We know how it feels to loses a team

As much as I want to be excited for the possible deal to bring the Sacramento Kings to the Northwest, it seems people have lost perspective of what it feels like to lose a team [“Back in the game,” page one, Jan. 22].

In 2008, I witnessed a Sonics game against the Denver Nuggets in what nobody knew would be their last season in Seattle. The stands were completely empty, save for groupings of Nuggets fans, and the team looked like a complete mess on the court. When Clay Bennett decided to uproot the team, the city came out of their homes, running after the bandwagon with pitchforks blazing, now heading for Oklahoma.

Droves of “fans” came out to “Bring Back Our Sonics” events to exclaim how they had seen every game since the team’s founding, how they had gone to most games, but I know from evidence this wasn’t true.

Now Seattleites are justifying the Kings possible move to Seattle because attendance at their games is low. They are ready and willing to accept an uprooted team with open arms just as it had been done to them. But we have to remember what it feels like to lose a team, and lose a team we didn’t even watch.

--Michael Simon, Kenmore