HAVE FRANCHISE, WILL TRAVEL

The Sacramento Kings’ potential move is deeply-rooted in sports history

With a heavy, metallic clamor like that of a locking prison door, the gate of the moving truck slams shut.

The smell of diesel fumes licks the air as the U-Haul fires up its engine and rattles down the road. Before long it disappears onto one of America’s many clogged arterial highways.

The future is looking bleak for Kings fans in Sacramento in the face of a potential move to Seattle. It’d be the sixth time in franchise history the Kings pack up their belongings and bolt town. Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

And you’re left standing alone grasping your “we’re No. 1” foam finger, and feeling like No. 2. If only you could change the digit on the novelty hand to better represent your mood.

Your team is gone. They left you behind in their quest to see if the AstroTurf really is greener on the other side.

There are plenty of ugly words in the world of sports, but none that solicit vitriol quite like the term “relocation.”

This is how fans must be feeling these days in Sacramento, where the only word worse than “relocation” is “Maloof” — the surname of the owners who are flirting with plans to sell the “Big Tomato’s” only professional sports franchise to Seattle- or Anaheim-based investors.

Of course, relocation isn’t always a curse word to everyone. For Seattle, landing the NBA’s Kings means redemption for the pain caused by the Sonics, who packed their bags for Oklahoma City after the 2007-08 season.

When it comes to relocation, the Kings are no more regal than they are nomadic and have left a path of empty hearts and arenas in their wake since their birth in 1945 in Rochester, N.Y.

If history has taught us anything, it’s that the Kings are one of the heartbreak’s biggest customers. But they’re certainly not the only offenders:

A brief (and a bit tedious) history of franchise relocation among Big Four sports (MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL) franchises:

There are 122 teams in 51 cities in the United States and Canada.

Eleven* cities have Big Four teams: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Miami, Minneapolis, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Washington D.C.

*12 if you count the San Jose Sharks as being San Francisco’s hockey team, despite playing 50 miles away

…

Try as they might to hold on, fans in New Jersey were unable to keep their Nets from leaving for Brooklyn. Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

Kansas City has lost more franchises than any other city, having seen the Athletics; Kings (Sacramento); Scouts (New Jersey Devils); and Blues (Minnesota Twins) walk away from the Paris of the Plains.

Baltimore, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, Minneapolis/St. Paul and St. Louis have all lost three teams.

…

Three Big Four cities have never had a team split town: Detroit, Miami and Phoenix.

Other cities with multiple teams that have never lost a franchise include: Indianapolis, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay and Toronto.

…

There have been 30 cities that have lost a team to relocation. That number rises to 32 if you include the San Francisco’s Warriors’ jump across the Bay to Oakland and the Nets move across the Hudson River from New Jersey to Brooklyn.

…

Of the 122 Big Four teams, 79 (or roughly 65 percent) of them are still playing in their original city.

…

Should the Kings move to Seattle or Anaheim, it’ll mark the sixth city the franchise has played in, including Rochester, N.Y.; Cincinnati; Kansas City; Omaha; and Sacramento.

That’d be more moves than any other team in history, breaking the tie with the NBA’s Hawks, who have called Buffalo; Tri-Cities (Illinois/Iowa); Milwaukee; St. Louis and Atlanta their home.

…

Of the Big Four leagues, the NBA has allowed the most teams to switch homes. The NHL has the most teams still in their original city. By comparison, the NHL is also in the most cities (10) with only one pro sports franchise.

NBA – 16 times a team relocated

MLB – 15

NFL – 13

NHL – 8

…

Cities that have lost their teams, then got them back via reverse relocation (delocation?) or expansion:

Baltimore Orioles

Cleveland Browns

Milwaukee Brewers

Oakland Raiders

Ottawa Senators

Winnipeg Jets

Seattle SuperSonics?

…

One rumor has the Kings being bought and relocated to Anaheim. That would mark the first time two teams with the same name shared the same market (NHL’s Los Angeles Kings) since 1987 when St. Louis had both the NFL’s and MLB’s Cardinals.

…

Thanks to a dearth of players due to Word War II, the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles were forced to merge for one season in 1943, creating…the Phil-Pitt Steagles (true story).

Even in their new home in Washington, D.C, a small group of fans want to see the Nationals sent back to Montreal. Joy R. Absalon-US PRESSWIRE

They sit like a singing elephant on a street corner. No one really wants to acknowledge it. And when they do, they often do so in self-deprecating tones.

These bombs — the pent-up frustration of a metropolis’ insufferable championship drought — have been known to flip over a car or two upon detonation.

And yet, they cannot be defused by simply snipping the red wire. Or is it the blue?

The fallout of the 2004 bomb the Red Sox set off in Boston rained fallout of widespread relief, divine thankfulness and a newfound tidal wave of chowdah-accented arrogance.

Bombs such as these lie just beneath the psyche of a city and fester until a guy — a bayou-born-and-bred boy, really — like New Orleans Saints’ cornerback Tracy Porter sneaks up from behind one of these weapons of mass deprivation and uses all 186-pounds of his 5-foot-11-inch frame to smack it with a ball-peen hammer.

