Tried to Reignite

Totally down for A Show of Force!
Wednesday, March 24, 2010 9:28 AM
From: "Commando Dave"
To: "Russell Pompea"
Cc: live4health@gmail.com

Hey Russell and Joshua:

I'm not sure if my eMail below got lost in the mix, but I'm standing by for your reply.

Thanks.

Commando Dave
WeTheFans Internet Radio Network
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Back to Sonicsgate Director

Re: A Show of Force!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 2:20 PM
From: "Commando Dave"
To: "Jason Reid"
Cc: "Brian Robinson" , "Russell Pompea" , "Joshua Bell" , "Camp Jones" , "Sonicsgate Movie"

Good stuff and good lookin' out, Jason!

Let me know if you want me to mention the Bagshaw event on Sports Radio. If so, I'll roll right into Send Sonicsgate to screen in New York City! and pump the Sponsorship Levels @ Sonicsgate.org

Additionally, if you and Adam want me to, I'll start calling into Sports Radio on the East Coast over the next 30 days and promote the screening.

"Hardly anyone on the East Coast even know the Sonics no longer exist, let alone that they became the Oklahoma City Thunder!" is one of the most compelling things I've read in a long time.

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Sonicsgate Director

Re: A Show of Force!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 12:52 PM
From: "Jason Reid"
To: "Commando Dave"
Cc: "Brian Robinson" , "Russell Pompea" , "Joshua Bell" , "Camp Jones" , "Sonicsgate Movie"

Hi Commando Dave...

Not sure if you saw my post on Sonics Central, but I threw a few ideas out. I've pasted it in below. Don't have much time to contribute more to the conversation due to my extremely full plate right now, but keep fighting the good fight...

This is a rare post for me…although I read the forum constantly. I felt inclined to write tonight because I think we have some great opportunities to have our voice heard and put the pressure on our local politicians, particularly the City of Seattle, to get something done in regards to renovating KeyArena and fixing the Seattle Center.

I think everyone should come join myself & some of the Sonicsgate team at Sally Bagshaw’s event, a week from tomorrow (Tuesday March 30th 6:30pm) at the luxurious Center House at the Seattle Center.

I met Sally and talked with her last week (and gave her a copy of Sonicsgate) and she invited me to come to the meeting…

So I, in turn, am inviting all of you:

http://seattle.gov/council/bagshaw/

This is a chance to make our voices heard to the City Council about the future of the Seattle Center. People will be expecting to talk about Chihuly, but instead let’s give them a strong showing of Sonics green & gold!

Remember what we did at the Gregoire Rally?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-JFiD5_D1I

After talking with Sally Bagshaw, she seemed genuinely engaged and I believe that she will listen to our cause. She’s a big fan of green public space and from how I gauged it…NHL (along with NBA of course). She’s also not to hot on the glass museum…If we can brainstorm some ideas with her that about how to accomplish those goals, I think it would be a very good thing for our cause. She might be the perfect person to work with us to push the issue onto the City Councils plate.

If we let her know why having a renovated KeyArena (and anchor tenants such as NBA and NHL teams) is the best thing for the Seattle Center and how powerful of a voice Sonics fans have, I think she will respond favorably.

Also, I talked to Dow Constantine, Rob McKenna, Sam Reed, and Norm Rice the same night and gave them all copies of the movie. Dow told me he’s been trying to get the authority from the state all session, so it looks like he’s doing what he said. He hadn’t seen Sonicsgate yet, but he told me he was going to watch it.

BTW, I was talking to him while watching the Husky game…Perfect platform to talk about what we’re missing by not having the Sonics here…Serendipity!

Last, we’re trying to raise some money to go to screen Sonicsgate in NYC. We’re going to try to get as much media attention on the film and the issue as possible while we’re out there. Hardly anyone on the East Coast even know the Sonics no longer exist, let alone that they became the Oklahoma City Thunder! We want to let them know!

I’ve been in contact with Kenny Mayne and some other higher-ups at ESPN and we really feel that being there when the ESPN/Tribeca Sports Film Festival will make a great platform to have our story heard on the national stage. We don’t need much money to pull it off, so anything you can donate will help us greatly (plus you can get cool prizes like shirts and DVDs!).

