Emails on Thunder & college football

The new emails are in, and lots of talk about the NBA. Mike from New Orleans checked in: “Your second game ever and you didn’t even sell out?? What’s up with that? I thought Oklahoma City was ‘big league?’ Oh well, I’ll just go back to the New Orleans Arena on Wednesday night for our 16th straight sellout, and you can start your streak back at 0, my friend. I can’t wait to see how Clay papers the house after you guys start 4-25.”

You know, Mike, you’re right. That game should have been sold out. It makes for questionable marketing, more than a squishy market, in my opinion. OKC is near the top in season tickets and has a waiting list for season tickets – so why didn’t it sell more to start with. I thought that was a strange move, capping ticket sales, and darned if it didn’t bite the Thunder in Game 2. And good for New Orleans. Great, great team, and we know they have an organization you can rally around, and it’s great for the city, too. Wouldn’t it be cool if New Orleans got to host the NBA Finals? I’m all for Byron Scott and George Shinn and that little point guard whose name I can’t remember.

Craig attended the Thunder opener and wrote, “If this team doesn’t show a better effort, the attendance will only average 15 to 16,000 by the last quarter of the season. I mean this FIRST season. That team is bad.”

I agree, the team is bad. But I think the fans still will come out in Year 1.

James wrote about the Thunder’s game-day presentation: “You may not remember back in the 60′s (I think), there was a movie called Thunder Road with Robert Mitchem (and his son). If my 70-year-old memory serves me correct, there was a music score played when they were on the road running from “revenuers”. The beat may be a good one for the team.”

Consider it passed on. And you’re right. I may not remember the ’60s.

Barb, our Hornets-made NBA fan, wrote about the Thunder’s opening night. “Game lost because of opening night hoopla! Isn’t that a first? It’s Oklahoma, where we expect the unexpected, so I guess it should come as no surprise that although most teams feed off the energy in their arenas, our team chokes on that same energy in the first game. Should we fans put bandannas over our mouths and gloves on our hands to muffle the noise?”

No. That theory about the Boomers struggling because of opening-night hype was silly. Not enough height had as much to do with it as too much hype.

Terry wrote about my idea that the Thunder will be a unifying force in OKC: “Hate to disagree with you, but rather than a uniter, I think the Sonics are a divider. The circle I run with, except those who don’t live in OKC, are still miffed that their taxes are going to support billionaires and millionaires at the expense of the poor. Wonder how much all the hoopla today is costing me in the way of city forces doing extra work for it. Over and under for the Sonics to be here: nine years. Here’s hoping for an 0 and 82 season. Way too much of the shrinking sports pages devoted to this Johnny-come-lately team.”

So I guess those tightwads in that circle you run with are miffed that Ford Center ushers and parking-lot attendants and Bricktown waiters are seeing a lot more work. Yes, I would hate to do anything that helps people making $25,000 a year.

Rob is an analyzer of all things OKC, even though he now lives in the Dallas area. Here’s what he wrote about the Thunder: “I am a Thunder fan. I like this about the OKC Thunder: the strong local ownership and leadership. Chesapeake, SandRidge, Devon, a big bank (MidFirst) and The Oklahoman. These major deep pockets care about the city. The Thunder has a great thing going for it with the local ownership team.”

Glad to be of service.