sonics slip out of seattle?

happy groundhog day everyone! the wind was blowing again last night, so i stayed up late writing silly letters to local politicians. (please pardon the capitalization and lack of character spaces throughout the letter) like this:


Dear Mr. Seattle City Council President,

As I was skimming the sports section tonight, I read the following paragraph from the Seattle Times:

'When asked if the city would suffer lasting damage if the Sonics moved,Licata said: "On an economic basis, near zero. On a cultural basis, closeto zero. We would still have two sports, and plenty of cities our sizedon't have three." '

I hope they misquoted you.

I understand that this issue is complicated and realize that the city may not be prepared to offer another sports team bags and bags of money for a stadium renovation. I'm sure we agree that there are higher priorities than sports (e.g., social services, education). However, I'm still a bit shocked by your comments. You obviously don't spend much time in Queen Anne. During the Sonics season that neighborhood thrives off of business from fans. Idon't know who to believe when it comes to the economic benefits of an NBA basketball team in Seattle, but Schultzy claims the Sonics bring millions of dollars in revenue -- is that zero?

Ultimately, I was most riled up by your assertion that the Sonics meannothing to Seattle culture. Personally, I have many fond memories of theSonics, especially as a kid. Some fans have thirty years of memories.Also, the Sonics players do a great deal to support the Seattle communityin terms of basketball camps and other charity work. Are you calling thatzero?

Moreover, your comparison to other cities is ridiculous! Indeed, whilethere may be cities our size with only two sports teams (can you namethem? i doubt it), there are also cities with smaller populations thanSeattle that have 4 professional sports teams (e.g., Atlanta, Denver,Minneapolis; that's at least 4/13 and I'm tired of checking stats --here, look for yourself:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._cities_with_teams_from_four_major_sports).According to your logic, we should actually be courting an NHL teamrather than evicting the Sonics.

To conclude, perhaps having 3 teams is part of what makes our city great?Don't forget, this team won an NBA championship in the 70's and createdquite a buzz in 1996 - it has a legacy. And the Storm just carried hometheir first WNBA championship. I'm afraid that if you don't change yourtune, you and your pals in Olympia will also have a legacy, that oflosing the Sonics and dashing our dreams for more memories.

Thank you for listening to my concern,

Andrew

Go Seahawks!