Small Market, Big Heart

This was a great documentary. I still feel for Seattle and Vancouver with the Grizzlies and Sonics moving to Memphis and OKC. As much as I would love to have a team come to Anaheim, the Kings need to stay in Sacramento. With big market teams like the Lakers, Clippers, Heat, Knicks, etc. the grassroots support is non-existent because of so many fairweather fans. So many big market teams have gone through a struggle where fans are as passionate for their team as small market teams. You definitely do not get that at Clipper games (until this year) or Laker games where fans are passionate. The only benefit with the Sonics moving to OKC is that OKC is a small market. Every time I watch an Thunder home game on TV, I can only imagine how loud it is in the arena. The small market teams are where all the real fans are because of how intertwined the team is with the community. It gives way to a more important discussion as to how the NBA needs to be weary of owners like the Maloofs who are the NBA’s version of Frank McCourt using team funds to finance their lives when their business start going bad. Even Donald Sterling who is known as the worst owner in all of professional sports has yet to do that (to the extent of my knowledge). The NBA, in order to generate greater support from the communities of small market teams, needs to find owners who are in support for the community and hold them accountable to make it harder for teams to get up and move. I feel what the Maloofs are doing is an insult to every Kings fan in Sacramento and every NBA fan across the country.