Typical TBD Guy Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...nicsmove_080702 As a Buffalo Bills fan, here are a few lessons I'm taking from this situation (none of which I suppose are shockingly new to the hardened cynics among us): 1. 40+ years of tradition aren't enough to keep a sports team in town. 2. Don't trust new owners from outside the state (or in our case, the nation). 3. Don't expect league commissioners or other franchise owners to stand in the way of a better opportunity to make money (in spite of whatever PR BS they spew). 4. Worst case scenarios can and do happen; prepare accordingly. Your thoughts? I'm sure there are a few Buffalo Braves fans lurking around with some heated opinions right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Big Cat Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...nicsmove_080702 As a Buffalo Bills fan, here are a few lessons I'm taking from this situation (none of which I suppose are shockingly new to the hardened cynics among us): 1. 40+ years of tradition aren't enough to keep a sports team in town. 2. Don't trust new owners from outside the state (or in our case, the nation). 3. Don't expect league commissioners or other franchise owners to stand in the way of a better opportunity to make money (in spite of whatever PR BS they spew). 4. Worst case scenarios can and do happen; prepare accordingly. Your thoughts? I'm sure there are a few Buffalo Braves fans lurking around with some heated opinions right now. Wow. I was JUST about to post this. I swear to God! It was the 41 years that stood out to me. And I wondered if there are Sonics fans as loyal as some of the most devoted Bills fans- how many Grandpas, Dads, and sons there must be who are devastated by this. After all, only two things in this world are certain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 What makes things even worse for the Sonics fans is that Seattle son Paul Allen was a huge Sonics fan, he 'd have preferred to buy them than to buy the Blazers back in (i think) 88 ... The Sonics were not for sale then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C.Biscuit97 Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...nicsmove_080702 As a Buffalo Bills fan, here are a few lessons I'm taking from this situation (none of which I suppose are shockingly new to the hardened cynics among us): 1. 40+ years of tradition aren't enough to keep a sports team in town. 2. Don't trust new owners from outside the state (or in our case, the nation). 3. Don't expect league commissioners or other franchise owners to stand in the way of a better opportunity to make money (in spite of whatever PR BS they spew). 4. Worst case scenarios can and do happen; prepare accordingly. Your thoughts? I'm sure there are a few Buffalo Braves fans lurking around with some heated opinions right now. The sad thing is that Ralph Wilson can just end all this talk by selling the damn team. I love Mr. Wilson and will always defend him. But I have no idea why he isn't setting something up for the long-term stability of this team. As for the Sonics, I know they were struggling to get a new lease for an arena, but this is like if the Toronto Blue Jays moved to Buffalo. Oklahoma City isn't the mecca of a booming economy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LynchMob23 Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 The sad thing is that Ralph Wilson can just end all this talk by selling the damn team. I love Mr. Wilson and will always defend him. But I have no idea why he isn't setting something up for the long-term stability of this team. As for the Sonics, I know they were struggling to get a new lease for an arena, but this is like if the Toronto Blue Jays moved to Buffalo. Oklahoma City isn't the mecca of a booming economy. As much as it sucks, he doesn't want his family taxed twice for the team, which I can understand. If it were my multi-million dollar business, fans or no I'd be looking to make sure my family was okay first, THEN worry about "the fans" - who might I add over the years have seen me as everything from a hero, to a carpetbagger to the devil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...nicsmove_080702 As a Buffalo Bills fan, here are a few lessons I'm taking from this situation (none of which I suppose are shockingly new to the hardened cynics among us): 1. 40+ years of tradition aren't enough to keep a sports team in town. 2. Don't trust new owners from outside the state (or in our case, the nation). 3. Don't expect league commissioners or other franchise owners to stand in the way of a better opportunity to make money (in spite of whatever PR BS they spew). 4. Worst case scenarios can and do happen; prepare accordingly. Your thoughts? I'm sure there are a few Buffalo Braves fans lurking around with some heated opinions right now. The main difference is that our owner does not want to move the Bills or else they would already be gone. The Braves and Sonics were sold to owners from other cities whose main goal was to move those teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nucci Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 The sad thing is that Ralph Wilson can just end all this talk by selling the damn team. I love Mr. Wilson and will always defend him. But I have no idea why he isn't setting something up for the long-term stability of this team. As for the Sonics, I know they were struggling to get a new lease for an arena, but this is like if the Toronto Blue Jays moved to Buffalo. Oklahoma City isn't the mecca of a booming economy. You have no proof that he has not done this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the_franchise Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 What makes things even worse for the Sonics fans is that Seattle son Paul Allen was a huge Sonics fan, he 'd have preferred to buy them than to buy the Blazers back in (i think) 88 ... The Sonics were not for sale then. I was thinking maybe one more big pay day for the family before he is gone.. sadly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/stor...nicsmove_080702 As a Buffalo Bills fan, here are a few lessons I'm taking from this situation (none of which I suppose are shockingly new to the hardened cynics among us): 1. 40+ years of tradition aren't enough to keep a sports team in town. 2. Don't trust new owners from outside the state (or in our case, the nation). 3. Don't expect league commissioners or other franchise owners to stand in the way of a better opportunity to make money (in spite of whatever PR BS they spew). 