Bennett stole Sonics, young fan's innocence

Okay, I know that they’re no longer “officially” the Sonics.

But still, the sting of knowing that next year our NBA team will be playing under a new name in Oklahoma City is almost too much to bear – name change or not.

And it’s not even simply the fact that we no longer have a NBA team. It’s about how it was done – in an underhanded, shifty, lying manner, with new owner Clayton Bennett denying all the while that the new ownership group’s intent from the beginning was to steal the team.

For myself, I’ve been around the block. As soon as the new ownership came in to “save the team” I knew the writing was on the wall and soon we’d be without a team. I understand that modern professional sports is a business and the almighty dollar trumps any notions of sportsmanship and fair play.

But I had hoped to save my 10-year-old son Conner this lesson for a while longer.

In these modern times it seems that kids grow up way too soon.

Their exposure to the media machine via television or the internet often introduces them to the reality of the world much sooner than we would wish.

For myself, the realization that the sports world was ruled by profit came when I was 14 and the Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis.

Raised on my father’s tales of the exploits of Johnny Unitas and the Baltimore Colts, I was aghast that a team – especially one as storied as the Colts – could be uprooted simply because the city refused to give in to the owner’s wish for a new stadium.

It was a rude awakening, one that I revisited as I watched my son watch the twin news conferences following the announcement of the deal between the City of Seattle and the team’s ownership group.

We watched as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels talked about the boatload of money coming to the city and the opportunity to keep the history and team name and colors. We watched as Bennett triumphantly held a news conference in Oklahoma City trumpeted the end of his quest to bring professional basketball to his hometown.

Conner just looked angry and confused.

As I tried to tell him that at least we had the name and history, I realized who the real loser in this whole deal was: The fans, who for 41 years supported the team through good times and bad, from losing seasons to championship glory. Fans like my son, who was born during the glory days of the mid-1990s and grew up cheering on the likes of Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. Fans like my wife, who successfully lobbied to give our daughter the middle name Payton, after Sonic legend Gary Payton. Fans who bled green and gold for more than 40 years.

The real tragedy in this whole debacle lies in the impact this shady deal and the disgraceful way it went down will have on future sports fans.

As my son watched Bennett gloat, I could see all the love that he once had for the NBA leave him. For the forseeable future, all my son will see is the business side of the league, a side that has shown him an ugly face.

At it’s best, professional sports mirrors the highest ideals of humanity: A team or individual, striving to overcome, whether that opposition comes from within or without. One of the greatest contributions of pro sports is the inspiration it imparts to a young person just starting their athletic journey.

For my son, the NBA will no longer provide that inspiration. And I’m sure he’s not the only young fan that will be turned off to the league by the loss of their team.

At it’s worst, professional sports is all about the money, as it turns out to be in this case.

For now, we’ll cling to the hope that someday the city will again attract a NBA franchise. But until then Conner and I are not holding our breath.

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