Emails are in on Thunder & Big East
The new emails are in, and I heard from NBA fans weighing in on the new Thunder nickname and Big East fans who didn’t like my column saying their league stinks and OU football fans who think I missed a fullback on the best-ever list I produced.
Jim wrote, “I thought you article on how the Big East stinks was out of touch with reality and out of line. We did have a bad week last week, but when does one week make a conference? If it did, OU and the Big 12 would have ‘sucked’ last year when WVa. took you guys to the woodshed. Are we the SEC? No, but then again, neither is the Big 12. Before you say we suck you may want a little more time to pass than ONE week.” Then Sunday morning, Jim wrote back. “After this weekend, yeah, you’re right. The Big East sucks this year.”
Sometimes, the scoreboards do my work for me.
Danny is another Big East fan who wrote, “Are you just trying to get your name out there? I know of many prominent writers across the country, but you sir, I’ve never heard your name. When you pose the quote ‘Big East sucks,’ yes we had a bad week, but when you go on to stretch that into last year and extend it with West Virginia should have left for the ACC, you fail to remember we’ve been good since the beginning of the new Big East, and only last week has our conference shown a low point. I remember not to long ago your conference ‘sucking’ when Texas was carrying the WHOLE conference.”
First off, I didn’t say the Big East sucked. I would never use the word sucked. I said the Big East stinks. And it does. Did you see the results Saturday? And anyone who thinks Texas ever carried the Big 12 isn’t paying attention to anything.
On to the NBA. Marquita wrote, “Please extend my congratulations to all those planners, designers and secret-keepers of the new nickname, logo, colors, etc. for the NBA team. The Logo is outstanding. Fantastic. Dynamic. Love the design and the colors. As to the name, I reckon I still like Pioneers the best but am sure I will come to love Thunder when I understand it and associate it with a great team.”
Well said. Maybe we’ll all like Thunder when we understand it.
Don wrote, “I think the name Oklahoma City Thunder is fine. Using the Oklahoma flag and school colors is great for the logo. What I do NOT understand is why they stopped there. Why did they not continue that theme and use a song recorded by an Oklahoma-grown entertainer. The sound track from Garth Brook’s song “Thunder Rolls” is perfect for the team introduction at a game.”
Well, maybe they will. But after I suggested the same thing, someone pointed out the song is about domestic violence. So we’ll see.
Chris wrote, “Artistically speaking, who in the blazes designed the new Thunder logo? George Jetson? If you put that logo on a vacuum cleaner or a new bowling ball retriever, ya got a winner. On a NBA jersey, however, I give it an F and I am being nice. That thing is bone ugly and does not get me jazzed in the least.”
I’m not crazy about the logo, but let’s wait until the uniforms come out before we get too worked up. Who cares about the logo compared to the uniforms?
John wrote of Thunder, “Tis catchy. Can hear the announcer now, full of verve, loud voiced, saying, ‘OK, fans, time to rummmble, time to roarrr, time to Thunnnnn-der. A giant screen shows buffalo rumbling across the plain with the sound of thunder battering the fan’s ears. Fans cheer, adding to the roar filling the center.”
Unlike the Big East, the name doesn’t stink. Or suck.
Craig wrote, “I like it. Mascot should be Thor. I can hear the intro now. The lights dim and the announcer says, ‘When you see the lightning, you’re about to be thunderstruck!’ Of course you then would have a big boom sound like Thunder and then launch into the opening riffs of Thunderstruck. Works for me. That would get the crowd going.”
Thor would get the ladies going. Most mascots are geared toward kids.
James doesn’t like Thunder. Doesn’t like it at all. “This is bull! Let me be clear: the basketball franchise in OKC will never win an NBA championship with a name so stupid as Thunder. This is rinky-dink! This has Arena Football written all over it. This is smalltime, dopey and hokey! There is a psychological component here. A team named Thunder will never be any good. A team called Thunder can have no swagger. How are the Thunder supposed to compete with Celtics or Pistons? The Barons would at least have had a fighting chance. Clay Bennett and the management group threw the city under the bus.”
Does that mean that the Miami Heat DIDN’T win the 2006 NBA title? As I’ve written, every name is goofy on the surface. And competing with the Celtics and Pistons has nothing to do with name and everything to do with quality ballplayers.
Dee wrote, “Was in attendance at Leadership Square, thought it was first class. I do think it is funny that Thunderstruck will be the theme song. The lyrics to the song salute Texas. Oh well, might make a sign when Dallas plays here next year.
