| Kings Playing For More Than Rings Authored by Bob Souza - April 19, 2005 - 4:33 am
Monday night’s 92-82 loss to the Utah Jazz leaves the Kings one victory shy of the magic 50 for the season, a small indicator of a successful campaign. With one home game left against the high-flying Phoenix Suns, it is still possible to achieve that number. That would give them 9 of their last 14, and they would be ready to move on.
However, this year’s playoffs offer them more than one potential big reward.
Having spent 14 years in the Bay Area and attended many Golden State games, I can attest to the enthusiasm of the Warrior fans. But let’s be honest. Who in their right mind could follow that ghastly squad for the last ten or eleven years, and still care?
Even a little.
Well, they do. And now it appears the front office may have finally assembled enough of the pieces to create lots of forthcoming double-yoos. Bully for them.
A hundred miles away in Sacramento, the vibes are slightly different. Multiply that Warrior passion by ten and you get a small sniff of what goes on around here. You almost can’t go into any place of business without seeing NBA memorabilia, more specifically Kings’ memorabilia. It seems everybody is a fan with a bloated opinion, as fans tend to have.
For a city that exudes such enormous fervor for their team, the idea that they could pack up and leave is utterly unthinkable. But the continued problems vis-a-vis building a new arena make it a scary possibility. Way too scary.
Greg Boeck, a senior writer for USA Today, recently completed a fact-finding tour of many of the NBA’s arenas.
“The fans in Sacramento are great,” he said, “but the arena kind of (stinks)”. He vowed never again to come sans earplugs. “The guy I sat next to went out of his way to say, ‘This is it, man. This is our team. There is nobody else.’ Sacramento fans really know basketball. They know when to cheer, how to cheer.”
Arco Arena was built in 1988 for about 40 million dollars, and no taxpayer money. The concourses are too crowded, the lines too long, and the food is too much the same. Apparently the roof leaks. An old facility by today’s standards, it should be replaced, not just for basketball, but for all of the other events held there during the year – some 200 in total.
Without a new arena, there is no question the owner Maloofs will gather their toys and disappear at some point. Why? Because no one can stop them. Somewhere, somebody will find the means to get them an arena. Count on it. And Sacramento will be left to ponder an incredible emptiness.
So imagine this: An exciting stint in the post-season, where the Kings topple favored opponents, finding their way to the conference finals. How about a spectacular run, where they actually get crowned the conference winners? Or maybe a stirring 7-game frolic over Shaq and his minions for all the marbles?
Now we have some serious clout. Hey, you Maloof guys… just try moving our “NBA Champion Kings” away.
Impossible? Probably. Stranger things have happened.
That kind of splendid success would shake things up quite a bit – stimulate more than a few negative minds about how to deal with the stumbling blocks to a new facility. Other cities are able to do it.
The excitement over the Kings would surely create the relentless momentum needed to finally accomplish the task. Everybody wants to be identified with a winner. Nobody wants to be pointed at and scorned.
There’s your triumphant headline: “Championship Team Paves Way To New Arena”.
Sounds just about perfect. You’re never too old to dream.
Sacramento is a growing, thriving part of the state. Many of us have escaped from the congested Bay Area to this region. Many more will follow. We need the Kings to stay, to be a major part of a vibrant future.
To be one of two northern California teams. Hopefully, the better one.
Often, people’s lives revolve around their favorite team. They drag themselves to their dreary jobs, then count the minutes until they can rush home and flip on the game, freeing themselves from life’s daily stresses for even a couple of hours.
It would be a shame to lose such a treasure. |
