Thursday, July 16, 2009

STOLEN DREAMS - Cities that deserve their sports team back

In 1 minute and 43 seconds David Stern gave Seattle fans hope; hope that Seattle will once again have an NBA team. Steve Kelley, a writer for the Seattle Times, put Stern on the spot about a future team in Seattle. A new franchise in Seattle can only be a positive step for the league. Seattle is a great place for the NBA and I am not just saying that because I live in Seattle. I don't wish to rehash the horrible past few years that Seattle fans have had to endure but by golly they deserve an NBA team. Seattle fans have rights and deserve what every other tax paying fan has; the opportunity to:

1. Pay $8 for a beer
2. Yell at incompetent officials
3. Watch great athletes take an extra step or two
4. Enjoy the halftime dance teams gyrating and grinding.
5. Sit through 14 (at least 7 per team) timeouts in the last 2 minutes of a close game
6. Toil over another loss
7. Sell their end season tickets for 1/2 price on the Stub Hub
8. Witness their team tank the last 10 home games to improve their draft

So bring back the Sonics or Light Rails or whatever you want to call them and give Seattle fans a chance to be fans again.

Top 5 Cities That Deserve Their Team Back (a historical look)

1. Brooklyn (MLB)
The 1958 move to L.A., just 3 years past a World Series title in Brooklyn makes this move hard to swallow. Brooklyn's history is amazing and the city was instrumental in the development of the National Past time. They began play in 1890 where they won a pennant in their first year. 9 World Series appearances, Jackie Robinson and over 50 years of history, what else do you need to know.

2. Seattle (NBA)
The way that Seattle lost its NBA franchise to Oklahoma City was unfortunate. With emails, promises and lies the NBA lost one of the northwest's best team. The Sonics 1979 championship put Seattle on the professional sports map for the first time.

3. Houston (NFL)
The 1997 move to Memphis was not really a success and poor attendance made the Oilers have to play games in a college stadium. Bring back the memories of Earl Campbell, "Luv Ya Blue" and Bum Phillips with a return to Houston.

4. Los Angeles (NFL)
No city should have to watch its storied franchise wallow in mediocrity like L.A. has had to do with the 1995 move to St. Louis. The NFL needs a team in Los Angeles.

5. Montreal/Vancouver or any other Canadian city (MLB, NBA)
We need to be nice to our northern neighbors and I would love to see the old Expo hat make a comeback.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for sharing this post. I found it really interesting the historical look of cities sport.

    ReplyDelete