So Long, Sweet C-Webb

I just posted a diary about this.

away from being the undisputed greatest Sacramento King ever.

Good luck in the future, C-Webb. And thanks for best times that I've ever had at ARCO Arena.

the epic battles with Utah. When it became clear that Malone couldn't stop him, I knew we had something special. Be well C-Webb.

Here's what Kfan in Korea wrote in his diary (which I deleted to keep all the discussion in one place):

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Stein has a story here
There's also a series of questions about Webber's legacy

Adelman getting #800, Webber retiring. Too many reminders of the near greatness of the past puting into perspective the bleak quagmire of the present. Think I will go cry now.
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Chris,

You have meant more to me as a basketball fan then you could ever know.  I followed the Kings on and off as a child, mostly because my older sister's friends all did.  As I grew up, I learned what it was like to be a fan for a bad team, but loyal none-the-less.  I honestly never thought the Kings would be any good, it just wasnt who they were.  

Then you came to town and everything changed.  I remember thinking, "this should be fun for a few months", but when you resigned for 1 billion dollars, I thought you were a steal.  My team had Chris Webber!  Suddenly more than the first round exit seemed plausible.  Then everything got even more fun.  Not olny did the team get better, it got GOOD.  Really good.

While some may remember you as always being so close to being a winner, I dont.  I remember everything you brought to the team.  Not just on the court, but of of it.  Your personality and character were both honest and annoying (hey, who's isn't when perfection is expected).  And that was just it, you became more than just a player on my team, you became the face of the franchise, and in turn, a part of the community.

When a city like Sacramento gets a successful team, we have a way of overwhelming a players life (what else do we have to do?).  But, unlike countless others, you seemed to embrace it.  You werent perfect, but you were real.  You helped make sports real for me.  In sports there will always be wins and losses, but when players you've never met seem like friends, its bigger than the game.  I still think of you, Peja, Christie, Bibby, Bobby-J, Hedu and Vlade like friends from college.  There is a reason grown men cry when their team wins.  It's something we all go through together.

I have sworn and cursed you a thousand times, but you were always Chris.  You always tried, and you always wanted to win.  

Thanks for the memmories, and enjoy your retirement.

27freethrows

P.S.

I will now flame this thread with some of my favorite Webber pictures.  Consider it a StR mini-roast.

Peace bro!

For everything. I hope you move back to sactown and go to your restaurant every night or take peaches' spot in the booth. Anything to keep you here in the Best city you ever played in. And if maybe you make the hall (my fingers are crossed) you'll go down as a Sacramento King

Not that I like to talk about this, but I remember a few missed free throws and a disappearance in OT. But I was 18 then, my recollection could be hazy in my old age.

he was such a good listener

Sad - watching webber lay on the ground in Dallas in Game 2 of the WC Semi's

Happy - The first time i saw the "CWebb's House" sign on the side of ARCO

A very smooth and consistent big man you could count on for a regular double-double. He gave good glare. He probably settled for the elbow jumper a little more than most folks would like, but he made his share and still grabbed a lot of boards. Excellent passing skills, and he could lay a guy on his ass with a screen (you could ask Derek Fisher).

Naturally we all wished he had lifted the Kings a little higher, but he gave it a helluva shot.

I think that C-Webb retiring is a very poignant reminder of how great those few years were and how badly we all want to get back to that fun-to-watch, spectacularly high-scoring, bench-mob, chalupa-busting level of play.

Best wishes, Big Dog.

I remember the team making the playoffs winning 10 outta 11 without them. I remember him hip-checking John Stockton. I remember his constant flirtation with the injured list. I remember the occasional game where he loooked like a top 5 player, and the occasional game when he didn't. I remember games where he grabbed 15 boards, and then proceeded to grab 7 the next night, quite often on a below average rebounding team even then. I remember the asinine comparisons to Tim Duncan, which seemed so then, and seem nostalgic now. I remember Webb being the only player to thank the fans for playing the part in a joke, that no-one in that locker room probably got, and I don't think even Vlade understood, after the fans booed Jon Barry. I remember Webb's knee injury. I remember Webb trying to be a superstar and carry a team on his back. I remember his offensive foul (pick) that set Bibby's shot in game 5. I remember his rant about the invasion of privacy (he didn't complaining inking that deal though did he?). I remember his trade to the Sixers and losing the first game in that uniform, ironically against the Kings. I remember the ovation he got when he returned to Arco later that same season. I remember the arrogance, the skills, the knowledge, the charisma, and the man. If nothing else, whether you loved him or not, thought highly of him or not, he's a hard person to forget. Hope all goes well in the next round Chris. Because no-one around here ever gave 2 shits about you calling a timeout.