4. Worst case scenarios can and do happen; prepare accordingly. Your thoughts? I'm sure there are a few Buffalo Braves fans lurking around with some heated opinions right now. 5. Take care of the team while they are here, and fulfill all your contractual obligations to them. IMO, Seattle didn't remember that they wanted the Sonics until it was too late. In '95 I think, Seattle signed a 15 year lease on Key Arena for the Sonics. As part of their lease agreement there was a certain amount of upgrades and renovations that were to be done in order to keep the stadium and facilities competitive. Argue all you want about who should really be footing stadium costs, but the reality is that the city signed the lease. The city then didn't live up to their end of providing the necessary upgrades. When an out of town owner came on the scene, it was a pretty easy out to show that the city had neglected their responsibilities in the lease. If you are a city with a pro sports team, and you want to keep the team, keep the team profitable. Not only that, but be willing to pay for stadium upgrades as per your lease, and when it's time, be willing to pay for a new stadium. If a few years ago, Paul Allen had wanted to actually buy the Sonics he could have. If he loved the Sonics so much, why did he let Bennet walk in and buy them instead of doing it himself? He waited until it was too late, and perhaps, just perhaps, he just wanted the publicity of trying to be the savior instead of actually owning the Sonics. Don't neglect your team, and hopefully they won't neglect you. But in all reality in this day and age, it's still a crapshoot. I hope OKC remembers this in about 5 years, when they are asked to start ponying up some extra dough. Although they did just pass a new tax for some initial renovations to their stadium, it's only a matter of time before bigger bills start heading their way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olivier in france Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 If a few years ago, Paul Allen had wanted to actually buy the Sonics he could have. If he loved the Sonics so much, why did he let Bennet walk in and buy them instead of doing it himself? he bought the Blazers because the Sonics were not for sale... Now to save the Sonics he had to sale the Blazers and then buy the Sonics... well after almost 20 years as owner of the Blazers i can understand he chose to keep the Blazers even if that meant seeing his childhood team move. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fingon Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 The difference is that the Sonics were near last in attendance, while the Bills are selling out every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OklahomaBill Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Actually, Oklahoma City was recently named the most recession proof city in the nation. The economy here is doing really well. I'm excited to finally get a major league team here. I really feel for the fans of Seattle but at the same time no real effort to keep the team has been made and I think the vast majority of the city was apthetic. That is not the case in Buffalo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SF Bills Fan Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 I think the team will do well in Oklahoma City. They are the only major league team there and this has to be the last large city in the US without a major league team. I think the Hornets did really well there when they played there because of Katrina. This showed OKC could support a team. That said, I don't like when teams move especially teams with history like the Sonics. Plus, Seattle is just too big and wealthy not to have a team. My guess is that Seattle gets an expansion team in the future. It'll be like a Browns scenario. I travel to Seattle for work all the time, and they were pretty apathetic about this situation. Seattle is a football town first (like Buffalo), so this was not the end of the world to the people there. If the Bills try to go, there will be a massive battle, not just resigned acceptance and indignation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyal2dagame Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 nobody has mentioned that seattle is keeping the team name, colors, and history, and david stern already said if the city can come up with funding for a new arena by the end of 2009, seattle will have an nba team again within 5 years. if the bills do leave here, this is the same scenerio i would like to see happen. the nfl did it for cleveland, i'm sure they would do it for buffalo. the only problem here would be the funding deadlines the nfl imposes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Miner Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Actually, Oklahoma City was recently named the most recession proof city in the nation. The economy here is doing really well. I'm excited to finally get a major league team here. I really feel for the fans of Seattle but at the same time no real effort to keep the team has been made and I think the vast majority of the city was apthetic. That is not the case in Buffalo. True. Having an economy built on oil and natural gas is keeping OK going while other states are being hit pretty hard. I also have no doubt that the games will be pretty much sold out for the first few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sullim4 Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 It was really funny watching the media coverage of this yesterday. Just about 20 minutes of the 30 minute newscast was devoted to this story. If this were Buffalo, they'd have blocked off an entire day to cover this. The fact is that only a handful of people actually cared about this team. Given that they sucked so badly I can't say that the apathy is all that shocking. Just imagine if the Mayor of Buffalo actually signed off on a buyout just hours before a ruling was to come down that would have probably kept the team in the city for another two years. I'd venture to guess that, at a minimum, there'd be riots and widespread looting. Here, nothing more than a 20 minute mention on the evening news. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantelliotoffen Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 The sad thing is that Ralph Wilson can just end all this talk by selling the damn team. I love Mr. Wilson and will always defend him. But I have no idea why he isn't setting something up for the long-term stability of this team. As for the Sonics, I know they were struggling to get a new lease for an arena, but this is like if the Toronto Blue Jays moved to Buffalo. Oklahoma City isn't the mecca of a booming economy. That's not true, OKC is doing extremely well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Jack Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 if the bills do leave here, this is the same scenerio i would like to see happen. the nfl did it for cleveland, i'm sure they would do it for buffalo. the only problem here would be the funding deadlines the nfl imposes Plus Cleveland had an owner willing to put a team there. How many people would buy the rights for a team in Buffalo before LA, and other larger cities? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornerville Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 The difference is that the Sonics were near last in attendance, while the Bills are selling out every game. But when were the Sonics last in attendance, the last few years when these OKC rumors started, can you blame them? And the team was putrid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apuszczalowski Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 The sad thing is that Ralph Wilson can just end all this talk by selling the damn team. I love Mr. Wilson and will always defend him. But I have no idea why he isn't setting something up for the long-term stability of this team. As for the Sonics, I know they were struggling to get a new lease for an arena, but this is like if the Toronto Blue Jays moved to Buffalo. Oklahoma City isn't the mecca of a booming economy. The problem is, it takes 2 people to make a deal, and whos to say that there have been any serious investors with that kind of money to step in and buy them and keep them in Buffalo. Its easy for us to just say that he should sell the team to someone who will keep them here, but its not that easy in the real world because he ahs to have someone who can and wants to do it. We aren't talking about a couple million dollar venture here, the team could end up costing just slightly under a Billion dollars for just the team Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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