There are lots of folks hatin’ on the new name and logo of Oklahoma City’s NBA team.
Not me.
Watch my latest video commentary or continue reading below:
Oh, sure, it’d be easy to nitpick at the Thunder nickname or the OKC shield logo. I could lament that there are stronger names. I could argue that there are better logos.
But you know what? I think these are pretty darn good.
Wednesday when the team finally made its name and logo official, it gave a sheet to the media with all of the NBA insignias on it. All 30 teams were there, side by side, row after row.
And that’s when it hit me — the Thunder and its logo fit in just fine.
I let my eye wander over the sheet, wanting to see if I’d be drawn to the Thunder because it was different than the others. Would it stand out? Would it look inferior? Would it seem cartoonish?
No, no and no.
The Thunder name and logo fit right in with the other NBA teams.
Granted, the logo bears a striking resemblance to the Nets’ logo, but frankly, there are other logos that look alike. The Phoenix Suns and the Portland Trail Blazers have similar slanting rectangles. The Los Angeles Lakes and the Detroit Pistons both have basketballs with their names across the front. The Orlando Magic and the Philadelphia 76ers both have logos with basketballs streaking to the right.
Just as Clay Bennett admitted after the press conference Wednesday, there are no new nicknames. Ditto for the logos, I say.
Frankly, I suspect that the folks who are down on the name and the logo are just not used to either of them. Things that are new tend to be jarring, even if they are good things. A beautiful new building, for example, looks out of place simply because it wasn’t there the last time you drove down that road. Eventually, you get used to seeing it and you realize how good it looks.
The same will happen with the Thunder nickname and logo. In time, we’ll all realize that they aren’t out of place at all.
September 5th, 2008 at 9:36 am
Go OKC Potatoes!!!
September 7th, 2008 at 10:56 pm
I agree that Thunder will grow on us and indeed, it’s not far from most other NBA names. It wouldn’t have been my first choice, but it’ll work. I feel like it’s way better than Barons that was getting pushed a lot. Barons reminds me of a fat, balding, rich, white guy. The logo, I have to say has a little to be desired. I would have liked to have seen more originality. Yes it may fit in with some NBA logos out there, but I’d like for us to stand out amongst the crowd. The colors, although, I can understand their purpose, really doesn’t illustrate thunder for me. I think a darker blue and perhaps black or gray. I would imagine some changes will occur in the next few seasons. Overall, I’m just happy to have a team with no more stings attached.