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sonicsgate/send-sonicsgate-to-screen-in-new-york-city

Ice Cube’s new movie about the LA Raiders is playing there, so we’re going to try to get him to come as well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/18/movies/18arts-MOVIEBYICECU_BRF.html

With Ice Cube on our side, how could we not get a team back?

So anyway, anything you can do to help us push our agenda through the internet (spreading the word about the film and the fundraising campaign to help with the cost of the NYC screenings) would be a great help for the cause (and probably the best bet for helping to get this story out to the world and actually make a difference).

reidster
(Jason Reid--Director of Sonicsgate)

Back to Brian Robinson 4

RE: A Show of Force!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 12:39 PM
From: "Commando Dave"
To: "Brian Robinson"
Cc: "Russell Pompea" , "Sonicsgate Movie" , "live4health@gmail.com" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"

Thank you Brian.

No, I didn't take your eMail as "overly harsh." If what you broke my balls about is actually true, then I appreciate you callin' me on it. If it's just your perception, I still appreciate the honesty. I'll never get upset with a guy man enough to punch you in the face rather than stab you in the back.

Anyway, the other thing that wasn't available three to four years ago; a second Sports Radio station with Kevin Calabro and John Clayton on it.

Ironically, part my recent "fuel" was a Kevin Calabro Show promo I heard a few weeks ago with KC saying [paraphrase], "Where are the banners? Where are the jerseys? In a closet somewhere? 40 years of Sonics history and no one..."

Sorry for a bad paraphrase, I'll try to get actual clip. But the point is, it got me thinking, the '"Voice of the Sonics" has his own show. And my very next thought was, Steve is pretty much The John Clayton Show SOS Correspondent. Next thought...Two Sports Radio stations???!!! Hmmmmmmm...

KJR, as we know, was the Sonics Station ever since Barry Ackerley owned the team and the station. Howard Schultz for some inexplicable reason (probably some kind of make a clean break bullshit) took the Sonics off KJR and put them on KTTH. KJR felt stiffed and was pretty much in "disconnect mode" by the time Schultz sold the team.

So when you guys kicked in with SOS, the domino effect of NOT being the Sonics Station had already "clouded the issue heavily" for KJR. They were all for saving the Sonics, but not like they would have been as the Home of the Sonics. They were onboard, but didn't wanna do any of the driving.

Well, that was when KJR was the ONLY sports radio station in Seattle; during a different economy. Fast forward...ESPN has a year under it's belt and KJR's moniker for the past year has been, "The Only Live and Local Sports Radio Station In Seattle."

In the context of "getting the ball bouncing," when the time is right, Sonics MIA could wind up as a very interesting and hella competitive game of "one-on-one" between the two stations. And I'm in position to "throw the ball up for the tip."

With competing Sports Radio stations involved, I think it changes the game as much as Facebook and Twitter do. And I don't know how NBA team station, selection actually works, but Sonics MIA could be putting things in motion, that set the stage for which station Steve Ballmer eventually chooses, as the "NEW Home of the Seattle SuperSonics."

KJR, I'm certain, believes it's the grandfathered-in Sonics Staion. The Voice of the Sonics is on ESPN. The other thing I'm certain about, politicians and businesses understand and respect radio, even sports radio with unruly listeners, drinking beer and trashing sports bars while listening. The beauty of it is, we all have an entrenched position with both stations.

I started this discussion with, I'm a BIG MOUTH on Sports Radio. By now, hopefully everyone sees the dots I'm trying to connect and some of the math I'm putting on the board.

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Brian Robinson 3

RE: A Show of Force!
Tuesday, March 23, 2010 7:48 AM
From: "Brian Robinson"
To: "Commando Dave"

Dave you're a good guy.

I've been frustrated by my own situation recently. I hope my e-mail did not seem overly harsh and appreciate you making substantive replies instead of being upset with me.

I'm becoming a big fan of the "relay race" mentality you refer to. Let me get going through the day and I'll try to get point by point reply to you ASAP.

