team, but shouldn't they get an expansion franchise rather than Durant, Green, Jerryd Bayless/Russell Westbrook?

I'm sorry about what you guys are going through with this team right now, I really am. I'm a Celtics fan and I don't want the Sonics to go anywhere. As an NBA fan, I was looking forward to the reinstatement of the Blazers/Sonics rivalry before this season in spite of the Celtics getting the 5th pick last year (before we got KG of course). Then Oden got hurt and Bennett showed his true colors. I'm sorry about this. I know it may be too late to say this, but keep your fingers crossed and hope for a miracle (believe me, they miracles can happen).