In an attempt to make their new NBA team sound as generic and expansioney as possible, the team formerly known as the Seattle SuperSonics was officially renamed the Oklahoma City Thunder. Did it really take them months to come up with "Thunder"? Some of us knew about that beforehand, but I couldn't help but feel disappointed. Here is a one-time opportunity to come up with a nickname that creates some sort of attachment with their hometown, or is at least somewhat clever and memorable, and they steal a name from a defunct CBA franchise?

There were rumors that they would go all the way with the minor-league shtick and add the "cats" suffix to the name, like the "Lafayette Swamp Cats" or the "New Hampshire Fisher Cats". That would give us the "Oklahoma City Thundercats", which is both ridiculous and awesome. But if they can name a hockey team after an Emilio Estevez movie, is a popular 80s cartoon featuring anthropomorphic kung-fu felines that far out of the question?

I would guess this was scrapped partially due to the negative connotations with the 'thunder cat' nickname, but the name feels like a missed opportunity. Marketing the Thundercats would be a piece of cake. The logo's already done; the timeless Thundercats logo is already reddish and basketball-shaped. It will also give the marketing execs a gratuitous reason to dress the cheerleaders up like Cheetara a few times. And once the Thundercats movie tie-in runs its course, they could change their name to the "Reds". The Cats logo is already red, and Oklahoma has copious amounts of red dirt that screws up your Nikes. It fits. Done.

I'll admit, it's crazy. But that's why I'm not in charge of these things. If the Thundercats licensing deal fell through, I would pay homage to former wrestling champ Dr. Death Steve Williams and go with the "Oklahoma Stampede". It still makes more sense than Thunder.

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26 Comments:
Anonymous Anonymous said...
I was still hoping for something more honest... like the Oklahoma City Bastards Who Stole a Team From a Deserving City and Dismantled Decades of Seattle Basketball History in the Process.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
OKC Thunder sounds like the generic team name/logo that video games often put on. You know, the crappy one that you can never edit with the fugly colors.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
This sounds like an intramural team

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I understand he's appreciative of his sudden case of oral vaginismus, but did Clay Bennett really have to go as far as to name the team after David Stern's thighs?

Blogger Timmothy said...
Horrible name, logo, and ownership. Period.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Man, it sucks. Thunder is like a team´s name from that kinda movies where a dog play basketball, like Bud or something.

They should be called OKC Jobbers, since they are going to get their asses kicked by pretty much everybody.

What about the Warriors, now? They´re gonna have to change their logo and their mascot´s name.

Also, do you guys also have the feeling that 30 NBA teams is A LOT? I think 24 teams is the perfect number.

Blogger Unknown said...
Oklahoma City Thunder? I thought he was a moron months ago when he said that he'll refuse to tell his kid that Oklahoma City has a basketball team, but now I think I'm with The Big Geriatric on this one.

Blogger AnacondaHL said...
Even though it was spouted occasionally on national TV ESPN, I still though Oklahoma City Outlaws would have been so fantastic, in it's double/triple meaning.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Barons and Outlaws would have been cool, but I assume the team wants to distance itself from all the recent legal unpleasantness (to put it mildly).

I think Thunder is OK and could have been pretty cool with the right uniforms and logo. The generic basketball logo and Bobcat colors don't do it though. Why not black and gold with lightning bolts??

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Caution, rant: This whole team just makes me feel bad. First, there are those obvious reasons. No need to talk about that. Second, we wouldn't even have known OKC was viable for basketball if Katrina hadn't destroyed New Orleans.

Also, the name, like the roster, sucks. Why not at least choose lightning which is a)actually dangerous and b)visible. They didn't want to choose "Cyclones" or anything of that nature because it has a negative connotation in that part of the country. Ownership clearly doesn't think much of the intelligence of people in Seattle and OKC. Choosing something that only scares house pets and little kids (probably because it "tested well" or some other bullshit) tells you everything you need to know about this team.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I'm still going to call them the Thundercats

Blogger anonymousnupe said...
Awesome entry. Anytime you can discuss hoops and use the word "anthropomorphic" you're on to something. I lurk often, but I need to comment here regularly from now on.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
David Stern chose the name because Thunder already exists in every city and town in the world. It will really make it easier for their next relocation.

Blogger G Wolf said...
They should have named the team the Bricks, after the well-known downtown area of the city.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
And because of Kevin Durant's shooting.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I just feel bad for these plyers. They have no fault on this one, but their team is hated by everybody...

Anonymous Anonymous said...
I hope their organization goes tits-up and Clay Bennett loses his ass on this deal.

I would revel in the many defeats they will suffer this year, but the problem is, I actually LIKE most of their players, especially anyone left over from the '05 Sonics (Collison, Wilkins, Ridnour, oh what the hell, Robert Swift too, crappy tattoos, non-skills and all!)

(sniff) I miss that team... Jerome James- you bastard!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
What is with those cereal boxes in the picture? Mega-Choc?

Anonymous Anonymous said...
My favorite of the ridiculous names had to be The Oklahoma Sexuals. So immature and stupid, it sounds like it was straight out of Semi-Pro.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
Why not just keep the name SuperSonics? The Hornets changed cities without the name change.

Blogger evan said...
The beauty lies in Clay Bennett raising the bar when we thought the dream of egotastic namings was realized by Bob Johnson.

Blogger Timmothy said...
I'm in with Batman...

Let's start a movement to just always refer to them as the Thundercats. If the team and league can't get it right, we might as well mock it and fix it socially.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
@ al james-

BLASPHEMY!!!

Anonymous Anonymous said...
The Thunder nickname would not have been my first choice but after purchasing my first piece of OKC Thunder apparel it's now growing on me. I'm just happy they didn't go with the Barrons. I mean hell, most people who haven't been to Oklahoma City already think there's nothing but oil wells, teepee's, saloons, and cowboys on horseback like an old hollywood western movie.

The citizens of this great city are very excited to have the Oklahoma City Thunder franchise here and it would not have been possible without the overwhelming support we showed the New Orlean Hornets while they were temporarily relocated here after hurricane Katrina.

The support for the Oklahoma City Thunder will be greater with even more fan support because this team is ours and I'm sure there will be many from Tulsa who will make the 45 minute drive to Oklahoma City for NBA action. I predict that the home game attendance average for the OKC Thunder will rival much larger metropolitan areas like Boston, Los Angeles, and Phoenix.


Now in closing, I invite all of you who visit this site to make a trip to Oklahoma City and experience for yourself the hospitality not normally experienced in a city of our size.

Anonymous Anonymous said...
At least it's not the Oklahoma City Explosion. Or Oklahoma City Bombs. That would not be appropriate.

Blogger kibitzer said...
quick said...
At least it's not the Oklahoma City Explosion. Or Oklahoma City Bombs. That would not be appropriate.

Now that's funny....

The Supersonics color was better, now the color of the Tunder is quite......atrocious....Just like the regular color of the Nuggets...
IMO
Top 3 Worst Team Color:
Oklahoma City Thunder
Denver Nuggets
LA Clippers

What's next? Seattle Coffee?