The SuperSonics brand “disappeared” in 2008 after the team relocated to Oklahoma City, but the absence has “made the fanbase grow fonder,” according to Rick Morgan of the PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL. For 18 years, longtime Sonics fans have “rallied around a mothballed franchise.” Donning the green-and-gold has “become part of the NBA’s counterculture -- a symbolic protest for some, a fashion statement for others.” As of early April, Mitchell & Ness “lists 40 Sonics items online” compared with 14 items for the Thunder. The NBA store “sells five different Sonics jerseys.” Seattle sports gear store Simply Seattle owner & CEO Jamie Munson mentioned that Sonics merch “consistently matches that of the Seahawks or the Mariners, outside of playoff runs.” He added that is “partly because Sonics sales aren’t tied to on-court performance.” Morgan noted whether because of nostalgia, retro chic or vigilante fandom, the Sonics’ popularity “has only grown during the team’s hibernation.” Should the NBA return to Seattle, it could “spark a merchandising moment like no other.” It remains to be seen what the Sonics brand “will do to expansion bid prices for any potential ownership group, given Seattle is starting with an existing, beloved brand.” Even when, or if, the prices for each team become public, it will be “difficult to parse out how much the brand value factored into the bidding price” (PUGET SOUND BUSINESS JOURNAL, 4/24).
SuperSonics’ brand remains strong amid absence
