True sports fans have a small portion of their hearts dedicated to their favorite team, a few arteries inside, where the blood runs not red but the colors of their favorite team.

But for those who swore they bled the green and gold of the Seattle SuperSonics, this past summer opened a wound that may not heal for years to come.

After 41 years of professional basketball, including Seattle’s only major men’s sports championship, the SuperSonics were moved to Oklahoma City in July of last year. In the wake of a conflict over funding to upgrade home stadium KeyArena, the team’s ownership group, led by Oklahoma businessman Clay Bennett, reached a settlement with the City of Seattle that facilitated the team’s relocation.

Sonics fans, however, felt they had been robbed.

Andrés Dankel-Ibáñez, Assistant Director of Whitman’s Intercultural Center, had been a Sonics fan for multiple decades. While growing up on a Nez Perce reservation in Idaho, he would often visit family in Seattle, where he took in live games and became an avid supporter of the team.  

Dankel-Ibáñez summed up his reaction to the move in a single word.

“Bereavement,” he said. “Like someone in your family had died. I still didn’t believe it when I heard.”

Junior Kevin McCoy felt similarly distressed, observing that Seattle’s comparatively strong franchise and history should have been enough to prevent the relocation.

“There are so many teams that aren’t doing well in their areas. The Sonics weren’t like that. They didn’t deserve to take our team, and that we agreed to let them go was sad.”

And the adjustment period since has been far from enjoyable.  

Both McCoy and Dankel-Ibáñez addressed the way they perceive the team that used to be theirs, now known as the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite being comprised of the same players they cheered on just last season, the team, to them, seems alien, even a different group altogether.

“Watching the Thunder, it doesn’t feel like your team anymore,” said Dankel-Ibáñez. “You’re in shock that that used to be your team.”

To fill the gap left by their departure, some fans have sought out new teams to support in place of the Sonics. The most ostensible choice for many would be the team geographically closest to Seattle, the Portland Trailblazers. But with their status as the Sonics’ longtime opponent for Northwest basketball supremacy, Seattle devotees have not been instantly enthused to back a former rival.

“I feel a grudging amount of respect [for Portland],” said McCoy. “But I can’t bring myself to cheer for them outright.”

“You can’t assume that Seattle fans will just change their loyalty,” said Dankel-Ibáñez.

Yet even after such a devastating loss, one that has left many grasping for a foothold, the spirit of a dedicated fan cannot be fully crushed.

And because the City of Seattle still holds the rights to its former team’s logo, colors and (most importantly) name, the possibility exists that there may again be Sonics basketball. When that might happen, though, no one can say for certain.

“I haven’t lost faith in basketball,” said McCoy. “There’s hope. But I don’t know when it’s coming.”