More News on Sonics Lawsuit

I agree OU Adonis. We may be PROUD of our city finally, but many folks are still insecure. I don't know any other major city in America that is embarrassed or doesn't embrace their past. Oklahomans (even some of us proud ones) still have a HUGE inferiority problem. When we learn to embrace our history and culture and past culture, THEN we will see the tourism coffers explode. People don't want to visit what they can get elsewhere, they want to come here for our unique history. Texas seems to embrace the Cowboy heritage just fine (and they are making bank off it).

False.


I don't WANT to be Kansas City or LA or NYC or some other city with a more "sophisticated" stereotype. There's nothing sophisiticated about all their gang violence and traffic and low quality of life, none of which we have to endure here in our fair burg. I want to be OKC, and our western heritage is part of it.

You're absolutely right. There's not one thing wrong with boots or the western culture/heritage that exists in this city. I wear boots all the time, have had the same pair since the late 70's.

Some of you posters, for some reason, have the misguided notion that to turn our backs on the reality of what this great city was and is, is the surest path to becoming the New Jerusalem or something. Time and again you can read in this very forum about the need for something different to set us apart. Yet here, when we have that very thing, the history that belongs to us, many badmouth it, are for some reason embarrassed by it, and want to magically change it into someone's perception of what a hip, vibrant west coast city would be.

Yeah, we've got our fair share of rubes and rednecks, but that alone shouldn't dictate how we, the rest of us, feel about the true nature of this wonderful, still wild and free city.

Now.....what about that Sonics thread.

I don't mind the boot thing, but saying our quality of life is better than there’s is a little specious. Those markets have soooooo much you can't even get here. Maybe they have higher concentrations in some areas of some of the bad stuff than we do, but they also have higher concentrations of the good stuff, like high paying jobs, entertainment options, affluent living, etc. Sure, if you measure quality of life solely on the price per square foot paid for your house, then yeah, it's better here. But if you measure it on the actual living options, then we have a long way to go.

However, I don't think using boots and cowboys in our marketing have anything to do with any of the discrepancies, good or bad.

> touts OKC as being "The Horse Capitol". How backwards is that

Not backwards at all. There is more than a few shovels of income income generated through the horse industry, and not just in Purcell, Norman and the surrounding countryside. Boots may not be on the feet of bankers, but they remain very much on the feet of many man Oklahomans, including thos in OKC.

Being blessed with new avenues of recognitiond oesn't mean the old have died off, we're just maturing as a state ... happens when ya hit that second century

I've been saying for along time that we need to embrace and not be ashamed of our cowboy and western heritage. A city or state can be both metropolitan and retain their old west roots.

As someone mentioned before, Texas is a great example of that. Just look at Dallas. Dallas has some very cosmopolitan clubs, places and people but you also never forget you're in Texas when you're there. Look at their pro teams: Cowboys, Mavericks and Rangers. All adhere to their western heritage.

I know as Oklahomans we're supposed to all hate Texas, but we can also learn from what they do right.

Back to topic of Sonics please............... These next 7-17 days will be the information we've been waiting for for quite some time. Lots of information to come out.

Thanks metro. I'm still thinking little to no chance of settlement at this point.

I always thought that was a sun.

We won a lot in pretrial recently.

Yeah we did. That bodes well for us.

The evidence which was kicked out was good news for the PBC. If the City's aim was to argue along the lines of the Minnesota Twins case, where "civic pride" was what led to the grant of the equitable remedy, its case took a few huge hits. The sports radio personality as well as other evidence of the 'hurt feelings' which might occur should the Sonics be allowed to buy out the lease will not be heard. This narrows their argument quite a bit.

I was a little worried about that Minnesota Twins case. Now, that's much less the case.

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I actually don't think there will be a settlement now for this reason. I fully expect the Sonics are going to win the case and they are going to walk away and owe less than $5 million. If there is a settlement it would have to be initiated by the City and I don't see that happening with their current crop of leadership.

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Man, I hop eyou're right, Kerry.

Some people will never get the "cow" dung off their boots. They wear it with a "badge" of honor. It really is time to move past the cowboy image of our city and strive to be a "more" cosmopolitan, progressive city that I know we can become. What is wrong with being modern, open minded and exploring new ideas. I for one, embrace OKC being the modern, cosmopolitan city that it truly deserves to be. Believe me there is more to country and western and horses!!

can't we have the best of both worlds; a little of each, and continue to grow with a great heritage and glowing future...without the past OKC would not be what it is today...and without innovative minds the future and outlook would be very glum. A little bit country and a little bit cosmo suits me just fine..

Y'all are showing your insecurity regarding the topic by just talking about it.

Repeat after me:

"The--cowboy--image--is--no--big--deal."

Better?? A city's image is what it is. You can no more change that than you could change the topography of the city. National perception isn't going to be what we will it to be, but rather it'll be whatever it'll be.

What any of this has to do with the Sonics lawsuit, I'll never know.

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It's a friendlier OKCTalk!

The only people who think we ride horses to work are the morons who are too ignorant to help anyway. I don't think everybody in New York is a baseball obsessing, Italian, who has connections to the mob. Nor do I think that all Californians own surfboards and speak in "valley" slang. Only the idiots believe the stereotypes about us too, and who cares about them.
We are who we are.

OK i have never seen such a bunch of cry babies in Seattle , get over it.

You lost the team. Your "loyal owners' sold it to Clay. You had your changes to keep them.

Your area is falling apart. the "loyal" city cant pass any taxes to build another one.

Where are all the "loyal" fans, oh yea on ok city's BB complaining and whining,

Drop it already. They will soon be okc 's team. be it this fall or after 2010.

I doubt the judge will rule to force an owner to keep the team there. At most she will rule some monatary settlement to get out of the last 2 yrs contract.

If the team does have to stay there for 2 years, are all of you 'loyal fans' going to go to the games and give your money to Clay????

I doubt it.

The Tulsa 66ers of the NBA Developmental League will become the minor-league affiliate of the Sonics for the 2008-09 season, the NBA announced Wednesday as part of extensive changes made to the D-League’s affiliation system.

The NBA made changes to the D-League’s affiliation system to accommodate league expansion. The D-League will add two new franchises in Erie, Pa. and Reno, Nev. for the upcoming season, bumping the number of teams in the league to 16.

Despite the Sonics impending relocation to Oklahoma City, the NBA in a release on Wednesday didn’t make any mention of the 66ers potentially playing just 90 miles away from the Ford Center or provide any reason for the change.

Since 2005, the Idaho Stampede in Boise, Idaho had been the Sonics’ D-League affiliate along with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Sonics will now share their Tulsa affiliation with the Milwaukee Bucks.

NBA rules allow teams to send first or second-year players to their D-League affiliates up to three times each season. The 66ers were the D-League affiliate of the Hornets during their two-year stay in Oklahoma City.

The Sonics are scheduled to begin a six-day federal court trial Monday with the city of Seattle to determine when the team can relocate. The Sonics’ Oklahoma City-based ownership group is seeking to buyout the remaining two years of their KeyArena lease and move to Oklahoma City in time for the 2008-09 NBA season. Seattle officials are looking to bind the team to the remaining two lease years.

I'd be willing to place money on the fact that it's the younger crowd on this forum who is screaming for a new modern cosmo while the older crowd wants to still play cowboys and indians.

Haha, I think a new modern casino is good for OKC AND I still want to play cowboys and indians. I am 27.