It’s not often that one finds actual hoops commentary on Sesame Street. And less often, still, that such commentary is applicable to the NBA Finals.
Nevertheless, in considering the current championship series between athletic-center-of-the-universe (be it his fault or that of our never-satiated 24-hour sports media, or, most likely, a bit of both) LeBron “The King” James’ Miami Heat (team), and the Oklahoma City Thunder (aka The Franchise Formerly Known as the Seattle Supersonics), this classic clip of Kermit the Frog directing Forgetful Jones singing the theme song to the play Oklahoma immediately came to mind.
The history of professional sports is littered with numerous examples of franchising changing cities, teams changing owners, and the fortunes of both being radically altered. Sometimes such moves are noteworthy, oftentimes they are not. (I attended an interleague Sox game against the Montreal Expos years ago, and can’t imagine that fanbase being too distraught with their team’s move to Washington, D.C. to become the Nationals.) But the feelings of a franchise’s fans tend to be a bit more bitter when said team is taken from a devoted fanbase, moved to another city’s devoted fanbase-in-waiting, and then proceeds to win a championship a few years later.
Such was the case with the Cleveland Browns, whose owner, Art Modell, moved the beloved football team to Maryland in 1995, where they won the Super Bowl 5 years later, as the Baltimore Ravens. And such will be the case as well with this year’s Oklahoma City Thunder, who are poised to win this year’s NBA Finals, five years after Oklahoma businessmen Aubrey McClendon and Clay Bennett purchased the Seattle Supersonics from former owner, Starbucks founder, and Pacific Northwest legend Howard Schultz.
But while this recent tumultuous team history has been largely forgotten (or extremly glossed over) by most NBA pundits, fans in Seattle seem, understandably, less willing to move on. Today, on the eve of the series’ second game, there is a “Rally to Bring Back the Sonics” in downtown Seattle.
Legendary Seattle rockers Pearl Jam have also expressed regret at their fair city losing its basketball team.
All of which will make it even more frustrating for the Sonics fans when OKC take their talents to South Beach, and close out the series in 5, to win this year’s NBA championship.
