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Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team
This documentary, created by Sonics fans with additional footage provided by local news organizations, was awarded the winning trophy in the 2010 Webby Awards for being the Best Sports Film.
It is an educational documentary accounting on how after playing NBA Basketball in Seattle for 41 years, the Super Sonics moved to Oklahoma and became The Thunder.
This film includes original HD interviews with Gary Payton, George Karl, Slade Gorton, Brad Keller, Sherman Alexie, Paul Lawrence, Kevin Calabro and many more famous and known names.
The Seattle SuperSonics Historical Preservation Society is distributing this film online for free in order to educate the public. This film is in High Definition, close-captioned and has a soundtrack provided by Seattle area musicians and hip-hop artists such as Lil Kriz, Jake One, Grayskul, Blue Scholars, Common Market and more.
Sonicsgate: Requiem for a Team ,
This Video is Tagged With:
High Definition, Jake One, Kevin Calabro, Lil Kriz, Paul Lawrence
Imagine that.. Lets Remeber Now if you know anything about sports they only traded Ray because the team was being sold so imagine Kevin Durant Westbrook and Ray Allen at the Helm.. Hmph who knows Seattle would possibly have a championship by now !!! Smh
for saying they would take a team from a different city. this team wont be the sonics and this team coming from another city, it doesnt belong to them it belongs to the people from that city. that doesn’t make anything better.
Same here. I’m not a sonics fan, in fact i’m not a fan of any NBA team. I’m european so i have no attachment really to any city and a different persepctive on teams moving, because we have a completley different structure in pro sports here . moving an NBA team that existed for so long and has so much history, means the league has absolutley NO interest and respect for its own history and the teams. that makes it hard for me to follow the league nowadays. BUT i also judge the sonicsgate …
Payton says Kemp should of overlooked the Macalvaine contract and he would of got his money eventually. But it was not that simple- Kemp had signed a long term stinker of a contract that was much like Scottie Pippens contract with the Bulls. Kemp would of probably demanded a trade if Sonics management didn’t budge on redoing his contract but the Macalvaine contract gave Kemp plenty of ammunition to claim he was not getting market value.
I was a Sonics fan all my life and remember when they won the championship in 79. I’m so disgusted with the way everything unfolded and led to are team being stolen. I haven’t watched a NBA game since the Sonics left and it makes wonder if the same thing could happen to the Mariners or Seahawks.
The contractual terms of purchase between Clay and Howard included a good faith part on Clay to lobby for a new facility for one year, after which, Clay may move the team if no funding or support could be found. What-if, after Clay bought the Sonics and demanded a new stadium/facility, Bill Gates offered to build Clay his new facility? BG may not know much about running a bball team, but running a facility/stadium should be more straightforward. Clay/Sam Presti seems to know how to run a team.
In 90′s my favorite team was the Sonics. I’m form Serbian and in that time I was in primary school and played for my school team. I had number 11 so I always said I was Detlef Schrempf on training but also I loved Kendall Gill and Nate McMillan. But to say that Rey Allen is best shooter of all time is a bit far-fetched to say the least
Pacers fan here, and as a fellow mid/small market fan, I feel for all Seattle fans. You deserve a team, and you deserved better than to have the Sonics stolen. GP’s jersey needs a home, and the Sonics need to be an NBA team again.
And you PrinceNoirAmericain, PrinceAfroAmericain why are you following SoulfulLova and why are you so obsessed with African when everybody knows you are just a Black American. By the way you didn’t finished your job licker…I know you like the African honey of our hips…Especially the Nigerian and African ones…
I’m a Bulls-Fan for 20 years and I really miss the Sonics-Jersey in the NBA! I also miss the rivalries from back in the days because today there are no more real rivalries which are exciting to watch!! OKC!? Can’t blame the people/fans there, unfortunately the NBA is a business! The Kings are safe for now but there will be other teams! How about the Hornets, NEXT! Is there any sports league which owns a team playing in the same league, they can do what the want with the Hornets! It’s a shame!
Clearly stern, schultz, bennett and nickels/wa gov. were working together. Why would washington let bennett off the hook for 30m? Does anyone know if their can be a rival league basketball league started to compete with the nba? I think they may be wielding too much power. Like someone in this vid was fined 250k for speaking his mind (nothing bad really) and this is acceptable?
@206Hoopsfan4ever– I respect the people who worked to try and save the team, but to ask me to respect a person who quit going to games ‘that meant a lot to them’?? Thats like respecting a person trying to take back an adopted baby that ended up being a millionaire… Sorry, no sympathy here..
@206Hoopsfan4ever- Blame goes to those guys? There are d-2 universities across the country shutting down their sports programs (scholarships and all) because theyre a burden to the school. Its a business. If you were to have received a scholarship for tennis, then have that scholarship pulled because the program is sucking money from the school- would you be mad at the people who ran the athletic programs? Of course not. The blame would go directly towards the business. Sonics&Okc=same concept
So Seattle Sonics in 1990 got the 2nd pick and selected Gary Payton, player year and best from 1993-98. In 2007 Sonics got the 2nd pick and selected Kevin Durant, all star and helping the Sonics/Thunder in the best BBall for a sustained time. In 2012 OKC is headed for top seed. History repeats itself.
