I am frustrated. WE are frustrated. The Sacramento Kings have not made the NBA playoffs since 2005-06. That roster was full of players that Kings fans knew couldn’t repeat the feats of the early 2000s ‘Greatest Show on Court’ squad. Kings fans had seen what NBA championship level hoops looked like in the days of Chris Webber, Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic winning division championships, getting federally screwed out of an NBA championship appearance … We took that 2005-06 Sacramento Kings squad for granted. We all thought, oh this isn’t Kings basketball, we will get back to the glory days. We all thought the 2005-06 Bonzi Wells, Kenny Thomas led-squad will be improved upon and get back to the ‘glory days’ … OH HOW WE WERE WRONG.
Flash-forward to January 10th, 2022 … and the Sacramento Kings are one of the worst franchises in ALL OF NORTH AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL SPORTS. Period. They are a terrible franchise, in a small market town, in a region of California that most people who live east of Reno think is just a short SoCal surfboard commute from DisneyLand! I have gone over in many articles how we have arrived at this junction. A junction that can be scarier than trying to merge on the HWY 50/99/5/80 split in downtown SacTown. I’m not sure if the Sacramento traffic makes us tougher as Kings fans … or if being Kings fans makes us tougher in Sac traffic. Regardless …
We, THE FAITHFUL, have to take action!
What Can WE Do?
We displayed our Feel The Roar placards proudly in our homes, office windows, and vehicles back in 2002. We marched, wrote letters, and cried together during the HERE WE STAY movement in 2009. We packed Vivek’s new downtown arena when the team was terrible STILL … but how much more can WE take as Sacramento Kings fans? And what can WE do to help fix it?
Ahead, I gift you THREE WAYS that YOU can keep the faith alive in SacTown!
1. CALL & TEXT RADIO SHOWS
If Kings fans aren’t talking about the Kings … do we really exist?
A little dramatic, but kind of true. You ask any NBA fan who isn’t a Sacramento Kings fans about the Kings and you’ll hear a lot of … weird stuff. ‘Fox is going to want out of Sac if they don’t get better.’ ‘I haven’t paid attention to Buddy Hield since he was on the Pelicans.’ ‘Tristan Thompson, OMG, he’s on TV right? He’s so hot.’
Don’t worry though SacTown sports fanatics … we have been through the bad breakups, lusty affairs, entered into enough toxic relationships that even Tristan Thompson’s TV agent would be envious of. Who doesn’t have a bone to pick with the Kings …. many players, coaches, front office members, announcers, and hell, I’m sure there is even pissed off usher from the ARCO days who has a legitimate gripe with the Kings ownership.
We have been through the worst and well … it can’t get much worse.
But, if we aren’t talking about it in SacTown … NO ONE ELSE WILL.
If Grant Napear isn’t around to give his 30+ years of Kings knowledge and passion to us. If Carmichael Dave refuses to talk about the Kings on the radio when they aren’t winning. And don’t even start with the national media, who have ZERO clue what is actually going on with the fanbase and team … IT IS UP TO US THE FANS TO KEEP THE KINGS TALK GOING!
Actionable Steps:
Call/Text into radio shows and ask them to talk about the Kings. Part of that is helping the radio show hosts with new topics and stuff to fill air time with. Also, at a certain point, it holds the radio voices accountable to actually talk with SUBSTANCE about the Kings. Not just ‘get a pass’ to talk random NFL football, or pop culture, or Klay Thompson’s return … we tune into LOCAL SACTOWN SPORTS RADIO TO HEAR ABOUT OUR KINGS!
2. ENGAGE ON SOCIAL MEDIA
If the fans aren’t tweeting about #SacramentoProud … who is?
I subscribed to The Athletic in 2019 because it was really the only place to get legitimate Sacramento Kings coverage. The Sacramento Bee negativity and paywall deterred me. Same with most the #KANGZ themed independent media sites, the ones that just POUNCE on any negativity to get a comment and view from disgruntled Kings fans.
Since 2019, the Kings coverage on The Athletic has dwindled to MAYBE one Kings-focused article a month. Aside from the John Hollingers of the world getting sent to SacTown for a day to try and write a few paragraphs about the state of Kings nation … with little success. We deserve better. But, if you don’t love/respect yourself, why would you expect anyone else to?
Let’s take hold of the social media narrative.
Actionable Steps:
Tweet out that you’re still watching/listening to the Kings games/chatter.
Ask questions to the ‘experts’.
Spread the ‘realistic positivity’. I know I’d rather be a frustrated SACRAMENTO Kings fan over an Anaheim or Virginia Beach Kings fan … exercise some empathy, Kings fans!
3. KEEP TALKING/WEARING GEAR/SETTING AN EXAMPLE!
It’s honestly up to us. Not Carmichael Dave. Not Damien Barling. Not Gary Gerould. Not De’Aaron Fox taking a microdose up in Mendocino and transforming into a fiery leader (or reliable three-point shooter) … IT IS UP TO US FAITHFUL!
Actionable Steps:
Got a friend who has a kid in youth hoops? Talk to them about the Kings. Give them a t-shirt. Purple basketball. Send over a video clip of the ‘Greatest Show on Court’.
Got a friend who likes to do box jumps and ball slams at CrossFit? Talk to them about the Kings.
Go to the gym? Wear a Kings shirt.
Drive a car? Slap your favorite Kings sticker on the back window.
Going to lunch, the grocery store, school pickup? Wear a Kings shirt.
A friend who is a sports fan? Talk to them about the Kings. Ask them their thoughts.
People love to bond over disappointment and negativity, in general, and the Kings EXUDE disappointment. Use it POSITIVELY to create a connection between friends.
Be that passionate, annoying, sometimes confusing Kings fan.
Sure, don’t buy tickets to games. Don’t buy new jerseys. I get it. I support it. I don’t go to WalMart to ‘make a difference with my dollar.’ Same with the Kings!
But in this case … TALK AIN’T CHEAP. It’s really all we have.
I’ll leave y’all with a tweet from Kings fan @BigRorDawg:
What Do YOU Think?
Go Kings!
-Tom Witt
Tom Witt Writes 