NBA in OKC on MLK Day? Why not
The NBA will play games all over America today on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and most of them will be afternoon games, which signals a celebration. The Thunder will play in Atlanta, MLK’s hometown and the home of the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, which includes his boyhood home and the King Center, which is dedicated to his legacy. I toured them during the 1996 Olympics, and both are very well worth your time if you’re ever in Atlanta.
Oklahoma City has a strong MLK celebration every January. So why not a day-time basketball game at the Ford Center? Should OKC petition to get one of the matinee games next season.
I think it would work. NBA crowds are mostly white-collar, which means people who aren’t off already can get off if they need to. Some of the Loud City seats, especially the $10 end zone seats which often are the last sold or which remain empty for non-sellouts, might be tough sells, but that would be a prime sponsorship pitch for the Thunder. Send 10 kids to the Thunder game for $100. Send 100 kids for a $1,000. The Boys and Girls Club of OKC certainly would welcome such philanthropy.
The MLK Parade in Oklahoma City always is a moving tribute to the civil rights leader, but celebration is a worthy tribute, too. What a day that would be in OKC. A morning service at the Calvary Baptist Church, NE 2nd and Walnut, where King spoke in 1960 and where a few years earlier church elders voted not to hire him as pastor, considering him too young; then a parade through Deep Deuce, followed by a 2 p.m. tipoff at the Ford Center.
I think Oklahoma City would respond in a big-time way. Sports would only enhance the memorials and celebrations of one of our greatest Americans.
-------------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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Comments
Berry, the fact is most people in OKC work on this holiday. Pretty much only government workers would be able to attend so it would be pretty low attendance.
If they held the game at the normal 7pm time, then attendance would be fine but these afternoon games are ridiculous. I hope we don’t do it in OKC.
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I will go on record right now and say that my company, Team Concept will purchase 200 of the $10 tickets and donate them to the local boys and girls clubs. I will do this if the Thunder will lobby the NBA for a game on MLK day. Our team doesn’t need to be out of town every year.
I would prefer a game on MLK in a traditional MLK city (Atlanta, Memphis, DC) as it is most likely the Thunder would get national tv time.
But if we can’t get that, then YES I would love to have Thunder early (or even night) game on MLK – hopefully the NBA could showcase it and how OKC celebrates MLK day. That would go a LONG WAY towards changing people’s opinion about OKC.
OKC has progressed a LONG WAY!!! and we need people to see that. But I think going to a popular MLK city on MLK is the first focus then the second would be getting an MLK city to come here and the NBA (or network) broadcast of the game and events in the city.
by the way, good article/blog post – Berry. Nice NOT mentioned the word ‘Boomers’ when referring to the Thunder.
We need to market our team by the name they are and not some makeup or throwback name just because it didn’t win.
go Oklahoma City Thunder!
Remember kirk humphrey’s bizarre zeal to raze the historic Walnut Creek Bridge. what a moron. Glad OKC voters have shown that chump the door every election hence.