And a city explodes.

“I never saw the (French) Quarter like that,” said Saints believer Marc Hoppe in February, who observed the fallout of Crescent City’s first professional sports title from a perch near Vieux Carré.

Porter’s interception runback for a touchdown late in Super Bowl XLIV sealed the first-ever world championship for the city and set off a party that’s still trickling out of the Big Easy.

“The whole place was insane, and anytime anything happened, everyone was going bonkers,” Hoppe recalled.

“That said, when Porter intercepted that pass, the Quarter erupted. During the run back and touchdown, the whole city just totally exploded.

“People were waiting to be able to let loose and celebrate, but I think we were all sort of reserved until that interception.”

Dynasties are great. They’re the goal of any self-respecting franchise.

But you never forget your first time.

The city of New Orleans waited 43 years for its first title in one of the four major sports leagues — MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL.

Ryan Dempster of the Cubs hoists the Stanley Cup before June 13 game against the White Sox. The Cub may be going on 100-plus years without a world title, but the rest of Chicago, including the Blackhawks, keeps the fans placated. Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

This month, the Chicago Blackhawks catered a 49-year famine with a Stanley Cup. Tears were shed. Fathers hugged sons. Lines were penciled across many a bucket list.

But the Blackhawks’ championship didn’t deliver Chicago to its knees.

After all, the White Sox won a World Series in 2005. Let’s not forget about that Bulls dynasty of the 90s.

And while a World Series title has eluded the Cubs — 100 years and counting — Chicago, as a city, has lifted its share of championship banners among the Windy City’s rafters.

That’d be 18 banners, to be precise.

There are plenty of cities with a depravity of titles that spans multitudes of generations.

San Diego and Buffalo have never won a Super Bowl, but did win AFL titles in 1963 (Chargers) and 1964 and 1965 (Bills).

The Indians’ World Series void began during World War II. Since then, neither the Tribe nor the Cavaliers (just like the Padres in San Diego and the Sabres in Buffalo) have been able to deliver Cleveland to the apex of their respective leagues.

You’d have to poll an Ottawa octogenarian to chat about the Senators’ last Stanley Cup win. The Sens haven’t hoisted the hallowed hardware since 1927 — granted there was a 58-year hiatus (between 1934 and 1992) of NHL hockey in the Canadian capital.

Starting around the start of the 20th century, the Senators won a staggering 11 Stanley Cups. Four of them came after they joined the NHL, including winning the first Stanley Cup in NHL history.

The point is: in spite of their droughts, cities such as Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego have experienced the euphoria of being crowned best in show.

To find the ultimate championship-starved fan base, however, a city can never have hoisted championship hardware; never watched its players poured champagne down the backs of their fellow teammates; never thrown a tickertape parade.

Fans of Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant attend the 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers championship parade on Figueroa Street. Unlike 11 North American cities, Los Angeles has plenty of title experience. Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

There are 11 cities that have never done any of the aforementioned.

The driest of them all is a city that annually gets an average of 44 inches of rain: Vancouver.

Between the Canucks and the Grizzlies, the good folks of Vancouver have spent 39 years and 45 seasons pining for a trophy.

The Grizzlies have since started a new streak of futility in Memphis.

Perhaps the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver out of pity.

The Canucks have only reached the Stanley Cup finals twice. They lost both times to teams from New York (Islanders and Rangers), a city that could spare a title or two.

All told, New York teams have won 55 major championships.

Vancouver’s dearth is nine years older than the Jazz’s fruitless stay in Salt Lake City and 10 years longer than the drought inflicted on Sacramento by the Kings.

The middle of the list is populated by former expansion teams, such as Orlando, Jacksonville and San Jose, who are quickly aging before our eyes.

Each passing year brings more despair. Every extinguished season shortens the fuse of a fan base’s patience.

Clock’s ticking.

IN NEED OF SOME (CHAMPIONSHIP) RAIN

There are 11 cities with franchises in the four major sport leagues — MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL — that have never won a championship.

YEARS WITHOUT A TITLE               CITY               TEAM(S)

 

39     VANCOUVER* Canucks & Grizzlies

30     SALT LAKE CITY Jazz

29     SACRAMENTO Kings

20     CHARLOTTE Bobcats & Hornets

20     ORLANDO Magic

18     SAN JOSE Sharks

14     JACKSONVILLE Jaguars

12     NASHVILLE^ Titans & Predators

10     COLUMBUS Blue Jackets

9       MEMPHIS Grizzlies

2      OKLAHOMA CITY Thunder

*45 seasons

^24 seasons

They sit like a singing elephant on a street corner. No one really wants to acknowledge it. And when they do, they often do so in self-deprecating tones.

These bombs — the pent-up frustration of a metropolis’ insufferable championship drought — have been known to flip over a car or two upon detonation.

And yet, they cannot be defused by simply snipping the red wire. Or is it the blue?

The fallout of the 2004 bomb the Red Sox set off in Boston rained fallout of widespread relief, divine thankfulness and a newfound tidal wave of chowdah-accented arrogance.

