Luuuuuuke!

I don’t know if REAL writers (i.e. the ones getting paid) do this, but I sure do: I read back over items I’ve previously written with mixed emotions. Sometimes, I find myself pleasantly surprised that my writing isn’t half bad at all. Other times, I positively cringe at what I’ve written.

The cringe-worthy material is usually the really opinionated, inflammatory stuff…and one thing I’ve learned from reading my writing is that at times I am one seriously opinionated S.O.B. Which I suppose is necessary trait for some types of blog….

Anyhoo, what area I’d expect to see some cringe-fodder in THIS blog would be under the subject of the Seattle SuperSonics (also called the Sonics or the Supes), a team that…well, like my own writing, I have some mixed feelings about our local pro-basketball team. However, a quick perusal of the ol’ Astro-Sport shows precious little mention of the Sonics. Probably because they are not high on my list of sports teams.

Maybe it’s time I wrote something about ‘em.

So I was grabbing my morning coffee and saw the Sonics are trying to trade Luke Ridnour to the Atlanta Hawks. My first reaction, of course, was “Nooooooo!” Luke has been a fairly consistent player over the last few years (if not consistently good, at least he has been consistently “not bad”), and from what I’ve seen and heard, he appears to be a fan favorite among Sonics fans. Well, at least some of the female ones. Plus everyone likes a guy whose name has the long “oo” sound, so you can yell “Luuuuuuke!” People are like cows, I guess…or at least we like to exhibit a “herd mentality” when we’re at sporting events.

Okay, okay…I should probably talk more about his actual basketball ability (see this post is already becoming a cringer!). Ridnour’s been a solid guard for the Sonics, even if he hasn’t been the star scorer on the team. Personally, in the games I’ve seen (I average about two per year) I’ve always been impressed by Ridnour’s hustle…he’s got a good little “get-along” and doesn’t slack around the court like some players. Or maybe, it’s not that the other players are slack, but Ridnour makes them look slack because of his quickness and reaction speed. He’s not “the Glove” (i.e. Gary Payton for you non-Seattleites) but he’s an excellent team ball player. And basketball is, of course, a team sport.

[never did much care for Payton’s mouth actually, but I understand that was one of the traits that endeared him to fans in the 90’s; they felt his sass was charming…I preferred the laid back attitude of Sam “Big Smooth” Perkins]

Hmmm…just comparing the two point guards (Payton and Ridnour), I can see that they are polar opposites from an astrological perspective. Payton is a Big Leo…this explains the Mouth, the prima donna posing, the “look at me, give me respect” attitude. Ridnour is an Aquarius, explosive but aloof, genius but not flashy.

It’s hard to tell what the birth date of the Sonics is. Seattle was awarded the franchise December 20, 1966 and their first game was October 1967. The Sonics were named for the government SST (Super Sonic Transport) contract awarded to Boeing December 31, 1966. Sometime between January 1966 and October 1966 the Sonics acquired their name…and that would be their astrological “date of birth” by my reckoning.

But the sign of the Sonics doesn’t matter too much in terms of how the players get along with each other…team chemistry (astrology-wise) has to do with the interrelationship of the players and the players’ signs. Team captains Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen are a Leo and Cancer (the Sun and the Moon!) respectively, and the current head coach is…well, the Sonics don’t have a head coach right now. Bob Hill, “the most fired coach in NBA history” (according to Wikipedia) is a Sagittarius, so you knew that wasn’t going to last (Sag likes to move around a lot!). But Sag would have gotten along great with Aquarius Luke and Leo Rashard.

Ehh…I don’t care enough about the Supes to pursue this further right now. Whether the Sonics are making a good deal with Atlanta or not remains to be seen. The astrological chemistry can’t be assessed properly till we know who all’s going to be on the team. Meanwhile, I know I’ll miss calling out “Luuuuuke!” at the Sonics' games.

If the trade happens, I wish Mr. Ridnour all the best in Atlanta (it sure beats moving to Oklahoma!). At least he’ll get a chance to watch the Seahawks when they play at Atlanta in December 30th!