Back to Brian Robinson 3

RE: A Show of Force!
Monday, March 22, 2010 6:18 PM
From: "Commando Dave"
To: "Russell Pompea" , "Sonicsgate Movie" , "Brian Robinson"
Cc: "live4health@gmail.com" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"


Furthermore:

You should have a massive e-mail list...
Yes, but no volunteers. Like I mentioned, I know how hard it is to rally fans.

I think the facebook group is a wonderful thing. There has to be some way to use it.
We're right on target here. And you REALLY hit the nail on the head with, "As recently as 3-4 years ago when we were fighting this battle it did not have the distribution factor it does today." My thoughts exactly.

They don't give a damn about facebook.
Not until they see the impact of it, right?

At the end of the day people in politics don't really believe that sports fans represent a substantive voting block.
And by using the social networking tools of Facebook, I believe we can build that substantive voting block and prove the impact.

To get true political legitimacy you either need big numbers who are organized or you need business support.
EXACTLY! I believe it can those numbers can be organized on Facebook/Twitter/etc. At least that's what I'm talking about us working on. And that's how we get "business support," by showing them potential customers on Facebook and how they 'tie into their business."

If we got 3,000 people at that rally they don't believe that more than 300 of them really vote.
That's what I kinda figure, which is why I mentioned a "Voters Drive" that included registering the unregistered. We could have a "Registered & Confirmed Sonics Fans Who Are Voters Group" within Russell's Facebook Group, right?

If we could get the restaurants and bars signed up behind an idea of yours it would be a major difference maker.
I formed some good relationships with various Lower Queen Anne businesses when I helped out on I-93. What do you mean by "major difference maker."

How many Sonics MIA shirts have you sold to date?
A couple hundred of the 2008 design. Just came out with the 2010 design, but I couldn't agree more that the eventual number should be "a decent indicator of how many people will actually make some sacrifice or take some effort to support you."

I would caution however that you remain realistic about what you are going to accomplish.
This is the exciting thing about the viral capabilities that did not exist 3-4 years ago. Who knows what's realistic or not? I'm hella excited to find out. Plus, the other thing is, Facebook allows us to "fly under the radar" since they "don't give a damn" about it, right? LOL

There is some limited action in terms of bringing back a team but it is not at the grass roots level.
That's what I meant about not hearing anything from anyone. And just trying to get/stay connected/positive and "Keep Hope Alive" the best way I know how. And re-reading all you wrote has gotten me jacked up!

My ability to commit time and money has virtually disappeared compared to a year ago.
That's the "relay race" aspect I mentioned before. Or in basketball terms, 'taking a breather" which is why I "bounced a ball" out there. SOS are hardcore political guys/power brokers. Sonicsgate are cool-ass movie/video makers. The Facebook Group are viral visionaries. I try different things to rally fans. And like I mentioned, I know how hard it is to rally the rally guys (me included) because we're all volunteers and busy as hell with other stuff.

I think everybody needs to do what they can do. I totally encourage you to work hard at it and building on what the Soncisgate guys are doing. It is a good avenue for all of you guys and the awareness really does help.
That's what I was thinking. As I mentioned, after taking ball breaking from you, it was good to read that paragraph. LOL

On the flip side if we have zero events in a year we may not have an audience left.
That's another thing I was thinking.

If you're not doing this under the SOS banner then it doesn't impact me at all.
You know I've never run anything under the SOS banner and when I thought something might impact you, I've called you first.

I will post links etc. on my website but...
Cool! Thanks!!

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Back to Brian Robinson 2

RE: A Show of Force!
Monday, March 22, 2010 2:39 PM
From: "Commando Dave"
To: "Russell Pompea" , "Sonicsgate Movie" , "Brian Robinson"
Cc: "live4health@gmail.com" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"

Appreciate the reply, Brian.

Sometimes things get lost in translation.

I'm not dismissing ANYTHING Sonicsgate Movie, SOS, or any Sonics Fans have done to this point. And definitely not judging anyone about anything. SORRY to ALL if I came across that way!

