The film is called “Sonicsgate” and was made by Seattle-based filmmaker Jason Reid. The movie has an 80-minute runtime and is going to be released online only.
After watching the trailer it appears the film is going to be as non-partisan as it possibly can be and actually looks really interesting. I realize there’s still bad blood and bitterness about the situation, but regardless of emotions, there’s a history to how the Thunder came to be. And while we can try and ignore it all we want, it’s still there and we might as well embrace and understand it. You have to be careful because nobody wants to stir the pot and I as much as anyone want to move on away from it all, but this film will have a lot of information and it directly involves the team I now call my own.
For more on the film, check out www.sonicsgate.org.
@KingGondo
maybe the old lady in the electric stair climbing chair with the cats.
Stern works for the owners. he will do what they want. 28-2 of the NBA owners were in favor of relocation. We want to get info out there so others might understand the situation better.
@sonicsgate
So is David Stern the creepy Chinese shopkeeper in your Gremlins scenario?
Sonicsgate continuous arguments that the film is unbiased are undermined by the statements that those who might be apathetic torwards it simply are uninformed or misguided.
If anything my lack of interest stems from over saturation with the subject.
Every institute ever considered a "public trust" whether it be a sports team, a religious organization, and especially the government is going to be littered with "scandal and betrayal" stemming from viewpoints as different as the individual public perception.
Thank you everyone. It is really sad that the NBA created so much animosity between our towns.
Howard Schultz and Seattle's local government is truly some of the biggest villains in this film. Clay is no angel either but his actions are part of the ugly business of moving a team. This film concentrates on the history of the Sonics, how much the team means to a community and how it lost favor in Seattle's eye over the years. Maily due to the competition from the Mariners and Seahawks flanked by a horrible NBA product on the floor. Then a large part of this film is detailing the nitty-gritty of how the Howard/NBA/PBC/Seattle leaders went about destroying a "public trust"(howard schultz called the Sonics a public trust) and how the fans did everything they could in the face of an impossible situation.
The main theme in the film is:
"stick to the facts"
Don't feed the NBA after midnight or get it wet. That cute fuzzy creature will turn on you.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
Great aspect ans post.
When it comes to NBA in Oklahoma, there are two types of fans.
There are the basketball purists, who, despite the lack of a local NBA franchise, still bought league pass, still watched every playoff game, still kept up with their favorites. They did it because they loved basketball. Most of them cheered for their college team first and foremost, and the NCAA tourney is still a big deal here.
Then there are the regular sports fans, who like sports of all kinds, they like the entertainment value, they like the experience of game day. They didn't follow an NBA team specifically, but possibly bought several tickets to Hornets games for a while and caught the fever.
The first group is small, the second group is large. Most of my friends and in the second group. From their perspective, the move from Seattle happened about like this...
"Hey, you guys wanna have an NBA team?"
"Why, sure mister!"
"Okay then, here you go."
"Gee, thanks mister! WooHoo!"
Then they get online, or watch TV, or whatever else, and they see and hear people attacking their city, and often, them directly. They see and hear ill-will being sent their way, with negative wishes tossed toward their new favorite players. And like any red-blooded human being, they get defensive when attacked, and lash back. Suddenly, everyone turns into "that guy".
I posted on this blog ages ago about being "that guy". He's the one who uses his association to a sports team as a means to judge other people to be "better than them", and their city, etc... It's all misguided, illogical, immature, emotional and unfounded.
I have never said a single negative word about Seattle or their Sonics fans that I haven't said about any fan of any sport in any city. Some are normal people, some are "that guy". Everyone has them, everyone has to deal with them.
If this online movie accomplishes it's goal, and people are moved to compassion for Seattle's Sonics fans (which, btw, is just nearly everyone who's ever paid any attention) and that results in a change of heart towards their experience for a few of our local "that guy" fans, then good deal. If their local legislature changes hands, and the new guys listen to the voice of the Sonics fans, then good deal. If the movie serves as an educational tool for people who were focused on other areas of life at the time of the move, then good deal. Even if the only thing the movie does is serve as a form of closure for a few people, then good deal. I plan on watching it regardless.
