All, just thought I would forward my email to Councilwoman Pannell. I hope this is able to inspire all of you to write as I was inspired looking at some of the letters on here. Since I can't make to Sacramento for the meeting on the 14th, I figured this was the next best thing. Thank you again, and GO KINGS!!!!!!!!!

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Dear Councilwoman Pannell,

First off, let me sincerely express my thanks and gratitude for your service to the City of Sacramento over the years, and for being such an incredible voice for those working and living in the region. I was born and raised in Sacramento and now live in Washington, DC where I work for the US Government. My work and academic life has taken me around the world, and in every city and location I have traveled to I have been happy to sing my praise for the city and what it has meant to me. Since you and your work in making the city what it is was a major part of that, I am deeply in your debt.

In one such instance, I was traveling in a remote part of Turkey in 2002, walking through a series of street markets while on personal vacation. I was looking at an ivory chess set with some colleagues when the vendor noticed a foreign accent speaking in front of him. “Where are you from?!?” he asked. “California”, I said. “Oh really? Where?” Without hesitating, and thinking I was taking a long shot by being more specific, I said, “Sacramento, the capital”. Before I could offer an explanation of where this was exactly, his eyes got wide and he looked full of excitement. “Ohhh- I know Sacramento! Sacramento Kings! Hedo Turkoglu! It is a famous place for us!”

Now, almost 10 years on, I remember that story as if it were yesterday and am still struck by how much that example showed me about what the Sacramento Kings mean to the identity of Sacramento. They are an icon for what brings the city together, and one of the incredible symbols of what makes us unique. But in the end, the effort to fund and approve a new arena transcends far beyond the Kings. This, ultimately, is about Sacramento and the city we want it to be. I believe that Sacramento is a world class city, deserving of world class amenities and atmosphere. I hear raves by colleagues who visit Portland, Oregon, Indianapolis, Indiana and San Antonio, Texas—three similarly sized cities to Sacramento—after they see what an arena has meant to a successful downtown urban center. I beam with anticipation thinking of the day I can take my own family to a game or concert in a new arena in Sacramento, just as my family took me as a child back in 1987.

It is in this spirit that I respectfully ask you to reconsider your recent position on the new Entertainment and Sports Complex Initiative. While Sacramento still has many civic hurdles to climb, and the economy continues to put strain on all of our priorities, this may be the last true window for the city to get the meeting place, opportunity, and team it deserves. I hope you consider the future identity of our great city and those who have had very similar cherished experiences to mine, and the excitement this new project could provide for the identity of future generations as well. Thank you in advance for your consideration, and all the best in your current and future efforts.

Sincerely,

All Sacramento Kings Fans in So Cal that come to 33 Degrees - Harborside Pub tonight to watch the Kings play the Thunder will receive 25% OFF any food item.

Wear your Kings Gear so we know who you are...

If you correctly guess the final score, your dinner and drinks are on me!


Ed (SactownheartOChouse)

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This is my first post. I thought it would be really helpful if we all politely emailed and asked for Congresswoman Pannell's support back after she apparently changed her mind last night and supported the initiative to put the transfer of parking assets on the ballot in June. Here is the email I sent, and I ask that everyone consider sending her an email. I think that we would all be more comfortable with a 6-3 advantage than a 5-4 advantage that leaves no room for error. The point of this is not to spawn a political debate within Sactown Royalty about certain assertions within my email but rather to do everything within our means to ask for her support. Depending on the kind of response we get from her, there are other social media strategies that we might pursue, but I am convinced she will see the light.

