The NBA playoffs seem to touch a nerve in Seattle every year. It’s the playoffs, more than anything else, that reminds fans of the Sonics and Seattle sports fans about the missing piece of the puzzle. You can see Seattle fans take to social media and spread their passion throughout the playoffs as the fire is reignited once again.
For Jason Reid and the group of Sonics fans who made the trip to Denver, the playoffs are a reminder of the past and serve as motivation for the future.
“There’s something about playoff time. I’m still a huge NBA fan, we’re pretty hard hoops fans. The feeling in playoff time, that intensity of being there with everything on the line, I totally miss that,” Reid said. “Part of what’s going on — with Sonics fans being so irate — we have this team doing so well built on the backs of our losing seasons. It’s just painful to people here.”
The NBA playoffs come at a dead time in sports. Major League Baseball is just barely getting out of the gates, college sports are over and the NFL offseason is in full-swing — or in a lockout. Seattle fans are hungry for meaningful sports. And seeing the former Sonics as playoff favorites and in the midst of what appears to be a deep run fuels that hunger even more.
“The Mariners are terrible, the Seahawks aren’t playing, we don’t have anything big to root for,” Reid said while discussing the sports climate in Seattle. “Especially given the history. Imagine being up 3-0 against the Nuggets with a team in Seattle. That’s gonna piss you off and mobilize you to do something. All we can do is keep the heat on and keep the publicity up.”
And the trip to Denver reignited the fire for Reid and the rest of the group. First and foremost, Sonicsgate wants a team back in Seattle. But the group is made up of basketball fans who love the game and have a passion for basketball. But without a team, the empty feeling still exists.
“It felt good to be passionate about a basketball game again,” Reid said. “We used to get to root for our team, but now we’re rooting for the game.”
We’ll be back throughout the day with more from Reid. We discussed his feelings about the Thunder, how players felt about those crazy, green and gold wearing fans and what message the group is trying to get across. Stay with this StoryStream for more of the interview and head over to the Sonicsgate website to watch the documentary for free