But, if all the movie does is keep the door open for "that guy" to keep bashing the other "that guy" from the other city, then this movie just made things worse for everyone, and it won't be such a good deal. If the movie alienates people as a way to "get back", not a good deal. If it serves as a way to keep people divided, not a good deal. I plan on watching it regardless.
I'm an Oklahoma City resident. I was allowed to vote on arena expansions. I voted yes. My family and I owned season tickets to all the Hornet's games, and all the Thunder games. I've missed two home games in all that time. My official take on the whole situation is that I took my opportunity when it presented itself, and that's all I did. I refuse to take insult or blame. I refuse to feel ashamed or bad about it. I feel empathetic to Sonics fans. I realize they got a raw deal and I benefited from that raw deal. I realize that their loss is my gain. But I do my part to keep from being "that guy". That's about all I can do.
I'm looking forward to the movie, too. While I completely get it's a film told from the Sonic perspective, I hope it contains all the facts about the relocation, including the ones revealing the culpability of the Seattle side (Slade Gorton, the City and Wally Walker).
Some of the Sonic blogs continue to state obvious falsehoods as fact (Ford Center stories, team financial inaccuracies, constant OKC bashing), no doubt due to the emotion involved with the relocation. Hopefully the film doesn't go into this territory.
Thanks Sonicsgate for posting.....
I will watch this movie, looks like it will be entertaining although i won't expect it to be neutral. In fact in this trailer I can see examples of it being biased, like how it shows bennett with an angry face at 1:18 and calling him a villain.
But thanks a lot for sharing the movie!
I am very interested in the film. As a Thunder season ticket holder, I can say that I was ecstatic when the team came to town. Do I feel that it could have been handled better? Sure. Anytime a city like Seattle has enough emotion and ammunition to create an 80 minute documentary, there were definitely some problems there. I'm glad sonicsgate came by to back up his film.
The 'city' bashing just shows ignorance. Besides collegiate titles, the Thunder are the best thing that has happened sportswise to this area as long as I've lived here. Why wouldn't we embrace the opportunity that is the NBA in OKC?
@sonicsgate
Thanks for doing the film and coming on here to tell your side. As an artist myself I understand the emotional and pain-staking efforts it takes to hone your craft from idea to realization.
I will watch your film and try to see the Seattle/Sonic's fan POV.
Having your team taken away must have been like losing a best friend or loved one. I'm truely sorry to the true fans.
Here in Oklahoma, we understand the "passion of sport" as much as any big market,(you'll see that on Oct. 28th and beyond!) so I'll try and be open-minded and hear your side.
I hope that one day Seattle will once again have "their" NBA team and get The Sonics back.(i.e. like Cleveland got a 2nd chance at The Browns even though the franchaise had gone to Baltimore. Love those classic Sonic's uniforms!!) I just hope that whoever pony's up the dough and puts their money where their heart/mouth is dosen't have to endure what Clay did. "Maybe" I'm bias, but that man went to hell and back for Oklahoma and The Thunder.
Maybe, one day, we can one day put this ugliness behind us and just enjoy the beauty that is the NBA.
"...Why can't we be friends?...Why can't we be friend's!" ect...
(harmony breaksout, musically and socially)
Thanks for sharing, sonicsgate. I look forward to watching the movie, and it actually looks quite well-balanced. The part that everyone needs to realize, rather than blaming one person (and the documentary seems to get this quite well judging from the preview) is that it takes a lot of people working together to make an NBA team leave their home of 40 years.
I especially can't wait to see the parts about Howard Schultz, the biggest immediate benefactor of the Sonics move (aside from the people of OKC). This supposedly savvy businessman wants the people of Seattle to believe that he sold the team to PBC with no idea that they might try to make the team move, and then had the audacity to file a lawsuit claiming that he was "deceived."
Thanks for making this film, it's definitely a story worth telling in documentary format.