To: bpannell@cityofsacramento.org

Subject: A sincere plea

Body: Dear Councilwoman Pannell -

I am emailing you in the hope that I can respectfully ask that you reconsider your stance on the arena after last night's vote and support the arena efforts in Sacramento.
I know that there are strong arguments voiced by passionate people on both sides of this debate. As someone who grew up in Sacramento during the late 70s and 80s, I was struck during a recent visit home (I now live in Los Angeles) at how worn and run-down my old stomping grounds felt. I know that Sacramento has been devastated by the recession. My senses left no doubt of this. However, in these times, especially as evidence is beginning to mount that the worst of the recession is behind us, I believe that you are being called to be bold. It would be easy and natural to retrench, but can you imagine where our economy would be if President Obama had not had the vision to invest in the United States (look at the dividends the investments in General Motors and Chrysler have affected) when the overwhelming majority of citizens were against the "bail-out."
Surely if the transfer of parking assets had been put to popular vote, citizens would have balked. However, I think this is exactly why the Founding Fathers believed that a republic was a superior form of government to a pure democracy. Your constituents saw in you amazing leadership qualities that would allow you to be bold and wise in large matters affecting your district and the city of Sacramento. Now, I believe, more than ever, your vision and wisdom will result in massive long-term benefits to the city of Sacramento, and especially the downtown area.
I incidentally spent a lot of time in the Bay Area right after the San Jose Arena and Pacific Bell Ballpark were opened. The impact that those arenas had on their localities was simply profound. These initial investments resulted in a compounding return that have ongoing and growing benefits to these areas.
I know you have heard these arguments, so I simply ask that you strongly consider showing the wisdom and vision that will result in a major shot in the arm to the wonderful city of Sacramento.
Respectfully,

The day was February 12th (Thank you Aykis), 2006, and the Sacramento Kings were heading into their last playoff appearance to date. At the age of fourteen, my sister was enjoying a blossoming career as a musician, and was invited to Sacramento State University to perform with several other pianist youths. As a prepubescent male, Beethoven held little appeal to me. I was more interested in taking my worn-leather basketball to the Hornet's practice court to shoot some hoop.

I arrived at gym, sneaking my way into the facility, dribbling my basketball through the halls. Yes, I know, not too sneaky, but I was twelve and not especially observant. Finally I reached the court, but it wasn't empty. I heard the familiar tone of many basketballs colliding on hardwood, and the chatter between the players. I cracked the door open, and inside I saw a group of humongous, muscular men going hard in their drills. On the sidelines sat several older men, all of whom seemed focus on speaking to the man closest to the court. He wore a black sweatshirt with red trim lining the sleeves and chest, with a logo above his heart. He must've been the coach. But the coach of what? This was a lower-tier conference squad? They were way too big to be college athletes. I looked back at the players, who were conducting a fastbreak drill, with three players streaking down the court towards two awaiting defenders, the point guard passed the ball over to the corner three and the player shot the ball. Dear God his form was ugly.

But... I knew it from somewhere, he seemed to be pushing the ball from his chest with both hands. It was much like my own form years before, when ten foot hoops were too high to reach without a heave. But this guy was over six feet tall and very athletic. He had an Afro that made him stick out, but it was that shooting form that caught my eye. I'm sure some of you have guessed who he was already, it was Atlanta Hawk at the time, Josh Childress.

This was no college team. It was the Atlanta Hawks, practicing in a college gym before facing my Kings.

At this point, the coach noticed my presence, as I had entered the room and closed the door behind me quietly. He waved me over, I was scared he'd be angry at me. To the contrary, he smiled and asked my name. His name, Mike was monogrammed on his jacket. I quietly told him it was Chris, and he asked me how I was doing. I said I was good. He gestured to my basketball, which I was holding with a death grip from nerves.

"Were you going to shoot some hoop here?" He ventured.

I looked at him, back at the court, then back at him. "Yeah, but I'll leave if you guys are busy."

He shook his head, "No, stay we were wrapping it up anyways." He gestured to an assistant who then blew on his whistle. He called the players back to a huddle, but instead of the normal speech given at the end of practice, Mr. Woodson (Mike) told them to have a short scrimmage, and told them to play with me. I was flabbergasted, and totally scared.

