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Excitement, outrage greet Webber trade
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 25, 2005
The light rail kept running. The Capitol didn't crumble. Arco Arena, more importantly, remained intact, with business as usual in the Kings' offices within.
In the first day of the post-Chris Webber era for Kings fans, it turned out life in Sacramento will continue after the Kings star forward was traded to Philadelphia on Wednesday night in a six-player deal.
The differences: Tickets were selling briskly, fans were venting and one retail establishment was taking a stand.
The early financial impact of his departure was an apparent boon for Kings ticket sales, members of the anti-Webber faction opening their wallets first. At All Events Tickets, a sports ticket broker in Roseville, demand for Kings tickets had nearly doubled just after the noon hour, with sales increasing from $4,892 the previous week to $8,248, according to sales manager Lakota Spell.
"We've had so many people call, and at first, I thought, 'I hope (the trade) doesn't scare people off,' but I think more people are happy about it," Spell said. "I think it's a blessing. It'll be exciting to see what happens now."
Across the country, 76ers fans were embracing their new player, who brings hope to the Eastern Conference team, which entered Thursday with a 26-28 record.
Anthony Riodo, vice president of nationwide ticket broker Stubhub.com, said his company sold five times as many 76ers tickets Thursday as the day before.
"I'd say that today, the 76ers are up there with (baseball's) Red Sox and Yankees, far bigger than any other NBA team," Riodo said. "There was no movement for the Kings."
Greg Cullen, president of Preferred Seating Inc. in Sacramento, said his company's sales of Kings tickets "nearly doubled" from Wednesday.
"I didn't expect this much," Cullen said. "I thought it would be a quiet day."
It was anything but.
The only common ground between trade debaters was the soapbox they all shared, with discussions taking place from business offices to schools to the Internet. On Kingsfans.com, a popular site for the most avid purple-and-white supporters, more than 27,000 users took part in a heated dispute.
And true to form during his six-plus seasons in Sacramento, Webber elicited the same mixed feelings fans felt while he was here, cries of joy and despair from the Kings legion across the region. There was sadness for those who credited Webber with reviving a team that never knew success until he arrived in 1998. There was elation from those who said he was more hindrance than help toward the ultimate goal of an NBA championship.
Kings fan Goowee Barksdale represented the pro-Webber camp in a near-empty Downtown Plaza on Thursday, standing in the same shopping mall where more than 6,000 fans greeted Webber with chants of "C-Webb" during a 2001 rally to celebrate the signing of his seven-year contract worth $122.7 million. The 23-year-old Barksdale wore a 76ers hat, a 76ers jersey and a look of disappointment at the departure of the Kings' marquee player.
"I think he should have stayed here, where he had such a good streak going," Barksdale said. "He brought a lot of attention to Sacramento. I liked having him in town."
Said fan Edith Ferderer of Sacramento: "We're not going to pay the rest of our (cable) bill if Webber's not going to play here. I think it's a shame that we're not going to have a good team."
The Webber legacy: Love and ...
"I think he's been a problem everywhere he's been, and I would have never taken him in the first place," said Richard Belton, 61, of Sacramento. "I think they were wise to get rid of him when they could. He and (76ers guard) Allen Iverson are going to turn basketballs into rubber bands fighting over that ball."
Beyond the debates over Webber's on-court worth, he was indisputably the face of the rising franchise. When Webber was acquired by the Kings in exchange for Mitch Richmond in 1998, Forbes magazine estimated the organization's worth at $118.9 million. In 2004, the value had increased 180 percent to $330 million.
Phil Basa, a pro-Webber store clerk at Downtown Plaza's Gettaclue Urban Sportswear, placed Webber's value at $70 - and no lower.
After Basa draped three Webber jerseys on the wall behind his cash register in a makeshift memorial to his favorite player, he rebuffed customers who came looking for a bargain.
"Somebody asked me this morning, 'Are these (Webber jerseys) on sale now?' " Basa said. "I said, 'Hell no.' ... I think this trade is terrible."
The closest thing to a true Webber memorial was just outside Arco Arena at the Granite Point apartments. Nearly three months before, the greeting, "Happy New Year C-Webb," with Webber's No. 4, was displayed on the patio in purple lettering.
With a Webberless new beginning under way for the Kings and their followers, the message had been changed.
The happiness was gone.
