Betts
10-06-2008, 10:16 PM
And that's the way I like it:
Records will be separate
Comments 0By Mike Baldwin
Published: October 5, 2008
http://www.newsok.com/article/3307538
Will Kevin Durant’s rookie season become nothing more than a footnote in Thunder history? Most likely.
Thunder officials will keep separate records. Points. Rebounds. Assists. Everything. In next year’s media guide there will be a Thunder records section and a Sonics record section.
It’s the right thing to do.
Does anyone in Oklahoma care the Sonics twice scored 154 points in the late 1980s? No. Thunder fans will prefer their own "team record.” Same goes for individual records. Does it matter to local fans that Fred Brown scored 58 points for the Sonics 34 years ago? Or would they prefer the "team” record be the night Durant goes off for 40-plus points his second year in the league? It’s doubtful any Thunder player would ever surpass Jim Fox’s record for rebounds in a game (30). After all, no Sonics player has broken that record for 35 years. Most fans probably didn’t know someone named Jim Fox even played in Seattle.
That’s the point.
"It’s important to this organization, and fans, that we keep separate Oklahoma City records that are set here,” said Thunder public relations director Brian Facchini. "As for the future, there are legal issues.” It’s those legal issues that make this relocation unique in all of professional sports. Thunder owner Clay Bennett owns the Sonics history, the 1978-79 NBA championship trophy, stats, nickname and colors. An out-of-court settlement stipulates Bennett must "share the history.”
That’s like trying to share a popsicle.
The most similar example to the Sonics/Thunder relocation is the Cleveland Browns leaving for Baltimore. The organization left the nickname, colors and records in Cleveland. But Cleveland was guaranteed to get another NFL team. An expansion team. Seattle might get another NBA team. It might not.
It’s an unusual situation.
The Lakers took their records with them when they moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. The same thing when the Jazz moved from New Orleans to Salt Lake City. The Charlotte Hornets took all records to New Orleans. The Charlotte Bobcats started from scratch as an expansion team.
Oklahoma City technically is an expansion team... with a 40-year history it won’t embrace.
Records will be separate
Comments 0By Mike Baldwin
Published: October 5, 2008
http://www.newsok.com/article/3307538
Will Kevin Durant’s rookie season become nothing more than a footnote in Thunder history? Most likely.
Thunder officials will keep separate records. Points. Rebounds. Assists. Everything. In next year’s media guide there will be a Thunder records section and a Sonics record section.
It’s the right thing to do.
Does anyone in Oklahoma care the Sonics twice scored 154 points in the late 1980s? No. Thunder fans will prefer their own "team record.” Same goes for individual records. Does it matter to local fans that Fred Brown scored 58 points for the Sonics 34 years ago? Or would they prefer the "team” record be the night Durant goes off for 40-plus points his second year in the league? It’s doubtful any Thunder player would ever surpass Jim Fox’s record for rebounds in a game (30). After all, no Sonics player has broken that record for 35 years. Most fans probably didn’t know someone named Jim Fox even played in Seattle.
That’s the point.
"It’s important to this organization, and fans, that we keep separate Oklahoma City records that are set here,” said Thunder public relations director Brian Facchini. "As for the future, there are legal issues.” It’s those legal issues that make this relocation unique in all of professional sports. Thunder owner Clay Bennett owns the Sonics history, the 1978-79 NBA championship trophy, stats, nickname and colors. An out-of-court settlement stipulates Bennett must "share the history.”
That’s like trying to share a popsicle.
The most similar example to the Sonics/Thunder relocation is the Cleveland Browns leaving for Baltimore. The organization left the nickname, colors and records in Cleveland. But Cleveland was guaranteed to get another NFL team. An expansion team. Seattle might get another NBA team. It might not.
It’s an unusual situation.
The Lakers took their records with them when they moved from Minneapolis to Los Angeles. The same thing when the Jazz moved from New Orleans to Salt Lake City. The Charlotte Hornets took all records to New Orleans. The Charlotte Bobcats started from scratch as an expansion team.
Oklahoma City technically is an expansion team... with a 40-year history it won’t embrace.