@OklahomaGrl28 That’s what makes being a sports fan so fun – you should see how Heats fan dump crap on Bulls fans over at ESPN. Heat fans taunt Bulls fans both team and city. I must admit I think Miami is more fun than Chicago in winters. A bulls fans posted a Dwight come to Chicago and an Orando fan said he’s not going to that crappy city, which Chicago fans called Orlando a useless city LOL. flame wars.
Seattle Sonics fans, it’s highly likely it will be a Thunder vs Heat 2012 or Thunder vs Bulls – do you plan to fly down to OKC when OKC wins and celebrate there (in Sonics colors of course)? You can arrange a caravan of Seattle Sonics fans to drive to OKC to celebrate or protest. (hopefully celebrate)lol . It’s fun to party when there is a sports championship!
You know Sonics fans, if the Thunder wins the 2012 NBAchampionship against Heat/Bulls, there’s no reason you can’t celebrate in bars and on the streets and have house parties and flash mob dancing! There’s no reason you Seattlites, after OKC wins and beats the Heat, you can’t go on the streets celebrating and cheering and fist pumping and saying “We WON”!!!! Secret is to pull for Durant. It’s no different than a Cleveand Lebron fan living in Cleveland cheering for Lebron in Miami Heat!
As a Thunder fan I may seem biased, but really the only argument Seattle has (had) was in the emails? I would be mad if the Thunder we’re hypothetically in talks about moving, but I wouldnt frame it as theft- unless it had unequivocally been proven to be theft by multiple courts. The Sonics were bleeding money and ended up being thrown around like a hot potato- landing in the hands of a group of motivated owners. Too little, too late’ If you sell a Picasso at a garage sell, dont ask for it back
@notagain001 Presti intentionally dismantled the team to lose on purpose to generate a lack of interest in the city. He didn’t care about the current team but instead built the team with 3 years in mind. It was a modern “Major League” situation. Any coincidence that the team had it’s worst record in franchise history it’s final year in Seattle? He traded off the team to hoard draft picks to use while in OKC and he had Durant fall in his lap. How does that make him a great GM?
Hey dumbass. Presti was the GM here in Seattle and was part of the effort to rape the team of all the star talent. Trading Allen for West/Szerbiak and 5th pick, then turning around and trading the 2 for 3 other scrubs. The 5 played an average of 23 games. It was a conscious effort to put a crap product on the court to prepare for the move. Get high draft picks at the expense of the current team. Also the Thomas for Barry/Elson n 1rd pick, they released Barry the day after the trade.
(Paperback) FROMMER’S SEATTLE is a great book about the Seattle, Washington area. It features lots of info about reacirteon, dining, nightlife, shopping, sightseeing, and culture, as well as interesting side trips and information for foreign travelers. The only problem with this book is that it doesn’t go into detail about shopping malls and music stores. However, if you get it in conjunction with the INSIDERS’ GUIDE and NEWCOMER’S HANDBOOK series, as well as several other guides, you’ll have everything you need to know about Seattle at your fingertips.
This documentary is deitnifely very informative . I knew learned few things .. I thought Gary Payton was always part of Lakers Just from all the tweets of MAD NW crew and artists, I know that NW people are passionate sports fans and for sure, having your own basketball team taken away is very painful. Hoping that MAD NW will be so successful with your films and projects that you will have enough money to buy back Seattle Sonics Thanks for posting this documentary
who the hell can they get to guard Dirk. No one. But of all the 4 teams, Serge Ibaka would have the BEST shot.I’m thinking Dallas with their needrvneing bench is a favorite to win but I’m rooting for Okc. And the other question is, who’s gonna guard Durant? Dallas doesn’t have a Tony Allen quality 3 to put that pressure on him to give up the ball and Westbrook is not Derek Fisher on offense or defense. Matter of fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that Dallas swept the Lakers, would they be the favorite? I think Okc can pull it off if they can lock down on the perimeter D.
Hilarious commetary to go along with Kemp duinnkg!!! Great stuff. I think Kevin Harlan and a young Kevin Garnett was a pretty good combo. Then Keven Harlan got a national broadcasting job and The Big Ticket got traded, but it was good while it lasted. Kevin Harlan presided over the KG and Steph era and it was great!
I remember some of lvniig in Sandy, this must have been taken not to many years before we moved to 2nd East and 20th so in salt lake. I remember going to school in Salt lake at 5 and this picture of wayne and I look like it was taken before. We have always loved the picture of Wayne and the peas.
Conservative females like Ann are worth their IQ in gold bars – as are cviesroatnve blacks. They get to have and express opinions for which european-american males are immediately fired. Her wit is unparalleled as is her ability to skewer the stupidity and self-contradictions of the left. Hacks like Couric can’t touch her. College twits are reduced to throwing food because they have no rational arguments. Love her love her love her.