"C-Webb. 4."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12451943p-13308083c.html
By Sam Amick -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Friday, February 25, 2005
The light rail kept running. The Capitol didn't crumble. Arco Arena, more importantly, remained intact, with business as usual in the Kings' offices within.
In the first day of the post-Chris Webber era for Kings fans, it turned out life in Sacramento will continue after the Kings star forward was traded to Philadelphia on Wednesday night in a six-player deal.
The differences: Tickets were selling briskly, fans were venting and one retail establishment was taking a stand.
The early financial impact of his departure was an apparent boon for Kings ticket sales, members of the anti-Webber faction opening their wallets first. At All Events Tickets, a sports ticket broker in Roseville, demand for Kings tickets had nearly doubled just after the noon hour, with sales increasing from $4,892 the previous week to $8,248, according to sales manager Lakota Spell.
"We've had so many people call, and at first, I thought, 'I hope (the trade) doesn't scare people off,' but I think more people are happy about it," Spell said. "I think it's a blessing. It'll be exciting to see what happens now."
Across the country, 76ers fans were embracing their new player, who brings hope to the Eastern Conference team, which entered Thursday with a 26-28 record.
Anthony Riodo, vice president of nationwide ticket broker Stubhub.com, said his company sold five times as many 76ers tickets Thursday as the day before.
"I'd say that today, the 76ers are up there with (baseball's) Red Sox and Yankees, far bigger than any other NBA team," Riodo said. "There was no movement for the Kings."
Greg Cullen, president of Preferred Seating Inc. in Sacramento, said his company's sales of Kings tickets "nearly doubled" from Wednesday.
"I didn't expect this much," Cullen said. "I thought it would be a quiet day."
It was anything but.
The only common ground between trade debaters was the soapbox they all shared, with discussions taking place from business offices to schools to the Internet. On Kingsfans.com, a popular site for the most avid purple-and-white supporters, more than 27,000 users took part in a heated dispute.
And true to form during his six-plus seasons in Sacramento, Webber elicited the same mixed feelings fans felt while he was here, cries of joy and despair from the Kings legion across the region. There was sadness for those who credited Webber with reviving a team that never knew success until he arrived in 1998. There was elation from those who said he was more hindrance than help toward the ultimate goal of an NBA championship.
Kings fan Goowee Barksdale represented the pro-Webber camp in a near-empty Downtown Plaza on Thursday, standing in the same shopping mall where more than 6,000 fans greeted Webber with chants of "C-Webb" during a 2001 rally to celebrate the signing of his seven-year contract worth $122.7 million. The 23-year-old Barksdale wore a 76ers hat, a 76ers jersey and a look of disappointment at the departure of the Kings' marquee player.
"I think he should have stayed here, where he had such a good streak going," Barksdale said. "He brought a lot of attention to Sacramento. I liked having him in town."
Said fan Edith Ferderer of Sacramento: "We're not going to pay the rest of our (cable) bill if Webber's not going to play here. I think it's a shame that we're not going to have a good team."
The Webber legacy: Love and ...
"I think he's been a problem everywhere he's been, and I would have never taken him in the first place," said Richard Belton, 61, of Sacramento. "I think they were wise to get rid of him when they could. He and (76ers guard) Allen Iverson are going to turn basketballs into rubber bands fighting over that ball."
Beyond the debates over Webber's on-court worth, he was indisputably the face of the rising franchise. When Webber was acquired by the Kings in exchange for Mitch Richmond in 1998, Forbes magazine estimated the organization's worth at $118.9 million. In 2004, the value had increased 180 percent to $330 million.
Phil Basa, a pro-Webber store clerk at Downtown Plaza's Gettaclue Urban Sportswear, placed Webber's value at $70 - and no lower.
After Basa draped three Webber jerseys on the wall behind his cash register in a makeshift memorial to his favorite player, he rebuffed customers who came looking for a bargain.
"Somebody asked me this morning, 'Are these (Webber jerseys) on sale now?' " Basa said. "I said, 'Hell no.' ... I think this trade is terrible."
The closest thing to a true Webber memorial was just outside Arco Arena at the Granite Point apartments. Nearly three months before, the greeting, "Happy New Year C-Webb," with Webber's No. 4, was displayed on the patio in purple lettering.
With a Webberless new beginning under way for the Kings and their followers, the message had been changed.
The happiness was gone.
"C-Webb. 4."
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12451943p-13308083c.html
