When making such a fuss about rebranding the Seattle SuperSonics into the Oklahoma City (Team Name to be Announced)s, you would imagine that the owners of the city’s new NBA franchise would want to control the announcement of their team name. You know what happens when you assume?
Well, the NBA schedule for 2008-2009 was announced today and the inaugural season of the Oklahoma City franchise is set to kick off with a match against the mighty Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday, October 29th. More interesting, to us at least, is what is listed above the team schedule on the NBA’s official website.
Link: Oklahoma City Thunder Schedule
Update: The link is now dead. Thankfully screen shots live forever.








ThunDAH! aww AWW AW ah AH-uh AW aw ThunDAH!
and repeat.
you use IE?
http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/
is your friend.
Can’t you hear the sound that will reverberate throughout the arena everytime they score…okay, can’t you hear it the first three times before you lose your hearing?
Will the Ford Center therefore be known as Thunderdome? “Break a deal, spin the wheel.”
That is too strange. Maybe David Stern has been listening to the Seattle folks and assumed there was no internet access in Oklahoma.
let me guess: their theme song will be ac/dc’s ‘thunderstruck’…
They’re on to you. The link no longer shows their schedule.
That song is Awesome! However; it will freaking get old, and fast! What the heck are we gonna’ play then? Please, not Garth! Not at a basketball game (Unless maybe it’s at a tournament in Ratliff City or something)!
Just looked this up, there is a song called “Thunder” by Prince and the New Power Generation…
Oh Crap! I think we are taking steps backward!
I normally use Firefox.
And, yeah, I expected them to take it down when they figured it out, that’s why I took the screenshot.
I am just disappointed that they didn’t use Jason Zimdars idea from the ESPN Uniwatch page. It features the team name as the Oklahoma City “I Love this Basketball Team” and the logo features Toby Keith’s big meaty face. You can check it out here:
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3196/2713924523_325af62ea0_o.jpg
I am also disappointed that TLO hasn’t done a feature on it. The logo is a great caricture of Toby Keith and provides a great opportunity to have a little fun at TK’s expense.
How about Robert Mitchum singing “Thunder Road?”
Then we can rename the crosstown . . .
Much higher caliber of crack detectives at TLO than the ones at OKnews.
The Oklahoma City Thunder? Really? I knew they’d pick something awesome like that. (e-sarcasm)
Let’s not forget to address the Garth Brooks “The Thunder Rolls” opportunities this presents. Oh goody.
Just another confirmation that Oklahoma is incapable of being cool — courtesy of the NBA.
Mark it down. It will be all Garth all the time. Until Toby finishes the thunder song he started working on the moment he found out this would be the name.
Eh, I knew they’d eff this up. I was hoping the Thunder rumors were just that … rumors.
Speaking of ESPN, The Lost Ogle was linked in one of their stories about the slip-up:
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-33-142/Hear-the-Rumble-of-Thunder.html
kelvin sampson is an asst. coach with the Bucks.
As if we did not have enough of a white trash image…. Now our “big league” team will charge on to the court to the screams of Thunderstruck.
It was cooler when Marlow High made it the rally cry for their 1993 football season…
Ah, rats!
I was hoping the team name would reflect the ownership:
The Oklahoma City Firepants.
I could here “God of Thunder” by KISS being used, as long as it is not Garth Brooks The thunder rolls(not sure of the title, and could care less)
I didn’t really hear any better options, so I’m okay with Thunder.
People, anyone who’s spent time in the Great State knows how it lamer it could have been- something totally lame like the Wranglers. As Razzo Ritzo admonished, “that big dumb cowboy crap of yours ain’t impressing nobody I can tell you that” It isn’t a Western heritage name. Let out a sigh. Thunderbirds is perfect for Oklahoma- the 45th, native heritage- seems some people really don’t like it though. Too many syllables, sob. Maybe a bit too “” ethnic for an ownership group of rich white staunch republican church goers. Thank goodness the nba didn’t let them go with the Baron nickname, i.e., after themselves. Can’t think of any negatives there.
Thunder also apt for Oklahoma, except it’s going to piss off some Blazeer fans. “Some of the most violent thunderstorms in the world occur in the central part of the United States known as Tornado Alley.’(from NASA data bitch) Yes everyone gets that gentle rolling pussy stuff off in the distance, Ok. gets collisions of massive cold and warm fronts. Ok. gets thunderclaps that wake you from a tequilla stupor thinking the Russians are coming. It’ll gain great acceptance the first spring game Mother Nature is rattling the windows of the Ford Center, and the fans are screaming along with each clap, beacuse as all Okies know, when you hear the tornado siren, grab a cold one and step out on the porch. Kobe will soil his purple and gold. It’s far better than many already accepted nba names. Could be the raptors or heat or sun or jazz in utah or lakers in la or bobcats or nets or wizards or spurs or clippers- Thunder is Ok like the plates used to say.
KISS “God of Thunder” totally kicks. Forgot to mention that.
nice name thunder!!!!!!!!!!!!
Did anyone else notice that the “genius” at the NBA site used the wrong years? 2007-2008? Oops! Mistake #2
And I am DEEPLY disappointed that they didn’t use the nickname I suggested - the Warthogs. Any of you who remember Wonder Warthog from Zap comics have to agree it would be a great team name.
Hey Clark,
Were you the ‘Listener’ that the Sports Animal credited as their source for the article they posted on the slip-up.
Tell me it aint so Clark, Tell me it aint So!
Did they really have the schedule listed as “Oklahoma City Thunder Schedule”? The reason I ask is because you can type anything you want and it will take you to the NBA site. For example: http://www.nba.com/schedules/?team=thelostogle or http://www.nba.com/schedules/?team=noname. Put anything you want and it will take you to the NBA schedule. I’m not naive, they will be called the Thunder. But, I’m not sure that having the name “thunder” at the end of the link tells us a lot.
Actually, the link is working for me.
Whoareyou: Did you not see the screenshot? It’s at the top of the post.
The NBA removed the information from the “=thunder”, so it goes to a generic page. In fact, all invalid domains (like the two you entered) go to a generic schedule page.
I made no calls to The Sports Animal.
Me still likey Energy the best
just thought id let you know brett favre was traded to the thunder for kevin durant
sounds more like a WNBA team.
way to go OKC!
Another in the long line of NBA teams without the “s”. Friggin’ retarded. It just seems to me that all the creativity with choosing a team name has been lost to these people.
OK… sure, Oklahoma has killer T-storms… so what? Oregon has awesome downpours, Milwaukee has pretty severe Snow storms… and L.A. has ridiculous smog, (heh heh, the Los Angeles Smog). Way to follow Phoenix and Miami with the weather theme. (Actually now that I think about it Miami prolly would have chosen the Suns if it was available).
Can anyone tell me, seriously, what the mascot will be? Thunder isn’t a lightning bolt… IT’S THE SOUND OF ONE!! How do you come up with a physical manifestation of sound???? I guess you could have a giant foam “BOOM!!!” with eyeballs and a tail, just for fun.
Another issue: What about the mandatory NBA team dance squad? Well, with a name like ThunderGirls, or Gals, or whatever classy title their called, they’re gonna have to be one helluva robust sized pack of ladies. (heh heh once agian… inner brain image of 300lb women in tutus slappin’ their buttcheeks on the hardwood to AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck”… if that doesn’t sell tickets in OKC… nothing will).
Regardless… whoever was in charge of this one dropped the ball completely.
I was watching News 9 the other night and low and behold there was the name “Clark Matthews” for this article.
link