Here's Hoping the Kings Stay

On Wednesday night, I attended the Sacramento Kings' 2010-11 season finale game at the arena formerly known as Arco, along with supporters of a grassroots movement to keep the team here that was organized in part by two Carmichael residents.

It was an emotional night, as the Kings played their hated rival Los Angeles Lakers the day before the NBA Board of Governors meets to hear from the Maloof family who owns the Kings, Sacramento Mayor and former NBA guard Kevin Johnson and Anaheim city officials about the team's possible move to Orange County.

Sacramento-area sports radio personality "" Weiglein, a Rio Americano High School graduate who started the "Here We Build" campaign on the social networking site Twitter, climbed a ladder and addressed fans who stayed after the game, cheering and clanging cowbells. Fellow Carmichael resident designed the campaign website.

Sports fans know the many good and bad memories the Kings have given over the years, arriving in town in 1985 and peaking with a trip to the Western Conference Finals in 2002. But the sad thing about the Kings' possible move is not just the sense of losing a part of Sacramento pride, it's also about jobs.

If the team leaves, most Kings employees- the parking lot attendants, ticket takers, concessions workers, ushers, in-game entertainment hosts, cheerleaders and cleaning staff will be left unemployed in a terrible job market. Employees of surrounding businesses would be hurt too as the neighborhood literally was built because of Arco and the Kings.

Back to those Kings memories. The team moved west from Kansas City in 1985. I started following the team in 1989, when I was 7 years old and have been a loyal fan ever since, mostly in losing seasons.

My father, with whom I have taken in many games, has long referred to the team as "The Almosts", because they would put up a good fight and almost win games but most of the time did not finish the job.

I remember the days when the Kings wore the red, white and blue uniforms, when Mitch Richmond was an All-Star and Bobby Hurley's promising career was cut short due to an automobile collision.

Then came the good years in the early 2000's when the Kings were led by Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Bobby Jackson, Mike Bibby and Peja Stojakovic, among others. While I was away at college in Washington, D.C. from 2000-04, I proudly wore a Kings jersey, knowing that Sacramento was on the sports culture map.

Then, the top players became injured or left for other teams and the losing returned. When the team was winning and when it has been losing, were there.

So on Wednesday, I was hit with a bit of nostalgia during the game. I booed loudly when the visiting team had the ball and joined in on chants of "BEAT LA! BEAT LA!" I shouted with pure joy when the Kings made a game of it near the end, before going into overtime where the other team broke the hearts of Kings fans as they have too many times before.

After the game, several fans stayed in their seats or made their way to the area around the court, where some were seen with tears in their eyes. Kings television announcers Grant Napear and Jerry Reynolds gave an emotional signoff on the air.

Sadly, the decision whether to move may come down to a business one. Several attempts to build a new arena, which all parties involved agree is the main component necessary, have failed. Anaheim has a newer arena and a bigger revenue stream.

The arguments against the move are many. Job losses for Sacramento-area residents tops the list.

The schools and charities that benefit from Kings players' outreach will be at a loss as well.

Also, Southern California already has two teams, the Lakers and the Clippers and they would stand to lose from a third team moving in. Anaheim has baseball's Angels and hockey's Ducks, so the Kings would also be the third team in their city.

For the owners, the move might make sense in the short term, but not in the long run. Ironically, it may be the owners of the two L.A. teams who convince enough of their fellow owners to vote against the move.

Webber said Tuesday he's fighting to keep the Kings in Sacramento. Over the years, former Kings players established roots in the area. Webber opened a sports-themed restaurant in Natomas (since closed). Harold Pressley still lives in the area and his son Bryce plays basketball for .

Yes, basketball is a game. But to many, it is a way of life, both as a source of civic pride and as a career.

The Kings still belong to Sacramento today and they always will, though it would be better if we're not following them from afar, wondering what could have been.

---