PERSONALLY, I’VE ALWAYS thought of Seattle as a miserable sports city.
I grew up a Utah Jazz fan, and the SuperSonics were always a thorn in the Jazz’s side.
Seattle was always a tough place for the Jazz to play, and Gary Payton was one of the only point guards who could compete with John Stockton during his prime, Detlef Schrempf was a matchup nightmare, and Sam Perkins was a Jazz-killer with is timely 3-pointers. Shawn Kemp wasn’t too bad, either.
One of the toughest losses for me to stomach was when the Jazz lost to the Sonics in an exciting seven-game Western Conference Finals in 1996.
Another painful Seattle memory for me was the 1995 American League Division Series.
It was great for Mariners fans when Edgar Martinez doubled home Joey Cora and Ken Griffey Jr. in the 11th inning of Game 5. But for someone who was raised to be a Yankees fan, it was devastating.
Last week, Forbes’ sports business writer Tom Van Riper ranked Seattle at the top of his “2013 America’s Most Miserable Sports Cities” list. (Click on: www.forbes.com/sites/tomvanriper/2013/07/31/americas-most-miserable-sports-cities-2 )
But the distinction isn’t a nod to the pain Seattle’s sports teams have inflicted on me and others, but to its own suffering.
The city’s lengthy championship drought, which dates back 34 years to when the Sonics won the 1979 NBA title, is only a minor factor in Van Riper’s system.
And Seattle’s misery doesn’t come from a history of awful teams. In fact, quite the opposite.
“This is about misery in the heartbreak sense — cities whose teams have been good enough over the years to win games and make championship runs, only to disappoint in the end more often than not,” Van Riper wrote.
Only the four major sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL) count for Van Riper’s list. In Seattle’s case, this means the Seahawks, Sonics, Mariners and Pilots.
Those franchises know about coming close to championships, but falling short.
The Seahawks reached Super Bowl XL in 2006, but lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and a few zebras.
The 2001 Mariners tied a Major League Baseball record by winning 116 games, but lost in the American League Championship Series.
After getting by the Jazz, the Sonics lost the 1996 NBA Finals to the Chicago Bulls four games to two.
Seattle’s record in championship rounds is 1-3, its semifinal round record is 4-7. In 115 combined years, the 1979 Sonics are the city’s only championship team.
Van Riper also awards “bonus points” to cities that lose a major sports franchise to relocation.
This is what makes Seattle hands-down the most miserable sports city, especially in 2013.
Seattle has lost the Pilots (a Major League Baseball franchise that moved to Milwaukee after only one season and became the Brewers) and the Sonics.
The city should receive double-bonus points for losing the Sacramento Kings and Phoenix Coyotes to failed relocation bids — and both within the past few months.
Furthermore, many great players have left the Emerald City while in the primes of their careers.
Griffey Jr. left at age 30, Kemp at 26. Randy Johnson was 34, but he still had some of his best years ahead of him.
Alex Rodriguez bolted for Texas when he was 25, but all Seattle ended up losing was a juiced-up headache. Besides, the Mariners’ first season without him was 2001, the year they won 116 games.
Oh, and don’t forget Kevin Durant, who became one of the NBA’s best players after being forced to leave Seattle for Oklahoma City.
I might be an outsider, but I am related to Seattle sports fans, and I have seen their pain.
A brother-in-law loved the Sonics so much that he named his son after Gus Williams, who played on the 1979 championship team. But he says he stopped following the NBA closely when Clay Bennett turned the Sonics into Thunder.
I visited his brother in Bellingham last year, and we spent a couple hours in his garage watching recordings of old Sonics games.
I also experienced Seattle’s pain first-hand.
In March of 2008, I attended one of the Sonics’ final games before relocating.
By then, the move to Oklahoma City was inevitable.
The fans started various chants about saving the Sonics, but each time a chant died down, it seemed like there was a short moment of silence in which everyone was realizing that their chants weren’t going to change anything.
It was the most miserable sporting event I have ever attended.
But Seattle has hope.
Football season begins in 35 days, and the Seahawks are legitimate contenders.
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Sports reporter/outdoors columnist Lee Horton can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5152 or at lhorton@peninsuladailynews.com.