I got the ball from Childress on the top of the key and the guys cheered me on to score. The guy ahead of me though? Josh Smith. A full six foot eight he towered above me with arms outstretched. I charged forward to the left, trying to surprise him with a strangely well-developed lefty game, blew past him, and hit a layup. I couldn't believe it. His teammates all jokingly jeered him, but he just smiled back at them, and then grinned at me. People always talk about his character issues, but Josh Smith definitely isn't a bad guy. We ended the scrimmage after a few more possessions, but it was an amazing time for me. I met everybody on the team, and shook hands with them; Mike Woodson told me to keep working my game and maybe he'd have a look at me when I was older. I knew he was humoring me, but it meant a lot to me at the time. I can't count how many times I went out in my driveway to try and better my left-hand game that earned such praise from him.

I don't play anymore, but it was one of those things that helped me gain a love for the game. I've never been able to meet a Kings player, but playing with the Hawks definitely made me root for them when the Kings weren't playing. I know it isn't Kings related, but this type of story is why we have to remember at the end of the day no matter how much we loathe the other team while we're playing them, they're all people like you and me.

In life we tend to get separated into two piles: Winners and losers. Though society likes to believe that the main difference between the two distinctions is financial health, they are incorrect. What separates a winner from a loser is how one chooses to overcome their obstacles. No one makes it through this life without tasting adversity. All of us will at some point or another get sucker punched by life and be knocked down. The loser stays on the mat and complains about how unfair life is. The winner picks him or herself up off the mat, refuses to dust themselves off and kicks life square in the ass. As Sacramento Kings fans, we have become all too accustomed with the mat. And yet, time and time again, we rise back to our feet, crack our necks back into place and seek out retribution on those who have done us wrong. It is simply what we do.

We have seen the darkest of days. We've lived through true tragedies such as Ricky Berry taking his own life and Bobby Hurley going through the windshield. We've lived through basketball tragedies, as well. Be it Robert Horry stabbing us in the heart or having a head coach try to sell us on "Desmond Mason: Defensive Stopper", we have had more than our share of gut wrenching moments on the court. And though our glory days were over all too quickly, they made every moment of our suffering worth the while. I will take the memories of Vlade embracing Webb or Peja after a big shot to my grave. Those are memories no one can ever take from me. Not the Maloofs running things on a shoestring budget. Not Anaheim. Not John Salmons dribbling out the shot clock. Those memories belong to us, and always will.

Although the Kings never reached the top of the mountain, the brief glimpse of what lays there is what allows us to dream of what we will do when we finally get there. We will storm the court of our newly constructed arena, cheering loudly, high fiving and hugging total strangers simply because they're wearing purple and black. We will march down to Cesar Chavez Park and celebrate. We will chant SA-CRA-MENTO (clap clap clapclapclap) as Mayor Johnson helps raise our championship banner to the ceiling. Then the rest of America will know what all of us have known for years: Sacramento is a winner. We've been knocked down. We've gotten back to our feet. Now we're looking for the bastard who sucker punched us. It's time to even the score.

Being a Kings fan is probably the most difficult yet most nostalgic thing ever. As a Kings fan, many simple things can excite us and get our blood pumping, it may even be a simple gif of Doug Christie owning Rick Fox. Kings fans know to appreciate the little things. We have gone many years filled with disappointment, but we never gave up on our beloved Kings. To any "good" NBA team, a win is a win, but to us a win means so much more. When the Kings beat the hated Lakers it was as if we just won a championship!

As a younger Kings fan, I usually have nothing else to focus on except for this team. During the NBA lockout, it was the worst time ever. I would stay up every single night just reading old articles of our team and watching old YouTube highlights of the glory days. Anyone who sees highlights of the current Kings team could easily see all the potential there is for this team to be great. This is one of the reasons why it's tough to be a fan. We have so much talent, but we aren't receiving the wins to match it. I always fantasize a winning season and making the playoffs again to fully revive the "Arco Thunder". In both NBA games I own, NBA Live 03 and 2k12, I always play as the Kings just to lead the team to the longest winning streaks.

