Would you be a fan of the Seahawks if they ever moved?

[KiwiHawk]

I live in New Zealand and before that the central coast of California, so location is pretty meaningless to me.

What would matter most would be the name and traditions of the team. If they moved to become the Vancouver Seahawks, or Portland Seahawks, or Auckland Seahawks (I can dream) with team history and tradition attached, then no problem for me.

If they moved to another city and changed the name like the Sonics becoming the Thunder, then I'd have a big problem. That's basically erasing the existing team and starting over with a new one that happens to have the old players.

I'm old enough to have seen enough players come and go that I don't follow players when they leave. I mainly buy 12 jerseys for the same reason - players are temporary; it's the team that remains.

So if they moved to become the Sacramento Itinerant Laborers, or the LA Smog, or even the Olympia Washongtonians, I wouldn't follow them anymore. The team would be gone.

 

[morgulon1]

I'd stop watching football.

And I don't see why keeping the mascot matters. I don't root for the Seahawks because the mascot. I root for them because of the location.

I'd be done with the NFL. I haven't watched an NBA game in years.

 

[hawkfannj]

In a word NO .

 

[Hawkscanner]

Blasphemy! :evil:

You know, I'm sure that I'm probably going to speak for nearly everyone here when I say that February 2, 1996 was honestly the worst day of my life. That was the day that Ken Behring announced that he was moving the Seahawks to LA. A part of me died that day seeing those equipment trucks rolling South down I-5.

A part of me DID die when the Sonics left town in 2008. Like a lot of posters here, the NBA is absolutely dead to me. I haven't watched a single solitary NBA game since Clay Bennett hijacked our team. I root against the "Thunder" [Yech, I can't even say that word] ... hope that they lose each and every game they play ... and honestly wish nothing but financial hardship and utter ruin upon Bennett and that entire organization. And I'm not going to care one whit about the NBA until we get the Sonics back in Seattle.

:sarcasm_on: But I'm not bitter. LOL! :mrgreen:

Basically if the Seahawks were ever to leave Seattle, I'd say I'd feel the exact same way. The Seahawks are so much a part of my life (and they have been for my entire life) that I would be utterly devastated and lost if that happened. That's just me though.

 

[irocdave]

Should have been a poll. Born and for the most part raised on the Eastside, NFW would I be a Hawk fan if they moved and just as must of us crusty old timers have said, the league would be dead to me. Just like the NBA. Not one dollar or TV viewing moment would be spent on the league either.

I liked the NBA and haven't watched 1 minute of a game since the Super Sonics left town. It would suck if the Hawks left again, I really love football. I'm so glad the NFL isn't the NBA. Still remember the Hawk moving vans leaving town, such a strange fan experience.

 

[seaNOmercy]

No, not a chance in hell... God I hate OKC

 

[WCstripes]

Probably not, I became a Hawks fan when I started taking my kids to games after they started to play football. The in game feel at the Clink is simply the best. I only followed the NFL as a fan of the sport before then and not of a particular team.

 

[hawksfansinceday1]

Not a snowball's chance in hell. In fact I'd likely root against them to a very large degree. Wouldn't dislike them as much as the Cowpatties or Stealers, but it would be close.

I'd just go back to having the Chargers as my favorite team like they were for a long time before there even was a Seattle Seahawks franchise (I started watching the NFL and AFL in 1964). They're still my (very distant) #2 team and I root for them against everyone but the Hawks..

 

[Seahawks1983]

I root for Seattle, not laundry.

 

[drdiags]

Would root against them like I do with OKC. That is why I tip my hat to LA Rams fans that still pull for the Rams. I guess I am just too petty to let it go.

 

[Ramfan128]

Interesting reading this. I've also gotten into it with STL Rams fans - I was born and raised in Ohio, so location has never been an issue for me.

My dad became a Rams fan in 1965 at 6 years old....has loved them ever since. He hated Georgia, and I think blamed her for the move. He's been praying they go "home" for years now.

Because of all that, I'm a fan no matter what - unless they change the team name, like the Titans did. For people that say they root for the City (a response for most of the STL fans too), we are on SEAHAWKS.NET - not SEATTLE.NET

Location is just a place that they play.....and only half the games. The team name stays the same everywhere they go.

