Love It or Hate It?
By Sarah Spain
Love of Sports Correspondent
After 41 years in Seattle, the team formerly known as the Sonics is headed to Oklahoma City.
It’s been weeks since the move was announced, but the NBA has yet to reveal the franchise’s new official name and colors. So, while Kevin Durant and Co. play their summer league games in nondescript black unis, impatient fans everywhere have been tossing around possible monikers.
The O.C. Wranglers. The Oklahoma Marshalls. The Bandits. The Barons. The Oklahoma City Outlaws.
Even the O.C. Umenyioras.
On Friday, local TV station KOCO-TV in Oklahoma City announced that a source confirmed the team would be named the Oklahoma City Thunder. While O.C. team officials have yet to respond to the report, KOCO.com also sites a newly registered website as their evidence.
http://www.koco.com/sports/16925692/detail.html
“KOCO.com confirmed that the registrar for all of the NBA’s Internet domain names reserved okcthunderbasketball.com and okcthunderbasketball.net on July 10 …”
… Over the course of the past two weeks, KOCO.com and SportsXtra have worked together to research what’s called ‘whois information’ on more than 200 domain names, with the focus primarily on possible nicknames such as Barons, Outlaws and Thunder. Most domain names and variations of them had been registered well before the settlement between the city of Seattle and the former Seattle Supersonics of the NBA.”
It’s possible the newly registered domains are the work of yet another fan hoping to cash in, but the timing of the registry has fans all over Oklahoma buzzing.
Some locals seem excited about the endless pun possibilities: Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman wrote, “The team store can be ThunderWear, which will market Thundergarments … The beer at ballgames can be ThunderWater. Analysis of the payroll cap can be called ThunderFunded.”
Others — particularly those who dislike puns — are less than impressed with the name.
And I’m one of them.
The Oklahoma City Thunder? I hate it, for a number of reasons.
1. I’ve always been partial to teams who are named after actual creatures or characters. Not only do teams like the Bengals and the Warriors sound much more menacing than those named after inanimate objects, like the Lightning or the Fire, they also make for much better mascots. I’d rather cheer for a dancing Benny the Bull or a trampolining Hugo the Hornet than root for the Stanford Tree.
The Heat, Jazz and Magic are the only current NBA teams whose nicknames aren’t pluralized animate objects. The Thunder would fit in better in the WNBA — a league whose teams are primarily named after weather systems or temperatures (i.e. the Sun, the Storm, the Fever, the Mercury).
2. Oklahoma already has a team named the Thunder — their minor league professional football team. Of all the names in the world, you’d think Clay Bennett could come up with a new and original one. Then again, if you’ve made a name for yourself stealing another city’s team, I guess stealing a name isn’t such a big deal.
You can’t put all the blame on team brass, though. Seems the good people of Oklahoma are just as uninspired as their new team’s owners. Shortly after the Sonics’ move to Oklahoma City was announced, The Oklahoman held a 64-name bracket competition to see what name Oklahomans would give their first major league franchise. The Thunder beat out the Outlaws in the final. The paper’s poll had no bearing on the actual naming of the team, but it seems Oklahoma’s fans and owners all agree that stealing is A-OK.
3. I was really hoping the rumor about the Oklahoma City ThunderCats was true. As an ‘80s baby who admittedly used to pretend to be “Cheetara” in backyard games with my cousins, I can think of nothing better than an NBA team named after one of my favorite childhood cartoon series. Plus I’d love to see that ThunderCats insignia on the uniforms — totally badass.
What do you think? Do you Love or Hate the name “Oklahoma City Thunder?” What would you name YOUR NBA franchise?
(Sarah Spain’s column runs in this spot each and every Tuesday.)
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Comments
Marla on 07/22 at 11:30 AM
Yes! Thundercats is a great mascot name. Or, how about the O.C. Autobots? Or Decepticons? Or . . wait, this is the best . . the Oklahoma City Masters of the Universe!!! The cheerleaders could dress like She-Ra.
Or, maybe something that represents Oklahoma? Bison? Bison are intimidating.
Big George on 07/22 at 12:18 PM
How about the Oklahoma Rubes? Inbred Jeds?Twisters?
No, wait! It should be “Switzers” with Brian Bosworth as the coach--all they care about in Oklahoma is Sooner football anyway, and that litle ridiculous wagon being pulled by pigmy ponies--it is amazing, the NBA doesn’t have a team team in civilized markets the size of San Diego and Seattle, but sees fit to put one in tumbleweedville! You know why an NHL team can’t relocate to Oklahoma? they already have enough people without any teeth---I hope Kevin Durant likes being on page 7 in the sports section behind the high school football scores and the hunting report.