Character is definitely built while being a true Kings fan. We've all learned that nothing is ever handed to us, we need to go out there and show we deserve it. Kings losses and struggles have surely taught me how to deal with the hardships of life and to pick myself up, which has made me tougher and understand life differently. Receiving criticism from fans of other teams is something we are accustomed to since we love the Kings, but we learn to shrug them off since we understand what our team really is.

Every loyal Kings fan simply can't wait for the days that this team isn't viewed as a bunch of scrubs by some ignorant people. At the moment, we never know what to expect from our team's performance on a nightly basis, but we understand the sky high potential there is. Loyalty is always strong with us.

What is it like to be a Kings fan? It's to stay tough, always wish for the best, and stay positive even through the hardest of times. Can't forget this one, it's also hoping that every time we hear a highlight including "If you don't like that, you don't like NBA basketball" to make it on to ESPN's top 10 plays.

An important thing for all of us to keep in mind is, "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." I'd be extremely surprised if anyone believes more than us, the most loyal and deserving fans there are.

And just for the giggles,

hehehe.

When it comes to the Sacramento Kings, there are absolutely no bandwagoners. Those type of people become a Lakers fan. When someone walks around with Kings gear on, you instantly know they have a great amount of NBA knowledge.

Going to my first Sacramento Kings game as a little 8 year-old kid with my older brother, I entered ‘Arco Arena’, filled with 17,317 fans (a packed house), where they were playing Kevin Garnett and the Minnesota Timberwolves. I saw myself witnessing more than just a basketball team and an organization. I perceived Arco thunder, the passion of Kings fans, immense team work (the way basketball should be played), and respect. I instantly fell in love and from that day, I have been bleeding purple ever since.

From going to every single autograph session to meet my favorite Kings players, to buying every Kings bobblehead sold at Carls Junior, to even cutting out pictures of the previous game from the Sacramento Bee, I have stayed by the side of this team through it all for the last 10 years and on. Watching nearly every game, taking out my anger towards Grant and Jerry, and stressing during the final seconds of close games, us Kings fans have had exceptional highs and disappointing lows.

The Sacramento Kings are even part of my personality and character. If they lose the previous day, my mood for the next will be slightly less than joyful. From deciding what to wear from my Kings apparel the next day after a Kings win to even rescheduling important events around Kings games, they are a huge part of me on a day to day basis.

Loyalty is a huge factor in being a Sacramento Kings fan. You must be by their side, supporting through the thick and thin. There are no fans more loyal than the fans of our very own Kings. There have been tough times with this team, but it just makes the wins that much sweeter when they do occur. Sure, other teams’ fans talk trash whenever the Kings lose, but boy does it feel great when they win, and sometimes it almost feels like Sacramento as a community, comes together and becomes a family.

Being a Kings fan is pain, love, loss, joy and… so much more that is hard to explain.

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Thanks for reading. I'm going to make this quick...

Growing up in Placerville, you don't have a whole lot to do. That boredom made me embrace my sports teams more than your typical city dwelling kid. I needed something to occupy my time and luckily I had our Sacramento Kings. I have so many memories from my childhood about the Kings and most of them aren't too pretty to anyone who doesn't love the Kings, but to me they're priceless. OP, The Rock, The L Train, The Wizard, Hurley, Funderburke, Sarunas, Tyus. These were the names of my best friends. The team sucked, but I didn't mind. I loved them.

While I was in high school, the Kings hit their stride. Suddenly things weren't so bleak, this injection of talent had finally made my beloved Kings relevant outside of my living room. It was a totally new feeling, I loved it. The following several seasons were filled with such excitement and heartbreak. Even though we never accomplished the goal of winning a championship, the Kings made me so proud to be from Sacramento.

After high school, the Kings settled back into mediocrity and I left my hometown to pursue a life in LA. From the moment I steeped foot in LA, I was so proud to tell Laker fans that I was from Sacramento and that I was a King. They mocked me relentlessly, but I relished in it. They don't know the bond I have with my team, they don't know the bond YOU have with this team.