I was trying to convey the inspiration of Sonicsgate's video and motivation by the Facebook group to "put my thinking cap back on" and throw out the idea about a Show of Force!

Adam responded with some excellent, direct questions and I gave direct answers. Same with your reply; you were direct and I responded directly. I meant no disrespect to any of you.

Anytime any of you guys have been on sports radio, I've always tried to come on later and give you a SHOUTOUT of edification and encouragement. And every time you've called and asked me to be somewhere, I was there with my sleeves rolled up. In fact, I'm still standing by for what you called me about approximately a year ago...LOL.

When I stated, "I haven't heard anything from anyone," I'm not discounting what anyone HAS done or IS doing, I'm merely stating a fact. I haven't heard anything. And at the close of the second season, I'm JONSIN' BAAAAD MAN, just like everyone else reading this!!

So I'm merely putting on the table what I can. Nothing more, nothing less. I'm not trying to imply I can do anything better; just saying what I can do and throwing my hat in, not "tipping" it. We all know this is a marathon and part relay race.

Now, after breakin' my balls, the rest of your eMail was excellent. That's what I meant by Adam CC'd you for more than a few lines...LOL. And you delivered some very compelling, insightful stuff. Really appreciate it.

And despite rubbing you the wrong way (again obviously, Sorry about that Chief!), you wrote a lot very encouraging/common ground things. And some good advice too. Bottom line Brian, we agree that "if we have zero events in a year we might not have an audience left." That's pretty much the point I was trying to make and throwing it out to my Sonics Activist Comrades.

I have always respected you, Steve and the entire SOS Crew. I have always applauded your efforts, thus I have and will continue to ask for your input. Thanks!

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Brian Robinson 2

RE: A Show of Force!
Monday, March 22, 2010 7:29 AM
From: "Brian Robinson"
To: "Commando Dave" , "Russell Pompea" , "Sonicsgate Movie"
Cc: "live4health@gmail.com" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"

See Dave this is where you always lose me.

These guys spent hundreds of hours, dozens of press releases, thousands of their own dollars. They hit multiple states and received national coverage for Sonicsgate in an effort to keep the movement alive. They've put on a concert, Adam was a critical guy in an event of 100 plus bodies less than a month ago. In November we secured statements and meetings with every single substantive political candidate. We dramatically impacted the mayoral election. In the last 2 weeks they have met with multiple political leaders, are encouraging people to meet Sally Bagshaw on Thursday and have arranged lunch with Dow Constantine this month.

Never before has someone kept the legacy of a departed sports team alive in the way the Sonicsgate crew has. They've gotten thousands of people to come out to a variety of events. You come at them with an "I have to do something because Sonics fans have done zero" approach. Instead of attending the Bagshaw event or supporting the movie when they were making it you're going to plan something else. I actually do think you're a good guy with good intentions and I don't think you are so dismissive of what other people do on purpose but unintentionally the theme is always so consistent. You always have a "tip of the hat" comment or a disclaimer of how much you appreciate others right before the meat of your comments in which you dismiss the efforts and talk big game like you can do better. I always wind up just waiting to see what you can put together before I judge you they way it seems like you judge others. I don't feel the need to defend my own efforts but I can stand up for Sonicsgate all day long. They have been absolutely tireless. Nobody has worked as hard as they have.

You've been at this a long time. You should have a massive e-mail list. You should have volunteers. Get them to work. After you begin to produce results is when people will start joining up to support you. If you make even moderate progress you can count on SOS jumping behind because we need the help.

The minimum cost for a county wide initiative is about $200,000. It is much bigger than a city initiative because it is spread over so much larger of a geographic territory. It requires way more votes. I-91 got about $100,000 in funding from SEIU. We budgeted $40,000 for our shoestring I-93 city initiative and frankly the biggest reason we caved is because nobody did anything to help us pay for it. There does come a time when you have to put up the money or realize that you are going to go down in flames. We couldn't get the donations we wanted and I was looking at personally getting stuck with the tab. We had shelled out about $7K just in printing the ballots, paying submittal costs and having the attorney review our draft. When the city council came to us with an alternative that was pretty strong, allowed us to claim victory, and took that big bill off our hands it was a no brainer. We didn't think it was likely that the city council and mayor would screw us that badly that publicly by just flat out betraying us and going back on their word. Had we ben able to raise another $20K we may have made a different decision and held the team here. We went to games with the thought that "We have 20 volunteers and there are 14,000 people in attendance. Surely some people will donate a $5 or a $10. If we can average $1/person that is $12,000 per game and we can do this." Out of our 20 volunteers we would come back with like $45. Gathering funds was really, really tough despite the fact that we had a really big media presence and what I consider to be real legitimacy. It was a learning experience.