 

[45Hawker]

Yes, I would be a fan of the Seahawks if they moved.

I root for OKC. (Durant and Westbrook were drafted as Sonics. 2 of the most exciting players to watch, IMO.) I'm nowhere close the NBA fan I used to be, buy my anger there is with Shultz, Stern and the City Council - not the team.

 

[Seahawks1983]

Interesting reading this. I've also gotten into it with STL Rams fans - I was born and raised in Ohio, so location has never been an issue for me.

My dad became a Rams fan in 1965 at 6 years old....has loved them ever since. He hated Georgia, and I think blamed her for the move. He's been praying they go "home" for years now.

Because of all that, I'm a fan no matter what - unless they change the team name, like the Titans did. For people that say they root for the City (a response for most of the STL fans too), we are on SEAHAWKS.NET - not SEATTLE.NET

Location is just a place that they play.....and only half the games. The team name stays the same everywhere they go.

They are called the Seahawks but they represent Seattle and the northwest. I became a fan because they by extension represent me and the place I am from. I don't imagine any scenario where I could develop a real bond with a team that represents another city or region, especially one that I have been to, let alone never called home.

 

[ShermanIsland]

Yes, I would be a fan of the Seahawks if they moved.

I root for OKC. (Durant and Westbrook were drafted as Sonics. 2 of the most exciting players to watch, IMO.) I'm nowhere close the NBA fan I used to be, buy my anger there is with Shultz, Stern and the City Council - not the team.

I kind of agree. I more hate the NBA, not the roster.

Durant wanted to stay too :/

 

[twisted_steel2]

Interesting reading this. I've also gotten into it with STL Rams fans - I was born and raised in Ohio, so location has never been an issue for me.

My dad became a Rams fan in 1965 at 6 years old....has loved them ever since. He hated Georgia, and I think blamed her for the move. He's been praying they go "home" for years now.

Because of all that, I'm a fan no matter what - unless they change the team name, like the Titans did. For people that say they root for the City (a response for most of the STL fans too), we are on SEAHAWKS.NET - not SEATTLE.NET

Location is just a place that they play.....and only half the games. The team name stays the same everywhere they go.

This I have to admit got under my skin a bit. No offense to you Ramfan, I think your experience rooting for your team, might be a bit different than a lot of people's experiences here, and for sure mine. Not saying one is better or worse, just different. But I think you're incorrect here.

To me the city and the team, are tied together, its a symbiotic relationship. There's a reason the fans of this team have their own name, there's a reason we raise the 12th Man flag before the games.

When you're with an army of 12's walking through the streets of Seattle heading towards the stadium, when you sit in the stadium with downtown Seattle as the backdrop, when you're part of the loudest crowd in the NFL while sitting in the drizzle, it's very much a classic Seattle experience.

When I think of the Seahawks, I think of sitting in the Kingdome as a kid, of the heartbreak of them possibly moving from Seattle to California, I think of how amazing it is to sit in the Clink and look out over the Sound and downtown, and standing on 4th ave watching the Superbowl parade. My memories are tied to this city as well as the team and players.

SEAttle SEAhawks, even the name pays homage to the city. Even the logo is based local Native American artwork.

Sorry bro, with all due respect, I'm not buying "Location is just a place that they play....." :roll:

 

[Rat]

I think it'd be great if they moved. I have no ties to the PNW and nearly anywhere they could realistically move would be more accessible to me.

It's sad that the Sonics situation soured so many of you on the NBA, because the NBA is awesome right now. I root for a team (Pistons) that hasn't been to the playoffs in six years and can't bring in any great free agents because nobody wants to live in Detroit, and I still can't get enough. We're in an era with a LOT of elite talent, and while the balance of power is heavily to the west, there's actually something resembling parity. It's not like the 80s and 90s where it was pretty much a foregone conclusion who was going to win the title every year.

I have no strong feelings on the Thunder, but Seattle will get the last laugh when they have the Sonics back and the Thunder become an historical punch line. Decades after every current player has retired, people are going to be saying, "I can't believe the Thunder once had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden at the same time and STILL never won a title!".

