HeraldNet: And now, a short break from the Mariners



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Mariners Blog

July 3, 2008

And now, a short break from the Mariners

Posted at 7:42 pm by By Kirby Arnold

Somebody asked me a few weeks ago what I considered best sports event/story I'd covered in my career. Given I started this gig when I was a high school sophomore in 1970, there's a lot to consider.

It could have been the 1977 AL Championship Series between the Yankees and Royals. Or any of the 10 Indy 500s I covered. Or the 1995, 2000 and 2001 Mariners. Or anything involving Edgar Martinez, Jay Buhner and Ken Griffey Jr.

Then I arrived at something that surprised me because it was so clear-cut in my mind: the 1996 NBA Finals between the Seattle SuperSonics and Chicago Bulls.

I'm not the biggest NBA fan, but it was cool to see how sports fans in the region became enthralled with the Sonics just months after they'd fallen all over themselves during the Mariners' "Refuse to Lose" stretch drive in 1995.

The lasting memory of that June -- and of my career, now that I think about it -- is the joy I had watching Michael Jordan. It wasn't just the talent he brought to the court that awed me, but his ability to pull off feats greater than the unbelievable things he'd done before.

For that, I'm glad there was NBA to watch in Seattle.

When word came down yesterday that the Sonics are leaving Seattle, I thought I'd have the same reaction as any non-NBA junkie, that it really wouldn't matter to me.

Then I thought about the good times with the Sonics -- hearing stories of their championship season before I moved here and seeing what guys like Slick Watts, Dennis Johnson, Bernie Bickerstaff, Jack Sikma, Tom Chambers, Xavier McDaniel, George Karl, Nate McMillan, Gary Payton and others meant to my sports enjoyment.

And then I thought of Michael Jordan, and how I'd never have seen him in person without an NBA team in Seattle.

I'll miss the Sonics.

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