I think the facebook group is a wonderful thing. There has to be some way to use it. I've personally pushed it before a whole ton of legislative members, the NBA Players Union and the NBA itself. They don't give a damn about facebook. At the end of the day people in politics don't really believe that sports fans represent a substnative voting block. They know we can be loud and I thought for sure that when we brought 2,500 people to the rally and 400 people to Olympia that it would make a statement. They look at us as the "vocal minority" who just yell and scream and cause noise but at the end of the day don't have a legitimate voters block. If we got 3,000 people at that rally they don't believe that more than 300 of them really vote. They use loud and obnoxious behavior and sports radio commentary as support for this concept that somehow it is just a few drunk fans causing a stir. They legitimately believe that the best way to silence the vocal minority is to get as much distance between themselves and the issue as possible and they know that 2 years out from the teams departure they have almost succeeded. That is the biggest reason they don't do anything. It sucks but it is a reality that sports fans have to overcome if they want to be politically active. The renton event was a failure because it represented a fractured and impotent base that justified this behavior. It gave the politicals an excuse to do nothing and provide no leadership. It showed them that "If I do nothing the worst that will happen is that 2 dozen people will show up in a bar to drink beer and bitch about it."

To get true political legitimacy you either need big numbers who are organized or you need business support. Businesses are scared to death of unruly sports fans that meet in bars. They just don't think it is a good group to be associated with. It is why I have gone so far in the "lets be conservative" camp. It may be why I have gone too far that direction and guys like you will present a good balance. If we could get the restaurants and bars signed up behind an idea of yours it would be a major difference maker.

When we spoke previously I thought you had a great idea that our databases all needed to be sorted by district, zip code, etc. Get more district information on the base and make them more politically relevant. I do think that would make a difference but one of the real issue for us has been that that when we start going down that path it begins to look more and more like the politicos are right about our constituents. We can't get them to organize that way without committing more time and money than we really have. When we try to we realize that the ones willing to go even that far are so few, and spread so far that they are not really relevant to 1 district. Russel got 57,000 people to sign up on Facebook partially because facebook is such an amazing medium. As recently as 3-4 years ago when we were fighting this battle it did not have the distribution factor it does today. Part of the other reason he got it done is because facebook is relatively anonymous and quick and easy. It doesn't require you to do anything but click a button and suddenly you're a member. If you put a .25 charge to be a member you would get virtually nobody. If you had a 3 minute sign up sheet in which you were required to enter your mailing address and phone number you would have the same problem. If when you signed up there was a pop-up that said "By joining this group you may be solicited in the future" there would be a major decrease.

You may have found different. You may have a good database by now of people who've given you mailing addresses, etc. How many Sonics MIA shirts have you sold to date? To me that should give you a decent indicator of how many people will actually make some sacrifice or take some effort to support you.

If after 11 years on the job you have district and organizational information for a substantive group of sports fans in the PNW then by all means do it. I would caution however that you remain realistic about what you are going to accomplish. The politicals are not going to be intimidated by 10 people from 1 district and 20 people from another in a group of 100 total. It's just not substantive enough. They will resent your intrusion more than they respect your force.

Somewhere in this thread the actual idea itself did not get passed on to me. I'd be happy to comment on it

The guys who put on the Hood Classic are putting on a benefit game this summer and have asked me to participate. The game will include Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, and Nate Robinson. Interest has been expressed or tentative commitments have been made by Spencer Hawes, Brandon Roy, Stephon Marbury, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom. So we have real serious NBA talent. We have been in negotiations with the Key to rent it out and next week are having followup meetings with them as well as Hec-Ed. The game will have a strong "bring back the Sonics" theme with a press junket as well as a series of before and after events with the players.

