Throwback of the Week: Supersonic

"It's ironic, I had the brew, she had the chronic, the Lakers beat the Supersonics." - Ice Cube

With the Oklahoma City Thunder's Seattle Supersonics' win in the Western Conference Finals on Wednesday night, I have been thinking the last couple of days about what could have been for Seattle basketball fans. I live in Los Angeles and my Laker affiliation is well known, but I can't help but feel for them. The Thunder look primed and ready to win an NBA title, and judging from the reaction of some fans I talked to, this was an extremely painful moment for Seattle fans. Now, I could go on about the story of how the Oklahoma City Thunder came to be, and how the Sonics moved from Seattle, but I'll let Sonicsgate explain it, as they do a far better job at it than I ever will.

Seattle, I'll just say it straight out: you guys were screwed by Clay Bennett, Howard Schultz, David Stern, and the politicians. You deserved better, and to have a team with 40 years of tradition and history stolen from under you is a fucking disgrace. Some people will say you guys sound bitter, but you have every goddamn right to be. The way your team was stolen from you was corrupt, to put it nicely. There are a lot of other ways to describe it, but I don't have all day, and I have other stuff I want to include on this page. The Sonics seemed headed in the right direction when they left, and I know to have it taken from you, then to see Oklahoma reap the benefits of a series of high draft picks, trades, and free agent signings, first with a roughly 30 win turnaround from year 1 to year 2, a trip to the Western Conference Finals the next year, and now a Western Conference title with a trip to the NBA Finals and a possible NBA title has to hurt. In my mind, it should be you, Seattle, celebrating right now. It should be you who have the loudest, most hostile arena for visiting teams to play in the NBA. Shit, I still refer to them as the Sonics instead of the Thunder more often than not. My point is, I truly feel bad for you, Seattle. I remember every time my Lakers would go up to Seattle, it would be a loud crowd full of knowledgable fans who loved their team, and no matter what, no matter how good or bad the Sonics were, I knew the Lakers would be in for a tough game. Yes, Seattle, I do think Durant, Westbrook, Harden, and Ibaka should be wearing green and gold instead of that blue and orange, because this should've been your moment. This should've been your team. 

If you're not a Seattle fan or from Seattle and are reading this article, here's the documentary Sonicsgate,  which explains everything. So if you have 2 free hours, watch it. Even if you don't, I recommend that you do anyway.