King DOH! The short and sad life of the Kingdome

While I was working on my book about the Seattle Supersonics this morning, fellow Supersonicsoul writer Pete Nussbaum tweeted this about the former home of the Sonics:

"37 years ago today, the Kingdome opened for business. 13 years ago yesterday, it was destroyed. Seattle finishes paying it off in 2016."

What a sad and strange epitaph for what was once the crown jewel of downtown Seattle.

The King County Multipurpose Domed Stadium was originally conceived in the 1950s, but public funding for the massive building was voted down several times (sound familiar?). In 1968, however, King County voters finally approved $40 million dollars in municipal bonds to pay for the dome, which began construction in 1972 and would be finished four years later.

Every major Seattle sports team called the Kingdome home at some point. The Supersonics moved in at the start of their 1978-79 championship season and led the league in attendance for two years in a row. On April 15th, 1980, in a home playoff game against the Bucks, the Sonics set an NBA single-game attendance record with 40,172, the most ever to watch a pro basketball game at the time.

The Kingdome also brought the NFL Pro Bowl and the NBA and MLB All-star games to town, along with the Final Four in 1984, 1989, and 1995. This was a very big deal back in the dark ages of Seattle, when we were only known for Bigfoot and Ted Bundy.

Over time, however, the novelty of watching sports inside a giant cement tomb wore off. As most Seattle teams declined in the late 80s, so did attendance. The Dome, run by King County, was not maintained very well, as anyone who ever had to use the bathrooms there can attest.

The Kingdome wasn't all urinal troughs and sticky floors, of course. The Seahawks had some great moments there (though they were mostly great for the other teams). Edgar Martinez had the most important hit in Mariners history in the dome. Pete and I even played in marching band during the halftime show on Monday Night Football there (Sorry ladies, we're already taken). And of course there was the annual paper airplane contest and the time that crazy guy flew a plane inside the dome.

In the mid-90s, though, the roof started to fall appart, giving the Seahawks and Mariners owners a perfect excuse to extort the city for new, single-use stadiums for their teams. Maybe if the Sonics hadn't moved out in 1985, they could have gotten a new stadium too.

It was too late now, though. The Kingdome was now the city's largest abandoned building. Its empty grey shell looked like the stripped-down ruins of an ancient civilization.

And on March 26, 2000, a day before the 24th anniversary of the Kingdome's grand opening, they blew it up.

So happy birth/death day to the Kingdome, the best and worst Multipurpose Domed Stadium we ever had.

Love the Glove

If you're looking for a way to calm the turbulent waters currently flowing between Sacramento and Seattle, might I suggest this?

Yes, it's a Gary Payton "The Glove" hat, and yes, it lights up. Since no one could ever be angry wearing a "The Glove" hat that lights up, I think it might behoove both sides to don one of these suckers and just walk around for a little while. Give David Stern one for the afternoon. Drop one on Kevin Johnson's desk before he heads home from work.

In fact, I think quite a few of the world's problems might be solved if more people started wearing illuminated "The Glove" hats. The situation in the Middle East, for one. The charging/blocking situation in college basketball for another. The possibilities are endless, really.

You're welcome.

(Found via ebay).

Scoldin' Olden: Olden Polynice vs. Seattle Sonics Trolls

Former Seattle Supersonic Olden Polynice was once a fan favorite in this town. Today? Not so much.

The retired center, who played for the Sonics from 1987-1991 and again for a brief stop in the disastrous lockout season of 1998-99, made a few comments on Twitter about supporting the Kings (another former team of his) staying in Sacramento. Then some over-zealous Sonics fans went ballistic. And then this happened:

Just like the ridiculous Spencer Hawes reaction last weekend, these sort of incidents are often chalked up as examples of how passionate sports fans can be about their teams. They aren't. These are examples of how stupid sports fans can be.

Polynice and Hawes both played for NBA teams. They weren't community ambassadors. They weren't public servants. They were employees. Hawes did not choose to work in Sacramento, just like Polynice didn't choose Seattle. They went there because their jobs forced them to. Olden doesn't like Seattle? So what? Sometimes I don't like Seattle, and I've lived here all my life!

Whether it's Polynice, Hawes, Nick Collison or your annoying neighbor, most sports fans have pretty strong feelings about their favorite team. And if you don't agree? Tough luck.

Don't get mad at O.P. for saying the Kings should stay in Sacramento. Like everyone else, he has a right to root for whoever he wants in this drama.

Besides, real Sonics fans know that this is the only  reason you should be mad at Olden Polynice.