@Sonics
If more time were spent finding a viable solution to the ingredients that led to the loss instead of rehashing and reliving the loss, those in Seattle who love the NBA may realize the return of BB. I hope the side of the story that says that BB in Seattle is a third class citizen against Baseball and Football is also told. Just because a city is large and urban etc. does not necessarily make it a great market (Today) for a particular sport. Numerous examples exist where larger cities were unwilling or unable to support multiple sports over the long haul. Could it be that Seattle has become a city with so much diversity that sport is secondary? If this documentary is for one minute about Clay Bennett and those evil Oklahomans, then I think those in Seattle who do love BB will have missed a great opportunity for self assessment rather than blame. I belive CB is a great owner dedicated to making the Thunder (now that they are here) successful and I will support him and the team for as long as they are here. If the fans in Oklahoma become complacent about our team then we stand to lose it and deservedly so.
@Royce
happy to talk in more detail about this.
can you email me at sonicsgate@gmail.com subject OKC POV/Royce
thx.
@tom
tom,
you are exactly the target audience we want to view sonicsgate. your point of view is so off base that it made us want to make a movie and let you watch it for FREE.
Will you and will rogers be singing the same "teams leave" tune if your team leaves in 40 years or God forbid 6-7 years,(your lease is up in 2014 btw). Will you feel the same as you do now after you had spent time at games with your kids and then later with the children of your children? Family memories go back 3 generations with the Sonics. The only entitlement we wanted was another chance to root for the team we loved next year.
We agree that this film should be a wake-up that inaction leads to loss. Please watch the movie and then you can blast it.
Agree with Steve H, teams have and will move and in every case the how and why is well documented. From my perspective the Sonics left a great city because of it's own arrogance and sense of entitlement that led to inaction, apathy and the eventual sale of the team to people not associated with the region. This film should serve as a wake-up that inaction leads to the potential for loss, something I do not need this film to tell me. Go Thunder!!!!.
@Steve H
the fact is teams moved.
the question is how.
@Steve H
Your comment is so true. A+++++
@sonicsgate
Thanks a bunch for sharing. I'll definitely be watching it.
Funny that you picked Will Rogers though. He's as Oklahoman as it gets, but that just made me chuckle. I sure hope the film keeps an eye to the OKC perspective and isn't 80 minutes of Clay Bennett/OKC bashing.
@sonicsgate
Thanks, but I'm still going to pass. And yes, thank you, I'm perfectly fine with how we got the team, as are the Grizzlies fans, and Kings fans, Lakers fans, Jazz fans, Hornets fans, Clippers fans, and not to mention the Dodgers, Giants, Colts, Raiders, Titans, Stars, and probably another dozen or so proffessional franchises that have relocated over the years that I can't rattle off the top of my head. It ain't greek tragedy- just something that happens.
@sonicsgate
Thanks for coming on and sharing Sonicsgate. Very cool that you feel that passionate about the subject and the team.
Hello from Seattle WA. This movie is FREE on the internet October 12th 2009. (www.sonicsgate.org) Please know that this film is NOT about bashing OKC. We are going to give as much of the facts as we can and try to entertain you at the same time with stunning HD quality and some of Seattle's finest musical talent. Steve H you should watch it b/c your comment tells me that you do not understand the ugly business of moving a team. A team that has been part of the fabric of a community for over 41 years. As a Fan you should watch and take notes.
It would be like if Seattle bought "will rogers" and moved his belongs and history to Washington State.
I hope you all can watch and enjoy how you got your team. Thank you.
-Sonicsgate
There will be no YAWNS in this film just the high drama of what it means to be an NBA fan these days.
Can't say I'm interested. Guy bought a bad team, not so secretly wanted to move it to his own hometown, and moved it when he got the chance. Die hard fans upset about move, but not enough of them to vote in new arena to prevent new owner's relocation plan. Yawn.
I doubt I'll watch it. If I lived in Seattle I might feel differently, but I have turned the page and the Thunder are my team. It's too bad that so many Sonic fans can't do the same, but I completely understand why they feel hurt and betrayed and feel a sense of loss.
I thought I would probably never say this, but if you can take all of emails and comments and half truths out of the equation before the team moved, and just judge him since the move, Clay Bennett has been a very good and committed owner. Light years better than cheapskate Howard Schultz.
looks interesting....hope it doesn't make me hate Bennett too much
That looks interesting. The saddest thing about the death of the Sonics is that their uniforms don't exist anymore. Those were some classy joints.
One thing I'll say also, is I would hope that the filmmaker got at least one perspective from this side of the issue. I highly doubt it, but I think that would add some strength to the film.