 

[twisted_steel2]

I think it'd be great if they moved. I have no ties to the PNW and nearly anywhere they could realistically move would be more accessible to me.

It's sad that the Sonics situation soured so many of you on the NBA, because the NBA is awesome right now. I root for a team (Pistons) that hasn't been to the playoffs in six years and can't bring in any great free agents because nobody wants to live in Detroit, and I still can't get enough. We're in an era with a LOT of elite talent, and while the balance of power is heavily to the west, there's actually something resembling parity. It's not like the 80s and 90s where it was pretty much a foregone conclusion who was going to win the title every year.

I have no strong feelings on the Thunder, but Seattle will get the last laugh when they have the Sonics back and the Thunder become an historical punch line. Decades after every current player has retired, people are going to be saying, "I can't believe the Thunder once had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden at the same time and STILL never won a title!".

So you've been on this site for a long long time right? You've seen the pain that was caused to the locals (lots of people on this board) when the Sonics were stolen and ripped out of this community.... yet you think it be great if it happened again?? Damn man that's cold.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

 

[Missing_Clink]

No I would hate them and root for them to lose every game. They are ours

 

[Rat]

I think it'd be great if they moved. I have no ties to the PNW and nearly anywhere they could realistically move would be more accessible to me.

It's sad that the Sonics situation soured so many of you on the NBA, because the NBA is awesome right now. I root for a team (Pistons) that hasn't been to the playoffs in six years and can't bring in any great free agents because nobody wants to live in Detroit, and I still can't get enough. We're in an era with a LOT of elite talent, and while the balance of power is heavily to the west, there's actually something resembling parity. It's not like the 80s and 90s where it was pretty much a foregone conclusion who was going to win the title every year.

I have no strong feelings on the Thunder, but Seattle will get the last laugh when they have the Sonics back and the Thunder become an historical punch line. Decades after every current player has retired, people are going to be saying, "I can't believe the Thunder once had Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden at the same time and STILL never won a title!".

So you've been on this site for a long long time right? You've seen the pain that was caused to the locals (lots of people on this board) when the Sonics were stolen and ripped out of this community.... yet you think it be great if it happened again?? Damn man that's cold.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?

I apologize for saying it would be "great". That was an overstatement. That being said, I'm not rooting for it to happen, and I'd feel awful for the city if it did, but at the same time, I have no control over the situation and there'd be a pretty easy bright side for me to focus on.

Seattle nearly got the Sonics back recently, when the Kings were up for sale. Had that not fallen through, do you think Seattle sports fans would have been more (a) excited to have the Sonics back or (b) sad for the city of Sacramento? I'm guessing the first game back would not have been highlighted by empty seats while the city picketed outside the arena. For every city upset about losing a franchise, there's a city excited to be acquiring one. From my perspective, that city is largely irrelevant.

 

[canucks1970]

Interesting read. I'm from British Columbia and I Remember My Dad would take me down to Seattle to see the Sonics in their glory days of Fred Brown , Gus Williams, Dennis Johnson,Jack Sikma, etc,etc or going to a Seahawks game seeing a Jim Zorn ,Steve Largent, Kenny Easley etc .
When the Nba expanded to Canada I Was excited knowing I Could see both teams in Vancouver and Seattle even though the Sonics would always be my first love. When Vancouver left I Was pissed and finding it odd that it was Stern who adviced the original Vancouver Ownership that they hired Stu Jackson the same Gm who would draft point guards in the first round three years in a row. Even though one of those draft picks warned him that he did not want to play in Vancouver ( Steve Francis). The same Stu Jackson that didn't think much of drafting a Canadian player in Steve Nash. After five years of GM Incompetents Jackson was not extended and look who hired him back to the league no other then Mr. Stern. At the same time I Felt at least I have my Supersonics. When the announement came that the SONICS would be leaving that was a kick in the teeth. I could never understand a Commissioner would allow a team that had great support ,and a rich history. But the point to all this had an owner decided to take his team let say out of N.Y. Do you really think the commisioner of the NBA or the NFL would allow such a move? I Don't think so . They would be fighting Tooth and nail to keep that franshice in N..Y. If anything I'm more pissed at the Commissioner then the team leaving. And I would have the same feelings if the SEAHAWKS were to leave.