ranSACkedmedia

This evening, Mayor Kevin Johnson will be addressing the good people of Sacramento, (I mean, at least those who can fit into Memorial Auditorium and those who care to watch) during his “State of the City” meeting. You will have to forgive my enthusiasm, Mayor Johnson speaking about the “state of the city” sounds about as exciting and informative as a documentary on the lifespan of a hangnail.

“State of the City”? Is this guy serious? I mean, I may not have followed Mayor KJ’s entire career, but I think it is a safe bet to assume that “the state of the city” meeting, will be more of a “where we are with the Kings?” meeting. And that to me, is pretty sad.

Now this is me operating on the assumption that this will happen as it is on the lips of most major media outlets here in Sacramento. The big question on so many minds is “what is happening with the Kings and a new arena?” For his sake, and ours in all honesty, I hope the state of the city meeting is not just a presentation on what the city plans on doing to keep the Kings here. I will be thrilled if it is not and would stand corrected if I am wrong, but I just do not see it panning out that way.

Think about it, how bad off are we if the state of the city rests solely or even in large part on the shoulders of a questionable sports franchise? A city like Sacramento, known for so many other things and plagued with much larger issues than whether or not the Kings stay, has now been reduced to what happens with a failing sports team. Where along the way did the path and life of a sports team become a determining factor in the state of a city? If I had to answer that question, it was probably around the same time we voted an NBA player into office.

I am not knocking it. I am sure plenty of NBA players are fully capable of being Mayor. In fact, if you look at the job description for Mayor and the job description for a NBA player, you could almost interchange the two. Dribbling, shooting, playing defense, city planning, giving speeches, saving schools and jobs, strengthening the local economy, they all pretty much fall under the same umbrella.

This is why it comes as no surprise that when it comes to the state of the city, Mayor Johnson’s vision will probably fall off shortly after leaving the arena. With a career as mayor that has been defined by the backing and dancing and parading around for a new arena, it is no wonder so many people are just dying to hear what he has to say tonight.

My hope for this evening is that talks of the Kings and talks of the arena will be just what they are in the grand scheme of things out there in our city. They are a part of something greater than they could ever be on their own. A city that is home to the Kings, not a place where the Kings go to practice. A place with a budding night life, a questionable but potentially kick-ass economy, an educational system that is always in need of change, a place where people become families, a place that regardless of how one sided those moronic living social/groupon surveys say..it is pretty awesome to live. A place that with the right set of eyes anyone can see just how much there is going on here and that there are much bigger things to worry about than the fate of 12 or dudes and the placement of a building.

Yes, I hope I am wrong about this, really I do. I am sure I can speak for others when I say this, I would watch the state of the city meeting tonight, but unfortunately there is probably something else on or I have laundry to do or a bathroom to clean. Whatever is said at tonight’s meeting will somehow show up in my Facebook feed or on twitter, but I look forward to hearing about it tomorrow.

Comments