Emails: NBA nickname fever spreads

We’re talking NBA nicknames again. Despite an eventful week in which Bobby Murcer died and the joker down in Austin produced that hoax on Sam Bradford and Landry Jones, the latter leading some to declare me an oracle of great wisdom and others to call me the hypocritical village idiot, the topic of the week absolutely is the name of Oklahoma City’s first major-league franchise.

David wrote in a very thought-provoking email, and not just because he likes Thunderbirds, the obvious best choice for the name, “I continue to hope that your Thunderbirds name gets the honor of adorning our new team’s jerseys. A grand name it would be. What pleases me most is that the team will be called Oklahoma City. The problems with state names for teams is that for large markets like Denver, Miami, and Phoenix in MLB it smacks way too much of marketing, and for smaller cities like Salt Lake City in the NBA, it sounds too much like an admission that the town is not really big league and needs the support of an entire state. As such, calling the team the “Oklahoma anything” makes Oklahoma City seem weak — something we shouldn’t want to do. Only when a team is from multiple cities like Minneapolis/St. Paul is a state name ideal. As an aside, the greatest compromise ever in such a debate had to be calling a Bay Area team the Golden State Warriors, a name I always thought was totally cool. Hmmmmm. How do ya think Sooner State Thunderbirds would fly in Stillwater?”

Sooner State would be stupid in Norman, much less in Stillwater. But excellent points about the city names. Oklahoma City it is and should be. Thunderbirds it should be and hopefully will be.

Larry wrote, “The name of the Not the Sonics suddenly came to me as I was out jogging this morning — the Oklahoma Boomers! Mike suggested the same thing. And so did Brian: “How about the Oklahoma City Boomers? Since the Sooners were cheaters, we could name the Team after the ones that waited for the cannon boom. With Tinker Air Force Base, the mascot could be a B-2 bomber or some sort of airplane. Sonic Boom. Get it? What do you think?”

Call me crazy, but I like Boomers.

Mercedes wrote, “Here’s my suggested names: Oklahoma City HighRollers. If you think HighRollers is too trite, how about Oklahoma City Challengers?”

I’ve got to say, I like the Oklahoma City Mercedes better than the HighRollers.

Stacey: “I’ve thought of two nicknames for the NBA team here in OKC. First, since no one likes Tornadoes or Twisters, how about the Cyclones? Not my best idea but what about this one? The OKC Rattlesnakes. I like it. There are rattlesnakes in Oklahoma; we even have a rattlesnake festival. Think of all the fans in the stands with giant rattlesnake rattles in their hands, cheering on the Rattlesnakes.”

I like it. I like it a lot. I don’t know if Rattlesnakes or Rattlers is better, but either one would work for me.

Robert suggests “DreamCatchers, and call the cheerleaders Dream Girls. I also have a neat idea for the mascot but I am not computer savvy so please call if you think the name has merit.”

Love the interest, Robert, and love the fever that is making everyone get all excited about the NBA. But if our NBA team is called the DreamCatchers, I might just have to move to South Dakota.

Terry suggests “The Oklahoma City Heroes. I just thought it would be a good name to reflect the Oklahoma spirit through adversity. The Trail of Tears, federal building bombing, tornado aftermath, etc. I also thought it was an excellent way to involve the community and recognize valuable members. Additionally, there are some pretty cool songs that would promote the team well and get the Ford Center hyped up. Lastly, I thought it would be a good nickname, city of Heroes, that would embody the Oklahoma City spirit while also promoting the team.”

Well, I like it better than DreamCatchers.

Shannon wrote, “Another email about the team name! I do have the answer though. A name that can unite the state, from north to south, east to west. A name that recognizes something not indigenous to the state but still found in every corner. While this name can be shared by all Okies, the Oklahoma City area is most certainly considered the state’s greatest supplier. It came to me as I was driving home to the northwest corner of rural Piedmont yesterday. Out of nowhere, I felt the jolt of inspiration — the Oklahoma City Potholes.”

Here’s a suggestion. Move closer to town.

Gerald wrote, “I have been giving the team name idea a lot of thought lately and have not come up with any earth-shattering thunderbolts. I do like your Thunderbird suggestion. We do not have any natural sources like Los Angeles and the Angels, nor the Buffalo Bills. It would be great if we had alliteration like the Philadelphia Phillies or the Jacksonville Jaguars. The only thing along that tack is the Oaks like the old Oakland team, but that would lead to a shortening that we all know it would become. Seems like all the good names are taken. My only real thought is maybe the Owls. It is a remarkable bird of prey and I don’t think any other pro team is using it. Besides, it does begin with an O, even though it doesn’t alliterate or impress at first utterance. It would also make a neat logo. We do not need another franchise named after a form of bear. You know, Bears, Grizzlies, Cubs, Browns and so on. We just need a resource that people associate with Oklahoma that begins with O besides Oilers. That is a really ugly name.”

If you like my Thunderbirds suggestion, put the alliteration aside and get on the bandwagon.

GB couldn’t contain himself to one suggestion. He offered seven: “Oklahoma City Grudgers. Oklahoma City Ghosts. Oklahoma Rampagers. Oklahoma City Aggressors. Oklahoma Poisoners. Oklahoma City Mutineers. Oklahoma City Redbuds.”

I must admit. I can’t tell if GB is serious or just pulling my leg. But I like Ghosts. I can’t believe another franchise hasn’t turned the key on that one. All kinds of marketing possibilities with that.

Mark wrote, “How about the Oklahoma City Slickers? It rolls off the tongue, and the possibilities for a team mascot are limitless. If you like it, use you immense power to push it through.”

If I had immense power, Thunderbirds would be signed, sealed and in a memorabilia shop near you. Slickers has all kinds of marketing potential, but can anybody be proud of it?

Edgar wrote, “Perhaps T-Birds isn’t such a long shot. Already been vetted & trademarked (with the NBA’s D-league team in Albuquerque). By the way, too may syllables (Oklahoma City Thunderbirds)? No problem. The players took to calling OKC the OC, which I suppose is a good association. How often do people here bother to use the proper name referring to OKC. And at Monroney Junior High, it was usually the T-Birds. Wish I had a ’50s model.”

Friend of mine has a ’55 or ’57 Thunderbird (I never can remember which). Rode with him to Oklahoma City one summer with the top down; we went to lunch with a friend, then came back. Sunburned the heck out of me. But I don’t hold grudges. T-Birds! T-Birds! T-Birds!

Roger wrote, “The Barons need to move on and treat this as a brand new franchise, which it really is. Barons? Did I mean Thunder? I’m OK with Land Barons and call them Barons, but my preference is Tornadoes.”

What’s the opposite of growing? You know how some things grow on you? Well, the Barons are doing the opposite. Land Barons? Oil Barons? Cattle Barons? Only the cattle version won’t get you stoned in the public square these days.

-------------Berry Tramel can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including AM-640 and FM-98.1. You can e-mail him here and follow him on Twitter @BerryTramel. Visit Berry's website here.

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