Sacramento Kings Fans: We Aren't In Kansas Anymore

On Monday the NBA Relocation Committee voted 7-0 to reject the Maloof family's application to relocate the Sacramento Kings to Seattle. While this is certainly not a done deal and there is more work to do, this means that the Sacramento Kings will remain the Sacramento Kings and be sold to the group of investors assembled by Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson.

Kings fans rejoiced. Folks in Seattle were angry and sad that they do not get the return of their beloved Sonics. And since the announcement, both sides have speculated to the reasons why the NBA voted in this way. Folks in Seattle, understandably, are still holding out hope because of the strength and respect demanded by their potential ownership group and their market. Oddly, folks in Sacramento, including myself, while celebrating, keep checking and worrying that about the conspiracy theories coming out of Seattle

I fell into that sense of worry. Initially ecstatic over the news that the Kings were staying, I immediately began reading every conspiracy theory thrown around by Seattle journalists, talk show hosts and fans. Chris Hansen, the hedge fund investor leading Seattle's charge, was going to raise the bid, Steve Ballmer of Microsoft fame was going to sue the NBA and the City of Sacramento, the Maloof family would refuse to sell to a Sacramento group. All of these theories, and many more, had me worried.

Until I had a revelation. A revelation not seen in Sacramento in over a decade. A revelation that simply brought peace and joy. At that moment I realized that the reason why these conspiracy theories worried me so much was because those conspiracies were how the Maloof family operated. That is what being a fan of a team under Maloof ownership has been for so many years. So many broken promises. So many crazy rumors that turned out to be true. Who would believe that a food blogger would know a team was leaving before that team's owners' own employees? Only under the Maloofs

The revelation I had was that the Maloofs are no longer calling the shots. We were no longer at the mercy of financially strapped owners who do not care about loyalty. Simply, we are not in Maloofville any longer. They have been replaced with the likes of Kevin Johnson, Mark Mastrov, and Vivek Ranadive. And thus far, they have not broken any promises, Instead of looking for who to blame, these guys are looking for answers.

As Kings fans we have gotten so use to expecting the worst that it is hard to believe that people do work hard and keep their promises. Not everything is a conspiracy. When these guys say that the money will be in the bank on a Friday, it will be there. Weird.

And this has brought me peace. My anger is subsiding. We can believe again because these men are worthy of our support. They are worthy of our loyalty. And best of all, they care and actually appreciate it. Weird.