Thursday, March 10, 2011

Get your hands off our lion!

Keep the Kings in Sacramento.

I don't really need to explain why I hate the specter of the Kings — a team with a loyal following in a one-team town — being dragged off in the night for dubious installation in Anaheim. Here: Tom Ziller presents 19 excellent, lucid reasons why the Kings should not relocate to Anaheim. Go read that.

And what about the reasons for this relocation? They suck!

Of course, us dizzy, foam-fingers-for-brains fans must constantly be reminded that the NBA is a business. It's about profit. It's about moving units. Fine, but business decisions can be short-sighted and rash. It's the sort of decision that's easier to make when your (young, talented, oozing with potential) team is losing lots of games. But if you think that Seattle wouldn't be showing up three seasons later to see Durant, Westbrook and co. rack up 40 wins and counting, well, I've got a truck full of crappy plastic bracelets that might help your balance.

If you want to re-post or use this image, you have my permission. Download a high-resolution PDF here. Let's apply pressure where we can. NBA owners have to vote to approve this move. Let's convince them it's a bad idea! Kings fans have been doing good work at Here We Stay, selling out one game and aiming to do it again on April 11. Sactown Royalty covers all the latest action.

I don't know how much impact fans can have in a situation like this, but the people in power have to know that this relocation would mean losing an entire fan-base (customers) in a market that's been historically good for the NBA.