Tulsa double-header
The Thunder has received some unfair backlash for scheduling a preseason game Oct. 14 at the BOK Center in Tulsa.
The problem is the same night the Thunder makes its only Tulsa appearance all season TU plays Boise State, at home in Skelly Stadium, in a nationally televised game on ESPN2.
No one is to blame. The Thunder locked in the BOK date way back around the holidays in December.
TU’s football program switched its home game but you can’t blame them. Anytime a non-BCS Conference school is offered a chance to play on national TV you take that in a heart beat.
TU announced in March it had four games on ESPN this season, including two Wednesday games. Tulsa also has games scheduled on Friday and Sunday nights. At the time, the public had no idea the Thunder already had that date locked in for a preseason NBA game at the BOK Center.
Both opponents offer something of interest. Boise State has made a name for itself, especially after the Broncos defeated OU in the Fiesa Bowl. The Thunder’s opponent — Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat — also is a good draw.
Oct. 14 will be a hot time in Tulsa. It’s a shame the two events aren’t on different nights. Having seen the track record for fans from the Sooner state, don’t be surprised if both events aren’t well attended. The only issue is some fans will have to make a tough choice.
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
Let’s think. The third WORST team in the NBA playing a meaningless pre-season game where the “stars” might play a whopping 10 minutes or watching the University of Tulsa play the #5 team in the country……..who needs the Thunder when I can have the whole HURRICANE?
“don’t be surprised if both events aren’t well attended.”
That statement is funny. TU is almost sold out (~30k tickets). How are ticket sales for the pity game that the Thunder is giving Tulsa going? Last I checked from trying for “best available”, NOT GOOD.
Mike Baldwin, you are an idiot. The previous two Mikes that have commented summed up how much Tulsa cares about the Thunder pretty well.
“mike….7k? That’s being pretty generous, don’t you think?”
Yeah, now that I think about it 4k is more likely.
Bull, it’s preseason. The thunder could have picked any home game they wanted in Tulsa(as if we give a d*** about the game) and they’ve had several months to attempt to change the date/game. Yet, they have made no attempt to do so.
It won’t be a tough choice for fans. This is a football state. The Tulsa game will sellout for 30,000+ and the thunder game might get 7k.