If there’s one thing Sacramento understands, it’s perseverance. 

The Sacramento Kings went 30-52 in the 2022 NBA season, their 16th consecutive losing season. But one year and a new coach later, they went 48-34 in the 2023 season, finishing first in their division and earning their first playoff run since 2006.

Although the Kings met an untimely ending after a first-round exit at the hands of the Golden State Warriors, the fans are just getting started. 

Variety in the Capital City

What Sacramento lacks in national titles, it makes up for in variety. 

Although the NBA season is over for the Kings, both the Sacramento River Cats and Sacramento Republic FC are in the middle of their seasons, giving fans a chance to keep the momentum going. 

“I think the energy helps folks want to have something to belong to,” said Brittney Nizuk, vice president of facilities and events for the Sacramento River Cats. “You see the following kind of transfer over into various places and and a lot of the dedication to those teams crossover.”

Nizuk encourages the basketball fans coming off their high to join in on the River Cats season,  citing the recent acquisition of the River Cats by Vivek Ranadivé, the owner of the Kings.

“Once that purchase was made of the River Cats, that’s when the Kings started winning, so I like to say there’s good juju in Sacramento,” Nizuk said. “Sacramento is just so, so inviting of a place to be able to root for all these different sports and all different venues. I think that just helps further instill the excitement that’s going on.”

As a Minor League Baseball team, the River Cats are a spectacle of their own. It’s not always the team or the players that brings the crowds to Sutter Health Park, it’s the potential.  

Allison Isham, a junior at Sac State and a long-time River Cats fan, knows this all too well.

“When they became the [San Francisco] Giants affiliate a couple of years ago, I started going to more games because I am a big Giants fan,” Isham said. “I think it’s fun to watch the up-and-coming players or see the big names during their rehab time.”

The team is no stranger to seeing a major league star spending time in town, but for many, it’s the love of the game that keeps them coming back for more. 

“You’re gonna see those players that come up to the big leagues, but also you can just see baseball and you can see fun and that’s kind of what folks are coming to as well.” Nizuk said. “They’re not necessarily coming to see us win or lose but they’re coming for the experience and that’s part of it.”

A Breath of Fresh Air in the City of Trees

After COVID-19 shut down the 2020 season for all major sports leagues, the future of sports was uncertain. 

Fans were used to counting down the days until they’d be in a stadium seat again. Suddenly, they didn’t know if or when their beloved teams would return. 

Now, fans are making up for lost time.

“I will say that I have a greater appreciation for attending sports in person,” Isham said. “I think that’s probably why I am making a bigger effort to go to live sporting events just because I didn’t have that experience for literal years.”

The River Cats lost the entirety of the 2020 season, one that should’ve been a follow up of their AAA Championship in 2019. 

“We had all the hype going into 2020 that we were, you know, the reigning champs,” said Nizuk. “And then COVID made it a little bit of a challenge to even have that hype.”

Now officially post-pandemic, the River Cats are finally  starting to find their groove again. 

“This year I see a big difference,” Nizuk said. “I see a lot of people just excited to come out and it’s just a really great feeling and experience to be out here. It’s just really good energy.”

High Hopes and Hard Times 

It would be easy for Sacramento fans to be discouraged. 

The Kings first chance at an NBA championship in almost two decades ended in just seven games, Sac Republic fell one game short of a trophy in the 2022 US Open Cup Final, and the River Cats are now four years removed from their AAA championship in 2019 and haven’t seen a winning season since. 

Isham, like many, has seen her teams through the highs and lows of professional sports. From watching championships and meeting Alyssa Nakken, a Sac State alumna and the first full-time female coach in MLB history, to dreaming of the day her teams will finally make the playoffs again, her passion has remained strong. 

For some fans, it’s about the next game, the next playoff run, the next championship appearance. For those like Isham, it’s just about showing up. 

“I try to make an effort to go to games and be surrounded by other fans just to get me super excited about a team,” Isham said. 

For the majority of fans, there’s no tangible return on investment. People put countless amounts of time and money into following teams that will give them nothing more than moments of victory and heartache, but it’s going to take a lot more than losing to drive Sacramento’s fans away. 

“It’s part of life,” Nizuk said. “you kind of go through the ups and downs in life, same thing with your sports teams. You got to stick with it and just know that there could be a bright future out there.”