It is a big deal to pull off and I don't think I can guarantee that it will even happen at this time. The other guys are going to be the driving force. If we do it though it will be the major hoops event of the summer.

There is some limited action in terms of bringing back a team but it is not at the grass roots level. For the most part right now any type of political rallying is very difficult because business leaders are scrambling to keep their heads above water. My ability to commit time and money has virtually disappeared compared to a year ago. The Chamber of Commerce is struggling, it is really tough times. Still the Seattle Sports Commission has been more involved, Jeanne Kohl-Wells and Ed Murray have been trying hard. Ross Hunter has been working his ass off and Steve Ballmer has made a comittment to be much more visible when the time comes. Bellevue has gotten really aggressive and honestly I think they could have a package done pretty quickly.

Overall though this is going to be a slow and incremental process. IMO my feeling for the last 2 years has been that there is no rally or event that anyone can do that will push this thing faster than Steve Ballmer is willing to push it. He knows when he can get a replacement team and is more interested in fighting an effective battle at that time than he is a long drawn out one during one of the most difficult business climates in history. It makes it hard for me to ask people to put in time and energy when I legitimately believe that time and energy is pretty much wasted until Ballmer starts his action. There has been some "negotiation" with that group about the timing of the action and what we feel we need to maintain momentum until then.

I think everybody needs to do what they can do. I totally encourage you to work hard at it and building on what the Soncisgate guys are doing. It is a good avenue for all of you guys and the awareness really does help. I'm also a lot less worried about failed showings than I was a couple of years ago. There is always the excuse that the team has just been gone and there is only so much people can do. My main worry now is that SOS as an organization has only so much pull. We assume that people are going to get tired of being solicited and stop showing up. We may need 500 people at some event this summer but if we've had four 100 person events through the year we won't have people willing to come out for the 2nd or 3rd time. On the flip side if we have zero events in a year we not have an audience left. It is a tough balance. If you're not doing this under the SOS banner then it doesn't impact me at all. I will post links etc. on my website but we won't distribute anything to our list if we have worries about them being asked to buy merchandise of be followed up with solicitation of any kind. We've been offered good money for that e-mail list from political candidates but we try to protect our members.

Assuming my business gets straightened out I am going to work this summer hoops game and continue to meet with people politically. Jan Drago is very willing to go to bat on this. I have to touch base with Ballmers people after the session, and McGinns people are mulling over whether he wants to do anything. Now it looks like we need to get back with the convention center people to see if we can peel off some of the money legislature is giving them this week.

Camp Jones is Camp Jones. He's not Steve Pyaett.

I know you're not asking for permission and I'm not pretending to grant or withhold it. I really wish you the best of luck. If you feel like any of my prior experience can help you out please always feel free to ask for input.

Back to Brian Robinson

RE: A Show of Force!
Monday, March 22, 2010 5:03 AM
From: "Commando Dave"
To: "Sonicsgate Movie" , "Russell Pompea" , "Brian Robinson"
Cc: "live4health@gmail.com" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"

Brian:

Thanks for weighing in. I trust Steve is "Camp Jones."

I've been a Sports Fan Activist for 11 years now. Trust me, I know how difficult it is to rally fans. I even know how difficult it is to rally the rally guys.

As for "looking impotent," you point to "the event in Renton," but it's always been my contention that it was the lack of political opposition to I-91 that gave that illusion. The "juice" you're referring to is what's been lacking and now must be infused, political juice.

"The leaders" you mentioned, are not, nor have ever, led. If they had, we wouldn't be having this discussion, instead we'd be having a beer together at a Sonics game this week.

But I know the point you're making which is why we must begin playing the REAL game, by the REAL rules; "Voters and Districts." That's the only "muscle" that will get things moving.

As far as you "holding other people's ideas back," I'm sure Adam didn't CC you and Steve to have an "...it's up to you guys..." take. So I hope you have more ideas after reading my reply to Adam.