Actually, same as with “Thunder Rolls.” We’re not sitting around a campfire, singing Kumbaya.
Terry didn’t like my column urging the Thunder to keep their innocent players away from the ruffians on college campuses. “You had to be tongue in cheek. Let’s see, rapist Bryant, doper Birdman, HIV Johnson, 20,000 sexual mates Chamberlain, old coach choker Sprewell, the into the stands and after the fans boys, girly and tattoo king Rodman, and on and on. These are your idea of role models? Talk about mollycoddled.”
I was tongue in cheek. And who is Molly?
Dave read my NBA/campus column and wrote, “I really was hacked-off at you for your words on OU-Chattanooga. Then today I’m laughing out loud, so I guess you’re doing a great job. Thanks for having a sense of humor.”
I was born with it.
Marc wrote, “When was the last time you saw a clean cut, crewcut black kid off the farm? How about a clean cut shaved head kid out of the ghetto nurtured by a devoted grandparent? Oh, by the way, are you biased toward acne faced kids from the boonies? The ACLU will be after you.”
Uh, Marc. I think you’re trying to be a little funny yourself.
Let’s get back to OU football. Randall wrote, “Having watched Ryan Broyles for three years at Norman High, he was the best high school athlete I ever saw. Second place isn’t close. His athleticism was even more obvious on the basketball court, due to more opportunities. So in this day of early scholarship offers and commitments, why did he get offered by OU only weeks before signing day and after he committed to OSU? Don’t suggest his size was a factor – he could start now as a cornerback. Could it be OU coaches have wandering eyes, like the guy who looks at other women, even though they don’t compare to his own taken-for-granted girl? Just a thought.”
Here’s a thought. Maybe the Sooners knew a little too much about Broyles and his off-field risks. A guy in your own town can’t really fool anybody.
Melissa wrote, “Your top 10 OU fullbacks seemed to focus on rushing yards only, but we think one of the best fullbacks of all time at Oklahoma had to be J.D. Runnels. J.D. wasn’t lucky enough to play in the wishbone, so he wasn’t given the ball much. However, he was a great receiver and even a better blocker. Just ask Adrian Peterson.”
Great point. Except for one thing. Bob Stoops didn’t always put Runnels on the field. Runnels played anywhere from half to 2/3 of a game, depending on formation. How can a guy be one of the greatest if he doesn’t even play all the time? All those other guys I listed hardly ever came off the field.
Jerry wrote, “It appears to me that celebration station has gotten completely out of hand. I sort of thought that when the powers that be made it a substantial infraction for excessive celebrating that there might be some kind of control over this. It seems, though, that the players believe that a 15-yard penalty is a small enough price to pay for showing off their overblown enthusiasm. Since this penalty is pretty much an opinion by a referee who is adjacent to the action, the players should be advised by their coaches that this is something that MUST be curtailed. Maybe the possibility of losing a close game after scoring an important touchdown and needing the extra point will emphasize to the coaches the necessity of controlling the emotions a bit. The announcers at the BYU-Washington game seemed to think the call was not right. I thought it was a good call and that there should be more of these penalties assessed.”
I thought the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Washington quarterback Jake Locker for throwing the ball up in the air was a bad call. He didn’t spike the ball. He didn’t throw it in the stands. He didn’t gyrate like he was being electrocuted. He threw the ball up in the air when he scored a last-second touchdown. Why do we want to get rid of emotion?
-------------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.
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
Comments
Two questions:
1. Currently, a Google Search of Thunder doesn’t mention the OKC thunder until hit #80, and that isn’t even the official site. Above it in the search results are several male enhancement products, a CHL team, a minor league baseball team, and a Tulsa soccer club. Will Clay & Co be aggressively hitting the search engines soon?
2. Has The Oklahoman decided on a consistent singular / plural policy for Thunder? Will the headlines read “Thunder lose 12th straight” or “Thunder loses 12th straight”?
About the call in the BYU v Wa. game. The call was correct, and even specifically mentioned in the rule book. As an old official, I know that the best way to get rid of a bad rule is to enforce it to the letter. If you don’t like the call, get rid of the rule, but be careful what you wish for!!!
I agree that the call on Jake Locker was unwarranted.
The officials are hiding behind the rule book to justify having done the wrong thing. If there is no judgment involved, then the zebras should take the judgment out of holding calls too, and call them every time they occur–which is 90% of the time.