Fast forward about 6 years, I'm at a crossroads. I have a very successful career and life carved out in LA, but I'm not happy. My job required me to work long hours and it was something that I knew I wasn't passionate about. I needed to change things. After a lot of soul searching, I decided that I wanted to return to my northern California roots. I was so excited to be back. Besides being close to my family and friends, I knew I was returning to my Sacramento Kings. The fact that this was during the ongoing relocation saga made it all the more emotional. The fact that the team was playing so poorly made it all the more familiar...

I've been back up in Sacramento for about 6 months now. The job I was promised before I moved fell through. My girlfriend and I fell on hard times. I found myself living on my savings and wondering what would be next. But whenever I feel down, I can watch our Kings and feel good.

I'm a firm believer in history repeating itself. Instead of Mitch, it's Tyreke. Instead of OP, it's Demarcus. Instead of Tyus, it's Isiah. I know that the Kings will return glory, but in the meantime I don't care. I don't mind the mediocrity, I don't mind the losses. It's so much bigger than that. I have my Kings again and that makes me happy.

I'll start by saying: The Sacramento Kings are just about the only stable thing I've had in my life, and I'll scream my lungs out to keep them here.

I am eighteen years old and live in the little old town of Loomis, California. I have lived here my entire life, but it never came easy. Since 1996, I have lived in fifteen different houses, never staying anywhere for too long. My father stopped involving himself in my life upon finding out that I had Asperger's Syndrome, and the relatively small line of my mother's suitors became the only male influence in my life. At the age of six, I had been rejected by my peers and my own father for being mentally handicapped, I had no self esteem as a male or as a human-being for that matter.

Fast-forward to April 7, 2001: My mother's long-time boyfriend Danny decided to take me to a Kings game. I had never seen a live basketball game before this, and I had no idea what to expect. We arrived at ARCO Arena, and I was shaking from excitement, it seemed like you could really feel the energy there. We reached our seats, center court Row B Seats 5 & 6, clearly Danny was serious about my mom because these tickets must have cost a fortune. The visiting Knicks strolled onto the court, and damn! They were huge! This behemoth lineup featured Latrell Sprewell, Allen Houston, and Mark Jackson. I admired them, but I knew they were the enemy by their lack of black jerseys. Then the lights dimmed and our beloved Glory-Days Kings came charging out in all their splendor. Peja, Webber, Divac, Christie, Bibby, Funderburke, Jackson, Turkoglu, Pollard, and the rest were introduced to earsplitting cheers. It was so loud in there! The game hadn't even begun, and the arena was almost shaking. This was a rabid, loving fan-base that intimidated every other team in the league with the vicious clangs of our cowbells. I was hooked.

The game was a blowout, we won 116-82 with not a single player on our squad scoring more than 16 points. It was beautiful basketball that I only appreciate more looking back on it now, the ball went everywhere, our shots fell with amazing efficiency, and everybody was involved. Our depth completely overwhelmed these unfortunate Knicks, and the game was over relatively quickly. Danny led me out of the crowded arena with my new Webber jersey on, and we were lost in the parking lot for an hour. He drove a yellow pickup truck, neon-bright yellow! Finally, we drove home and I couldn't even sleep that night. I was so ecstatic about my newfound love, the Sacramento Kings.

As someone who has moved around all my life, I know the value of a home versus a house. The Kings found their home here, and we found the Kings. Throughout the clout of my family's finances and my delayed education, I never stopped loving the Kings. If I had a bad day at school, I'd flip on the game and everything was all right. These Kings would never leave, they'd always be my team. No lawyer, no teacher could take them from me.

But now, just as I turn 18 these Kings might leave me behind. I have not been able to afford tickets since that fateful day, and my fandom has been based off of countless hours in front of my television shouting, cheering, crying, jumping up and down, and finally falling back on my couch in fatigue once the final buzzer sounded. This is our team, and there are many stories out their like mine, and there will be many after me who look to this team as an escape, as faithful friends.

I apologize for going over the 500 word limit.