Signed,
You might be a redneck if… you go to an NBA game with a Billy Sims Jersey on,AND you aren’t Billy Sims---he’s in the back bedding down in the dumpster.
Damon on 07/22 at 02:30 PM
Wow Goerge, let me start by complimenting you on your extraordinary wit and knowledge of the south, or “tumbleweedville” as you so eloquently put it. The sad thing about you, other than your ignorance of the south, is that the most important thing you have ever been taught was told to you so long ago you have forgotten it. It goes something like, “if you don’t have anything nice to say don’t say anything at all.” I mean I could spend time telling you all the great things about the south, or time telling you how the “uncivilized” state produced two of the top college sports universities in the nation. OU being the most successful program in the nation since the fifties when they won 47 games in a row in football, or how OSU has won almost 50 national championships, none of which are in football or hunting, of which is our main importance according to you. I am proud to have a basketball program coming to our state and thankful that they gave us a chance. I would love for you to visit the state to see how wonderful the people are and welcome to even idiots like you, but I think it would be better if you didn’t because you did get one thing right, we do like to hunt and a yankee like you might wonder out in the wrong direction and be mistaken for a deer. Better if you just stick with the third grade missing teeth, trailer jokes.
Sarah Spain on 07/22 at 11:28 PM
Wow, that was impressive Damon. I do have to say that Oklahoma produced some of my favorite people--you, Mandi and Jess included. And y’all even have all of your teeth!
Joe Bait on 07/23 at 07:15 AM
We Love Sarah Spain!!!!!!
Big George on 07/23 at 11:16 AM
First of all , I have been to Oklahoma many times,I was stationed for a year and a half at Fort Hood in TX and we did training exercises in a dump called Fort Sill, I have also attended both college football,basketball, and USFL games in Tulsa, a shithole of a WAC college that is an embarrassment to higher learning.
In my personal experience, I have to agree with the Late Great George Carlin when he said it best, “Whenever I want to visit the 18th century I take a trip to the South”
Your state has more to worry about than the rantings of a California native and your 50 championships in sports NO ONE cares about like track and swimming and freakin golf, don’t take away the sting of being humiliated in the BCS Bowls by USC and BOISE SATTE and West Virginia without a coach.
Your state might want to think about making amends for raping this country at the gas pump and being neighbors and supporters to a State ( Texas) that has provided the worst President in history and allowing the greatest President to be assassinated.
Now, why don’t you get off your sister long enough, to turn the WWE off your tv, mail your check to Billy Graham, and go clean up the rubble Timothy McVey left behind.
You and your 5 electoral votes can go spit into the abundant wind that will be hitting you soon there in tornado alley.
Have a nice day.
Signed,
Modern Day Society
P.S. those midget horses that pull that Sooner Wagon suck
Paul M. Banks on 07/23 at 09:31 PM
I like the new team name. its fitting cause thats the heart of “Tornado Alley” plus “Thunderstruck” is the official song of 3 teams that represent SICA- White Sox, Windy City Thunderbolts, Andrew high school Thunderbolts...of course that last one has nothing on the Stagg Chargers...now there’s a good team with a thunderbolt in the logo! LOL!
Rich T. on 09/07 at 11:36 AM
FIRST OF ALL, I WOULD LIKE TO ASK BIG GEORGE WHERE IN LOVELY BAY,USA,HE LIVES IN SO I CAN DO SOME RESEARCH ON THAT AREA TO FIND OUT WHAT HE IS SO PROUD OF!!!!!!! IT MUST BE AN AREA WHERE NOTHING EXISTS BUT THE BEST OF EVERYTHING.WE DO HAVE TORNADOS IN OKLA.TRUE ENOUGH BUT WE DON’T HAVE HURRICANES,EARTHQUAKES,VOLCANOS,ETC.EACH PLACE ON EARTH HAS ITS PLEASURES AND PITFALLS AND PEOPLE LEARN TO LIVE WITH THEM AND BE CONTENT AS POSSIBLE!IF I DID NOT KNOW BETTER,I WOULD THINK YOU DID NOT LIKE THE STATE OF OKLA.OR THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE THERE,WHICH BY THE WAY,NOBODY CARE ABOUT YOUR OPINION ANYWAY!THANKS FOR YOUR TIME AND MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE THE PERFECT LIFE YOU HAVE NOW!
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