Let the Hating Begin
When you see reports like the following detailing dubious reporting from a Kansas City tv station, and then the following AP story, it’s time to realize that such knocks no longer represent reality, but rather the possibility that OKC has indeed hit the big time and is thus fair game for pot shots.
Consider such fact-devoid infotainment to be a compliment that yes, OKC really has hit the national radar screen:
First, a report by KWTV on shots taken by a Kansas City station:
And then there is reporting from a bastion of journalistic excellence by Jon Krawczynski, AP Sportswriter (read this and then ask yourself why newspapers across the country are considering dropping AP):
The Minnesota Timberwolves were in action that night hosting the Oklahoma City Thunder. If that sounds like a sequel to “Bull Durham,” it should be, but it isn’t.
But the Sonics failed to secure public assistance in financing a new arena, so new owner Clay Bennett moved the team from a gleaming metropolis to a cow town. And NBA commissioner David Stern didn’t even flinch in approving the move.
With bright blue and orange uniforms, a chintzy nickname and a dust-bowl hometown in the middle of nowhere, everything about this franchise screams minor league baseball.
Are there knotholes in the fenceposts ringing the Ford Center in Oklahoma City where kids can peek through to see the games?
Is there a pig that brings the game basketball out to the officials for the opening tip?If Kevin Durant tops 40 points in a game does every fan get a coupon for a buffet at the local Pizza Ranch?
It would be funny if it wasn’t so depressing.
For 41 years — 41! — the franchise had roots in one of the most vibrant cities in the United States, winning an NBA title as the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979.
Finally, consider this bit from the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which seems to think MAPS was passed in the early 1980s and implies that Oklahoma City is having trouble competing with Tulsa for concerts now that BOK Center is open (FACT: Ford Center is pretty much booked right now with the NBA, Big 12 and other events and will be closed April through fall for expansion and renovation tied to the arrival of the NBA):
Before the BOK Center was built, Elton John and Billy Joel never would have performed in Tulsa. Now they will.
The duo’s sold-out March 17 concert will be a highlight of the city’s newest entertainment venue, which opened in September.
When they built the 19,199-seat venue, planners hoped people would come.
They have. More than 420,000 of them by mid-February have come to see major concerts by acts such as Metallica, Celine Dion, AC/DC, Kenny Chesney and The Eagles – who opened the venue with a Sept. 6 show, on their Long Road Out of Eden tour.
The Eagles show sold out within about an hour after tickets went on sale on the Internet. And the band was so impressed with the experience, members decided to return to Tulsa for a second soldout show during that tour in November instead of going to Oklahoma City, says Paige Laughlin, marketing manager.
“For the past 10 years, everyone in Tulsa has been traveling to Oklahoma City,” Laughlin says.
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Comments
Agreed. Although it would be great to be the permanent host of the big 12 tourney, I don’t see why both cities could not alternate.
What’s funny to me regarding what the KC station said is that KC’s population is 475,830 and our is 537,734. That’s about 60,000 more people estimated to be living in OKC than KC. Granted their metro population is about 800,000 more but who are they to call us a cow town? Do you think they are just mad that we got the team and they didn’t?
OKC just needs to continue to improve its ammenities as a great city. No need to get defensive or insecure. There are areas in which the City NEEDS to improve to get the respect of other more urbane locales, that’s just reality.
Paige Laughlin needs to be reprimanded for comments like that. She works for SMG, who also manages the Ford Center. SMG does not need employees essentially bad-mouthing the other facilities they manage. And the City of Oklahoma should not stand for it. She, along with the Arkansas newspaper, and Kansas City news, need to get their facts straight before she opens her mouth. Reporters should be neutral, unlike columnists.
And leave it to a Tulsan to turn this into an Oklahoma City v. Tulsa thing when clearly it was not. It is pretty clear which city feels the need to tear down the other one to try and build themselves up.
As long as the Big 12 knows the truth we should be okay. If Kansas City thinks they’ll be the permanent home of this tourney like Seattle thought they were “owed” the SuperSonics, they will be met with equal fates.
There is no reason that both cities cannot rotate the tourney. Both cities offer great arenas downtown with hotels, restaurants, and bars within blocks.