It has been well chronicled on sports radio, television and of course the internet, that the Sacramento Kings may be on their way out of town. This should not come as a surprise to anyone who has lived in Sacramento for the last several years, for those who voted down measures Q&R (which would have provided funds for a new sports complex in the Sacramento area) and anyone who is a Kings fan. For the faithful it has been a trying season, one that started with such optimism with the drafting of Demarcus Cousins.
With the 5th pick in the NBA Lottery, the Kings were able to draft possibly the best athlete and big man in the entire draft. Even though the Kings has the 3rd worst record in the league the prior season and ended up with the 5th pick, fans still had a reason to be excited. We began to see change in our team last year with the Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans and with our draft it seemed we would only get better. If only the season had ended after the first 4 games. Sacramento started 3-1 and has gone on to win only 13 more games and managed to lose 49 more in that same time frame.
This has not brought us down however; any Kings fan is used to losing and another poor season ending with a presumably high draft pick would be more than acceptable for future strong years. This season has made a pass no fan has been able to handle though. With the Maloof brothers all but packing up the U-Haul to move on down to Anaheim, we are left with forcing ourselves to either accept the inevitable, or continue to fight for a cause we have little-to-no say in.
This has made this season harder to bear than most with the knowledge that we are rooting for a team that as early as next season could be gone. 25 short years in Sacramento and our Kings may be switching to a new city once again. We are not fortunate enough to live in a huge media market, or have a fan base nearly as dedicated as say, the Lakers...so we have to accept the fact that if we lose the Kings we may never get another professional sports franchise. We love the Kings, we have sold out 20 of those 25 seasons the Kings have inhabited the friendly confines of Arco Arena/Power Balance Pavilion. That has to count for something, but because that arena is nearly as old as I am (25) it no longer attracts big names, sell-outs or enough business to make it a viable NBA complex. So now we have to endure another losing season on top of the threat of having our team taken away, but one that thing that I have heard over and over again is how much the Kings mean to our community.
They mean so much not only because we love basketball, but because they have created memories that will last us all a lifetime. One of my earliest memories of the Kings also happens to be one of my earliest memories of my grandfather. He took me and my older brother to a Kings game and I still remember that game to this day. I was in the 5th grade, my brother in the 7th, and we went to go see the Kings take on the Miami Heat. The Kings eventually lost that game but before they did Mitch Richmond (still my favorite Kings player of all-time) hit a 3 point shot to tie the game and send it in to overtime. It was thrilling and unbelievable and as much as I couldn't believe what was happening he did it again to force the game into double-overtime. There were no late-game heroics however and the game eventually ended but I'll always have that memory of me, my brother and my grandfather loving the Kings.
My grandfather isn't with us anymore and as much as I wish I could've gotten to know him better I'll never forget how much he loved sports and how he passed that on to me. Ever since that game I've loved the Sacramento Kings. During the 2002 Western Conference Finals I was almost ready to throw a bowling ball through my television when Robert Horry hit the game winning shot in game 4 of that series. A night later I don't think I had ever been happier when Chris Webber set that screen and Mike Bibby hit his game-winning shot. When that series was over and the Kings had to come back home something told me that was it. That was our chance to win it all and we blew it. Even as crushing as the defeat was (and Mark Madsen dancing during the Lakers' Championship parade) I remained a fan.
All of that makes it so much harder for me and all the other loyal King's fans in Northern California to swallow the fact that our team, the only professional sports franchise in our area, may be leaving. I can point the finger of blame at the Maloof brothers, voters afraid of higher taxes, city and state officials too bogged down with their own personal interests to take more action and the NBA itself for not forcing the issue and keeping basketball in Sacramento, but in the end finger pointing won't keep the Kings in my backyard.
At this point in the game all I can do is fight to keep my team here, fight to make my voice heard, fight to make the Maloofs stop concentrating on dollar signs and start thinking about the community they've invested the last 11 years in and hope.
Hope that one day I can take my kids, and maybe even my grandkids, to a Kings game.
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