For the last several months we have been largely successful in our efforts to have reasonable interaction with the GREAT fans of Sacramento. While there have been a lot of differing opinions on what level of courtesy and interaction are appropriate between the fan bases the opportunity to "work it out" in a public forum has been therapeutic to a large number of our fans and at least personally for me a necessary part of coming to terms with a very awkward and difficult process.
In recent days the conversation has become more distracting and for many readers lessened the enjoyment of our discussion. It seems extremely likely that this trend will only continue given the circumstances.
I want to tell the fans of Sacramento that we do have great empathy for you and really value efforts to have real interaction. If your team does relocate you will be faced with the difficult decision about whether to continue following the roster or shift your attention elsewhere and it is my expectation that the vast majority will not want to move your conversation here. Those few that do will be welcomed here and we will make every effort to restrict gloating or patronizing of your fan base. WE ARE ALL FANS TOGETHER and nobody on either side should question the loyalty, passion or support that we have given our teams.
That said this is a Sonics forum. Our fans for the most part want to talk about our efforts to bring the Sonics back, our passion for the team that we may have and ultimately if those efforts are successful we are going to want to enjoy it, free from lingering guilt over the method of acquisition. None of us prefer this method but as you may be forced to discover it is a cold reality of having your beloved franchise depart.
Beginning immediately this post will serve as a forum for both Sacramento posters and Sonics fans who wish to carry on a civil interactive discussion. Trolling or derogatory comments by either side will result in a ban from our forum. Followup posts may be created as necessary to maintain the forum.
Outside of this thread it will be our policy to moderate posts from any individual identified either by their commentary or IP address as a resident/fan of Sacramento. Those threads can and will include conversation about the activities occurring in Sacramento as our two cities are, for the time being linked.
In the event that Sacramento contributors such as Tom Ziller, Carmichael Dave or others wish to make a comment they can coordinate their request with site management and we will accomodate them on a case by case basis.
Thanks to everybody for their understanding and consideration. This is very awkward situation for all parties and our goal is to have the most enjoyable forums possible.
We respect you Sacramento.