You mentioned, "two Sonics events in the same season." What type of Sonics event is the Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, B-Roy gig?

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Back to Million Sonics Fans

Re: A Show of Force!
Friday, March 19, 2010 7:47 PM
From: "Commando Dave"
Add sender to Contacts
To: "Russell Pompea"
Cc: live4health@gmail.com

Russell:

Appreciate the reply and feedback; your Facebook Group is vital to the effort. In fact, I'm hoping it can provide the initial FIRE POWER!

The first part of the Sonics MIA Campaign is rallying Sonics Fans to help get the SonIcs Missing In Action logo out in full effect to "start the buzz."

The simplest way to accomplish that is by flooding the area with the T-shirt @ SonicsMIA2010.com. It's also the quickest way for us to start building a "War Chest."

But most importantly, it will IMMEDIATELY identify "Who's Who" of your 54,000. It's essential that we know how many of those Members are FOR REAL!

From your Group's Members, we must know how many fans who say they "Want the NBA To Bring Back The Seattle SuperSonics!!!" are actually willing promote the cause by Wearing the Message. Those Sonics Fans will constitute the "base" from which we begin laying the foundation I spoke of.

So how about if we get started by working out a plan to give you guys a cut of the shirt sales, devising a Group Message directed towards SonicsMIA2010.com and launching the Show of Force!

Looking forward to your reply.

Or feel free to ring me @ 253.222.3091.

Please confirm receipt.

Thanks.

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Enter, Brian Robinson

RE: A Show of Force!
Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:37 PM
From: "Brian Robinson"
To: "Sonicsgate Movie" , "Russell Pompea"
Cc: "Commando Dave" , "live4health@gmail.com" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"

I’ll echo Adam’s concerns. People always underestimate how hard it is going to be to get turnout at these events and overestimate how negative the impact could be if an event is a flop. We only had about 30 people at the event in Renton where Clay Bennett came and I thought it weakened us for months thereafter at a really critical time.

Looking impotent is the biggest problem you can ever have in politics. If you do this and you turn up no bodies the negative impact will be tremendous. They leaders will decide you have no juice and that they won’t need to address you in any way thereafter. They admire muscle and bodies. They don’t give a damn about intent or whether you are right.

That said I get accused pretty frequently of holding other people’s ideas back and being a guy who limits the movement instead of growing it. I think it is up to you guys if you want to try to do something.

We’re meeting next week with the management at the Seattle Center to put on a big event at Key Arena with Jason Terry, Jamal Crawford, B-Roy, and a bunch of the big names. That looks like it has real legs. I think the chances of this city getting two major Sonics events in a season are probably pretty slim.


Brian

Sonicsgate Producer

Re: A Show of Force!
Thursday, March 18, 2010 2:22 PM
From: "Sonicsgate Movie"
To:
"Russell Pompea"
Cc: "Commando Dave" , live4health@gmail.com, "Brian Robinson" , "Jason Reid" , "Camp Jones"

Hi Commando Dave and Russell,

I think it's a great idea, and we'd be happy to promote it for you on our Facebook and Twitter accounts! However, I have quite a bit of experience putting on events like these for the Sonics cause so I will offer a few words of advice/caution:

The risk is: What if you have a bad showing? Does it hurt the cause if only 25 people show up and the City Council can say "Look, nobody cares about this."

What would be considered a successful showing? 200 people? 1,000 people? I have cc'd SOS co-founders Brian Robinson and Steven Pyeatt on this message because they know more than anyone the risks and benefits of putting on these types of fan events.

My questions are: What are your plans to make this a success? What is the incentive for people to drive down, find parking, and pose for this picture? Is there a political angle to work with this? Are there going to be other Sonics-related things going on for people to do before/after the picture?

We had about 250 people at the Seattle U "Bring Back the Sonics" event with relatively little promotion, but there was a clear incentive for people to show up (discount tix for the game, meet Lenny Wilkens and Slick Watts, etc.)

