Is Seattle Over the NBA?

I don't love the division I've seen around Seattle politics over the last couple of weeks (trust me, the public spillover is nothing compared to what is going on behind the scenes in numerous forums) but it is nice to at least feel some passion and understand that we all give a damn.

I know that we all care greatly about our community of Sonics fans and that we are all heavily invested in somehow carving out a victory given the insanely negative set of circumstances we have found ourselves in over the last several years.  To quote Brent Barry we want badly to take all this chicken sh@t in front of us and make it into a nice chicken soup.  We've said it was possible, we've spent thousands of hours trying to do it and built great friendships around the concept of getting it done.

Yet here we are 9 days before the NBA season and I find it really hard to care about the league that has turned its back on me.

Mike Baker and I care passionately about the Mayors race because we care passionately about Seattle.  I see and feel passion even more intensely for the Seahawks who not only are winning, but also are just treating their fans right at every turn.

In the wake of last season's Sacramento disappointment I find the start of this season a time for real pondering.

Are there enough fans remaining who are willing and able to once again go back to the well, dig even deeper and come up with some love for the league that has now been gone for 6 seasons?

Can I personally enjoy that chicken soup knowing how it was made?

Can I go back to being a passionate fan who gets excited for the start of each season?

Does that passion for hoops exist in the general community or has the NBA burned the bridge?