It is a gloomy day in Seattle. First real rain in weeks, eerie echoes of thunder in the air—the city is in mourning. Yesterday, the Seattle Supersonics’ deal went down, with the NBA team set to leave town for Oklahoma next season. I had thought when I moved here that I’d get to enjoy at least one full season of the Sonics. I was wrong.
The Seattle Times has a moving editorial today, which begins, “Seattle sports fans can only feel despair as the high-tech shining city of the future loses its 40-year basketball franchise and a ton of civic pride to a group of dishonest brokers from Oklahoma City.” The article serves as an appropriate bookend to the way I first heard about the situation back in February, from Bill Simmons at ESPN (who will always be the Boston Sports Guy).
The emotional response from fans says a lot about the city. We’ll see if Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, a basketball fanatic, can help bring another Sonics team here (Seattle gets to keep the team name).
It’s impossible to measure, but as my colleague Luke points out, how many techies, entrepreneurs, and VCs have bonded over the years while catching Sonics games, and formed relationships that led to new ideas and ventures? We all know that innovation thrives in a well-connected community, and the community has now lost one of its key gathering points.
Sometimes it isn’t just about the money.
