There is an anti-rich people feeling in this city that has probably been here since the pony express and is the national mood the last few years. The Maloofs are seen as rich. From day 1 they have been called billionaires yet each individual Maloof is not a billionaire. The family may once have had a billion but certainly no more. Not in net worth. Most everything they own seems to be leveraged to the hilt and vulnerable to a bad economy. They wanted national attention and could not have predicted the economy crash. In a different way, I went down with them economically. I will dig my way out although I am old enough to be their father and don't have the nergy they have. Many have discussed finances just as a coule would discuss finances over the kitchen table. We can't influence finances so why bother if they aren't in some way connected to us in a dufferent way than Nordstrom's or Weinstock's which failed here also, didn't it. The president of Weinstock's was a neighbor of mine and I didn't care about their finances as much as I do the Kings.
The poor attendance of recent years is a direct result of the rebuild and the economy. The economy stopped even the most die hard fan from attending. Rich people can be hit hard and still have money left over for a game. Working class and the unemployed can't buy tickets. That's not the Maloof's fault. You have bad teams to get good rookies. We got Tyreke and Cousins. That's by plan and a little luck. It also leads to losses until they learn the game.
Now the team is ready to springboard into winning mode which has happened only one other time in the entire history of the Sacramento Kings. Once in 25 years. A tightly packed series of winning seasons sandwiched by losing seasons of epic proportions. We didn't yell at the original owners for the awful teams. It's a shame but I think the rich guys are not rich and are being backed into the corner.
I think it could still work here but it is dependent on a citizenry of a minority of the people in the area who just hapen to be indifferent or having their own troubles. The capital of California is not interested in the Kings and can't or won't see the big picture perhaps because of this anti-rich mind set.
The team is made up of individuals that are like family to me. We have fussed over Cuz. We have seen Tyreke get caught for speeding. We have debated Ron Ron who never did explode again. One almost died in an auto crash. One committed suicide, and a lot of them had great times here. Heck one of them married a dancer and got her fired.
Some have maintained homes here. I have chatted with Terry Tyler as we were in line at a movie. I met his wife and picked on son Terrence. His son played against my son in basketball. Jim Les and Vinnie Del Negro have had basketball camps and because my daughter stood out, I chatted with them. I personally cannot look at the players and be dispassionate because they might not be here
I think most of us have been thinking long and hard and see that rich people have their own problems. As the Maloofs have been nothing but good for this city with the dontions and their flamboyance, I can't be all that angry. Doesn't mean I am not angry and the Maloofs get a portion of it but as with a lot of things the last few years, the economy changed and the culprit isn't all so clear. Anger is in the air and it is born from frustration. It has to be directed somewhere. It is difficult to be angry with one's self. Some one else is to blame.
If the Maloofs came to the games dressed to the nines and sat back in a luxury suite with guests out of sight, that would be one thing, but they sit at courtside and scream, whistle, and holler just like the rest of us. They are basketball fans.
I have a basic sense that the Maloofs wanted to make it work here as they didn't buy the team and steal it from the city the way Luckenbill stole it from Kansas City. They tried hard, were active in the community, (Thomas didn't even have a home here), and have donated oodles of money that they could use now.