Why I Decided to Dig Up Kemp’s Seattle Gems
So last night, I was just chillin’, scrolling through old basketball clips on my external hard drive. Found a folder labeled “90s Stuff” buried under vacation photos and a failed sourdough starter video diary. Boom. Shawn Kemp dunk reels. Pure nostalgia hit me like a brick. Remembered how electric those Sonics teams were. Got this itch instantly – gotta put together Kemp’s absolute best Seattle moments. Not just some random highlights, but the nastiest, most iconic ones. Felt like a mission.
The Hunt for Gold
Started simple, right? Jumped on my usual spots hoping to grab clean footage fast. Total joke. Half the sites were either paywalled up the wazoo or had potato-quality clips from some dude’s VHS tape filmed through a fisheye lens. Seriously, felt like I needed an archeology degree just to find something in 480p. Spent hours digging. Searched my own backup DVDs, dusty old forums – even considered texting my buddy who hoards sports tapes. Ended up cobbling bits together from like five different sources. Headache city. Finally had a messy pile of clips: dunks on fools, insane putbacks, that signature power.
Slapping It Together (The Agony)
Time to edit. Opened my trusty video software, full of dumb confidence. Dragged all the clips in. Immediate regret. Nothing synced. Audio sounded like robots gargling nails on some files, dead silent on others. Had to strip all sound manually – muting each clip one-by-one while cursing under my breath. Finding the perfect background track? Another hour gone. Wanted something hype but classic. Scrolled through my library, rejecting everything until that perfect beat hit.
The trimming? Painful. Kemp’s moves are explosive, but man, the lead-up in old broadcasts is slooow. Frame-by-frame cutting just to start right before he winds up. My mouse finger went numb. Forgot to save twice during a marathon edit session. Software froze. Almost threw my laptop. Had to walk it off, grab a coffee, and start sections over. Pure frustration.
The Magic Moment & Final Push
Then it happened. Had the Alton Lister poster dunk sequence loaded up. Adjusted the speed just right – a slight slow-mo when Kemp takes off, then BAM! Full speed as he crams it down. Chills. Instantly knew the flow: start with the meanest, most disrespectful jams, sprinkle in those smooth alley-oops from Gary Payton, end with Kemp staring down the crowd after murdering the rim. Sequence locked. Fine-tuned every transition, fighting the urge to add cheesy effects. Kept it raw.
Why This Was Worth Every Gray Hair
Clicked export after midnight. Watched the whole thing back. Damn. Captured that Reign Man energy perfectly. That pure, unadulterated power and swagger that made the Key Arena rock. Uploaded it, tagged it right, and hit publish. Knocked out. Woke up to notifications blowing up. Folks loved the throwback violence. Felt awesome sharing that specific Seattle Kemp magic – not just the player, but that era, that team. Made all the tech nightmares worthwhile. Next time? Backup saves every five minutes. Maybe invest in better coffee.
