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The Sacramento Kings failed to sell out "Here We Buy" night Saturday against Utah and make a statement to the NBA. (AP)
By Justin Lester

Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson will tell anyone who'll listen the city is united in its attempt to keep the Kings from moving to Seattle. But if Saturday night is any indication, the effort is coming up short.

Fans of the franchise staged "Here We Buy" for Saturday's game against Utah, aimed at getting fans to sell-out the arena and lead the Kings to a win over the Jazz. The latter part of the objective was achieved, as Sacramento took down Utah 120-109. But there were over 1,000 empty seats for the game.

It would have been a grand accomplishment, given that the Kings have drawn the lowest average attendance in the NBA this season.

The fans did make their presence known Saturday. The aging Sleep Train Arena building was louder than it has been all year, Johnson bragged in a tweet Monday.

"Our City, Our Kings," and "Let Us Match," were a couple of many chants strung together by the crowd. The 16,193 in attendance even got guard Isaiah Thomas, University Place native and former UW star, and center DeMarcus Cousins to join them in doing the wave during the final moments of the game.

The idea was raised by people who were part of the "Here We Stay" campaign, a movement that discouraged the Maloof family from moving the Kings to Anaheim two years ago.

Fans created a website for the event where tickets went at a discount price of $17.50.

Fans who weren't able to attend the game could donate money so others could afford buying a ticket, helping draw 600 more.

It was a valiant effort, but it makes you wonder if all the support the city claims it has to keep the Kings in town is really there.

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Comments (10)


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  • CH wrote...
    you think a losing team will do better in Seattle?
    February 11, 2013 6:57 pm
    look to the north from SoDO NBA/NHL Arena - Seattle Mariners lol Seattle Mariners: Record Attendance Lows Could Spell Trouble for the Team. http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1174928-mlb-record-attendance-lows-could-spell-trouble-for-the-seattle-mariners
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dragonmeteor wrote...
    CH.....
    February 12, 2013 12:30 am
    No matter where you or anyone else looks, your brain and common sense will never be around
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Hersey33 wrote...
    @CH
    February 11, 2013 8:39 pm
    There is a big difference between the Kings and the soon to be Sonics. The Hansen/Ballmer/Nordstrom group will have the money to put togethe the best front office possible, already being linked to Larry Bird and Phil Jackson. The Maloofs have not had the money to put together a winning franchise. The have had one of the lowest payrolls in the NBA for quite some time now and do not have the money to attract the top talent at the executive level. The Mariners are a victim of a poor business model. A team with money that refuses to spend it in hopes of make a few dollars because of some bad investments under the Bavasi regime that have made the owners shy when it comes to pulling the trigger on free agent signings. It will take time for them to get better, but while that happens the fans will fill the seats based just off of emotion and nostalgia and the joy of having the NBA back in Seattle.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sfk360 wrote...
    Hersey
    February 11, 2013 8:49 pm
    Great explanation. It irritates me to no end how people just assume a franchise will always lose, even with major ownership changes like this. Some Seattle fans are ridiculously pessimistic, which is understandable because of everything we've been through, but it'd ridiculous to just assume this will be a "losing team" forever. If you look through Seahawks posts from the last few years you'd probably find people saying that the Seahawks would always suck under Carroll/Schneider's leadership. Classic Seattle.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Zagnut wrote...
    CH is NOT a Seattle fan.
    February 12, 2013 5:57 am
    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Mike17Will wrote...
    more like
    February 12, 2013 6:13 am
    classic CH
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • The Real Me wrote...
    MARIJUANA!
    February 12, 2013 10:11 am
    I hear tell that the players are pushing hard to get the team located to Seattle because of the new marijuana laws in Washington. Light up the NBA!
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TwoTrees wrote...
    @ The Real Me
    February 12, 2013 6:24 pm
    Lol! Ok, I know your post is employing some heavy stereotypes, but I still laughed.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sambra27 wrote...
    "Here we Buy"
    February 12, 2013 1:09 pm

    First, CH and Newton are the same person.

    And since that point is now out of the way...I live in Sacramento right now and I must say there did not seem to be a very big effort to reach out to the fanbase in regards to this. Nobody seemed to be talking about it, there were no radio ads on ESPN 1320 (Sacramento's sports radio station), so there was not much of a draw for support outside of just the general hardcore fan base. The only commercial they produced was an approsimately 15 second spot in which some text flashed on the screen, concluding with "Here We Buy" and a date, paired with a constant sound note that sounded like a cat had hopped up and sat down on an electric keyboard.

    As a Seattle sports fan I am excited to see the NBA back in Seattle

    .
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • sfk360 wrote...
    Sambra
    February 12, 2013 11:19 pm
    Interesting to hear , considering that Sac-town has always been a good market by most accounts. I want the NBA back and would take from anyone but I'd much rather take it from a place that hasn't supported a team as long as they have. Oh well.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }








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