Bombs such as these lie just beneath the psyche of a city and fester until a guy — a bayou-born-and-bred boy, really — like New Orleans Saints’ cornerback Tracy Porter sneaks up from behind one of these weapons of mass deprivation and uses all 186-pounds of his 5-foot-11-inch frame to smack it with a ball-peen hammer.

And a city explodes.

“I never saw the (French) Quarter like that,” said Saints believer Marc Hoppe in February, who observed the fallout of Crescent City’s first professional sports title from a perch near Vieux Carré.

Porter’s interception runback for a touchdown late in Super Bowl XLIV sealed the first-ever world championship for the city and set off a party that’s still trickling out of the Big Easy.

“The whole place was insane, and anytime anything happened, everyone was going bonkers,” Hoppe recalled.

“That said, when Porter intercepted that pass, the Quarter erupted. During the run back and touchdown, the whole city just totally exploded.

“People were waiting to be able to let loose and celebrate, but I think we were all sort of reserved until that interception.”

Dynasties are great. They’re the goal of any self-respecting franchise.

But you never forget your first time.

The city of New Orleans waited 43 years for its first title in one of the four major sports leagues — MLB, NBA, NFL or NHL.

Ryan Dempster of the Cubs hoists the Stanley Cup before June 13 game against the White Sox. The Cub may be going on 100-plus years without a world title, but the rest of Chicago, including the Blackhawks, keeps the fans placated. Rob Grabowski-US PRESSWIRE

This month, the Chicago Blackhawks catered a 49-year famine with a Stanley Cup. Tears were shed. Fathers hugged sons. Lines were penciled across many a bucket list.

But the Blackhawks’ championship didn’t deliver Chicago to its knees.

After all, the White Sox won a World Series in 2005. Let’s not forget about that Bulls dynasty of the 90s.

And while a World Series title has eluded the Cubs — 100 years and counting — Chicago, as a city, has lifted its share of championship banners among the Windy City’s rafters.

That’d be 18 banners, to be precise.

There are plenty of cities with a depravity of titles that spans multitudes of generations.

San Diego and Buffalo have never won a Super Bowl, but did win AFL titles in 1963 (Chargers) and 1964 and 1965 (Bills).

The Indians’ World Series void began during World War II. Since then, neither the Tribe nor the Cavaliers (just like the Padres in San Diego and the Sabres in Buffalo) have been able to deliver Cleveland to the apex of their respective leagues.

You’d have to poll an Ottawa octogenarian to chat about the Senators’ last Stanley Cup win. The Sens haven’t hoisted the hallowed hardware since 1927 — granted there was a 58-year hiatus (between 1934 and 1992) of NHL hockey in the Canadian capital.

Starting around the start of the 20th century, the Senators won a staggering 11 Stanley Cups. Four of them came after they joined the NHL, including winning the first Stanley Cup in NHL history.

The point is: in spite of their droughts, cities such as Buffalo, Cleveland and San Diego have experienced the euphoria of being crowned best in show.

To find the ultimate championship-starved fan base, however, a city can never have hoisted championship hardware; never watched its players poured champagne down the backs of their fellow teammates; never thrown a tickertape parade.

Fans of Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant attend the 2009-10 Los Angeles Lakers championship parade on Figueroa Street. Unlike 11 North American cities, Los Angeles has plenty of title experience. Kirby Lee/Image of Sport-US PRESSWIRE

There are 11 cities that have never done any of the aforementioned.

The driest of them all is a city that annually gets an average of 44 inches of rain: Vancouver.

Between the Canucks and the Grizzlies, the good folks of Vancouver have spent 39 years and 45 seasons pining for a trophy.

The Grizzlies have since started a new streak of futility in Memphis.

Perhaps the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2010 Winter Games to Vancouver out of pity.

The Canucks have only reached the Stanley Cup finals twice. They lost both times to teams from New York (Islanders and Rangers), a city that could spare a title or two.

All told, New York teams have won 55 major championships.

Vancouver’s dearth is nine years older than the Jazz’s fruitless stay in Salt Lake City and 10 years longer than the drought inflicted on Sacramento by the Kings.

The middle of the list is populated by former expansion teams, such as Orlando, Jacksonville and San Jose, who are quickly aging before our eyes.

Each passing year brings more despair. Every extinguished season shortens the fuse of a fan base’s patience.

Clock’s ticking.

IN NEED OF SOME (CHAMPIONSHIP) RAIN

There are 11 cities with franchises in the four major sport leagues — MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL — that have never won a championship.

YEARS WITHOUT A TITLE               CITY               TEAM(S)

 

39     VANCOUVER* Canucks & Grizzlies

30     SALT LAKE CITY Jazz

29     SACRAMENTO Kings

20     CHARLOTTE Bobcats & Hornets

20     ORLANDO Magic

18     SAN JOSE Sharks

14     JACKSONVILLE Jaguars

12     NASHVILLE^ Titans & Predators

10     COLUMBUS Blue Jackets

9       MEMPHIS Grizzlies

2      OKLAHOMA CITY Thunder

*45 seasons

^24 seasons