Basically, it comes down to risk vs. potential payoff. Our film crew's time is stretched extremely thin right now as we get ready to screen the Sonicsgate movie in New York for ESPN and other press next month. So I'm afraid I can't offer to jump in and help coordinate this event as much as I would like. We are happy to help out where we can, but keep these words of caution in mind when planning.

Also, consider the lead time required to pull something like this off. We (SOS) have been in early discussions with the Storm about hosting a "Sonics Night" during one of their games this summer, so maybe combining forces there would offer people more of an incentive to show up to the arena in large numbers.

Just throwing out my thoughts here. We really appreciate what you and Russell have done with your fan mobilization campaign, and I agree we have a lot of people on board if we can just get them to all focus on the same goal.
Cheers and bring back our Sonics!

- Adam Brown
Producer, Sonicsgate
Media Director, Save Our Sonics
www.sonicsgate.org

Million Sonics Fans Guy

Re: A Show of Force!
Thursday, March 18, 2010 1:39 PM
From: "Russell Pompea"
To: "Commando Dave"
Cc: sonicsgate@gmail.com, live4health@gmail.com

I like the way you think, Dave! I'll put up an event on the facebook group, or more likely Joshua has already. I'm totally down for a show of force! Lets get the Sonics back!

Russell Pompea

To: Facebook Sonics Comrades

A Show of Force!
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 11:31 AM
From: "Commando Dave"
To:sonicsgate@gmail.com, russell.pompea@gmail.com, live4health@gmail.com

Hey Jason, Adam, Russell & Joshua:

Perhaps you've heard me on Sports Radio. If not, perhaps you should start listening to Sports Radio.

If you have heard me, then you know I've got a BIG MOUTH! And a unique knack for Sports Marketing/PR.

What you may not know, is that I'm a Sports Fan Activist and just marked 11 years on the Internet with WeTheFans.com the Official Sports Fan Union.

Anyway you guys, the point is, as far as our collective interest is concerned, it's time for a "Sonics Fans Show of Force!"

In my estimation, a collaboration between Sonicsgate Movie, 1,000,000...SuperSonics!!! and WeTheFans can create, build and sustain that Show of Force!

In fact, I believe it's the perfect combination to mount a serious Sonics fan-based, PR push that will translate into laying a real foundation to begin building the "framework" necessary for the Sonics' return.

The end of "Mayor McGinn...Meet Sonicsgate" is the PERFECT place to begin! "Please listen to the PEOPLE of Seattle...Bring Back the Soincs...Fix KeyArena."

The event I've scheduled on Facebook, "How Many SUPER Sonics Fans Can We Get Into a Picture at KeyArena?" is designed to mark the end of the SECOND SEASON of the Sonics Missing In Action at KeyArena. A Protest and a Rally!

And it gives each of the 53,000 plus Members of 1,000,000...SuperSonics!!! an opportunity to "put their body where their mouth is," so to speak.

The NBA Season ends April 14. April 17 is Saturday, hopefully a sunny one, 31 days from today. The event logo is @ SonicsMIA2010.com.

The "Show of Force!" part, is having a team with the EXACT same type of "petition pads" that Tim Eyman's crew uses. It's time to "draw the line" and it's important that Sonics Fans sign on it!

And THAT'S how we begin building the "political base," vital to laying the foundation for building the framework necessary for the Sonics' TRIUMPHANT return to Seattle.

I trust you guys are in. Therefore, I'm looking forward to your input, comments and questions so we can GET GOING ASAP!

Please confirm receipt.

Thank you.

Standing by;

Commando Dave
Point Man of the FANS REVOLUTION
@ WeTheFans.com
The Official Sports Fan Union

Reason #10

The Seattle Times ran an article today entitled, "Why Seattle is losing the Sonics and Storm in 10 easy steps."

10. Nobody fights I-91
SEIU, an aggressive service-workers union, helped Bainbridge Island activist Van Dyk collect signatures to get I-91 on the ballot. And with polls showing three of four Seattle voters against a subsidy for the Sonics, Nickels and other political leaders did not campaign against the ballot measure. Even the new owners didn't spend a dime fighting I-91 — a sign, many believe, that the owners want to get out of town when their KeyArena lease expires in 2010.