Going, Going, Back, Back to Cali, Cali?

To the people of Minnesota, Los Angeles already took your basketball team; they’d love to have your football team too. Yes, the "L.A. Vikings" doesn’t really have the ring to it that say the “Hollywood Stars” would, but neither does the Utah Jazz. Since I know you all are involved in a little stadium imbroglio up there right now, let me offer up this cautionary tale.

There is an excellent documentary, Sonicsgate, on the last days of the Seattle Supersonics (now the Oklahoma City Thunder and one of the most promising young teams in the NBA). The film begins gradually giving a history of all of the sports teams in Seattle. This part is something that is probably only interesting if you have some connection to the Pacific Northwest; however, it is necessary to set the foundation for what has become a crucial issue in sports today: the public financing of the palatial athletic cathedrals in which these teams play. The vast majority of current facilities seem to place more emphasis on the peripheral entertainment experience (shopping, restaurants, and amusement for the kids) than on the actual sporting contest. As someone who has worked in both the public and private sector and at one point specifically in the area of economic development, I can attest that it is rare that the public receives the full return (jobs, infrastructure, tax revenue) promised by the private the investors. In this current era of economic uncertainty, it just perpetuates the concept of public risk and private gain. When the story shifts to this argument with a peek at the behind the scenes machinations that ultimately led to the relocation to OKC is when the documentary really starts to shine. Some of the highlights or lowlights include the following:

• The political leadership of the City of Seattle and the Washington State assembly was über weak. They thought they were being tough guys, but at the end of the day got played.

• The Sonics “vanity owner” Howard Schultz (of Starbucks fame) sold the team to OKC businessmen who “promised” to keep the team in Seattle, except for one small problem: they specifically barred anyone from Seattle from being part of the ownership group. (C’mon Son! GTFOOHWTBS! You knew them cats weren’t keeping the team in Seattle after they did that!)

• OKC’s ownership group was a bunch of immoral individuals who would do or say whatever was necessary to position the team to move.  Also of note considering current events, they were heavily connected to the oil industry. (Need I say more?)

• NBA commissioner David Stern is as big of a jackass as we all thought.  He may also be secretly gay (you’ll understand when you see the film), not there is anything wrong with that. More than anything, it showed that the NBA front office acted in extremely bad faith in dealing with Seattle.

• Finally there is a gut-punching scene at the end, which I will not give away, but any former Sonics fan will want to go burn down city hall and the state assembly building in Washington or the Ford Center in OKC after the revelation. Seriously, they will.

The biggest takeaway for fans everywhere has to be “DON’T THINK IT CAN’T HAPPEN TO YOUR TEAM!” If your team is struggling financially I can guarantee you that another city is staring them up and down, as if they aren’t real, ready to snatch them from your hometown. Just like when you are dating an attractive woman and dudes are circling like sharks waiting for you to mess up so they can slide right in, it’s the exact same concept. And yes, I am speaking directly to you Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Hornets, Phoenix Coyotes, and Memphis Grizzles fans. Heck, I might have to add in Cleveland Cavaliers fans if LeBron leaves considering what the financial experts say it will do your team’s value. Other cities want to take your team(s) and do not think for a second that your current team owner is too altruistic not to sell you out. These teams are just toys to most of those guys.

You can watch the whole movie below or check it out in HD on the official site Sonicsgate.org. The website also has a hilarious trailer about a random city preparing to steal your team.