Dear Jenni Carlson,
Excuse me if the following question that I’m proposing to you is a bit, can I say, presumptuous. Yet, I have to ask: Have you ever been on the receiving end of a crime? Specifically, a robbery?
Excuse me if my question is a bit forward, but after reading your letter to this proud city, I had to ask.
I ask not to dig into your personal history, or to devalue those that have been on the receiving end of, as I myself have, a terrifying ordeal. I ask, because to truly understand the heart and passion behind a Sonics fan, you have understand what it’s like to be on the receiving end of what we account as grand larceny.
If that was better understood, I can guess that you may then understand why a letter such as your's addressed to this great city can come under scrutiny.
The passion you see in Sonicsgate, represented in various attempts to bring a team to Seattle, and tireless support in the community, is less about the hate of Oklahoma City, and more about the injustice in having a team ripped from our hands.
Yes, you are right to point out that the support that the Seahawks currently experience is quite invigorating. Yes, some of those supporters are Sonics fans. Many of them are not. It’s nice to suggest that current wave of joy experienced through Russell Wilson and Co. is amazing. It’s erroneous to suggest that it can replace the rabid thirst for a return of our beloved Sonics.
I have to say, you certainly picked an opportune time to reach out and stroke our egos with the soaring Seahawks. We love being the 12th man. It’s wrong to fan those flames and think by osmosis that they’ll quench the thirst of a Sonics fan.
A thirsty man needs water, Jenni, not more wood thrown on the fire. Apples and oranges as the saying goes.
Anyone can skim through the annals of our regrettable, terrible draft history. Bringing the Mouhamed Saer Senes and Robert Swifts of our time up like a bad joke at a funeral. Someone that spent time empathizing before addressing a very commonly shared low point amongst the Sonic faithful, would know that sometimes jokes can be inappropriate. No fault of your own, maybe you didn’t know.
Subtle jabs at our beloved team, especially when using the phrase: "come after your football team." As in the same hostile takeover that proceeded losing our Sonics? Right. Hey, why not throw the flag bearers of our fight in the corner on a timeout? I mean, hasn’t Sonicsgate said enough for the cause already? Right. Again, it’s not you, it’s the understanding.
If this sounds somewhat drastic, it is. This isn’t wordplay for wordplay’s sake. This is emphasis on what we in Seattle, and many others that relate to our sorrow, take as common knowledge.
This isn’t a knock on your compassion for peace in the voices that you have heard, but this is an alarm against the miscommunication that comes across in your stance.
A truce? Jenni, we can’t call a truce with a city that is no longer that which we are warring against. We’re beyond that. We’re warring against the ideal that says we won’t get a team again. We’re warring against the loss of hope for a city. We’re warring against those that would prance by our stance, lest they forget what we fight for.
If Oklahoma City wants to join the course that would stand against our position. Well, so be it, we’ll gladly welcome the opportunity to clear up any misconceptions.
Therefore excuse us if we politely decline your invitation, but unless you’ve witnessed the ideals, the truths, and the directed passion of the supporters in this great city we can’t "cool it."
See, it’s not "time" yet.
Warmest Regards,
Seattle
(Alex at Seattle Sports Net responded as well, probably NSFW. -- Big Chris)
(Also, there was supposed to be two accompanying videos, but technical issues prevented that from happening. -Kevin)
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