Oklahoma City Thunder: Fandom extends to Down Under

My phone rang at 8:15 a.m. Tuesday. I glanced at the number, seemed to be a 612 area code, which I didn’t recognize, but I answered.

It wasn’t a 612 area code. It was a call from Australia. A woman named Sarah. And she sounded pure Aussie. I’ve never received a phone call from Australia, but there’s a first time for everything.

Sarah just wanted to talk to someone about the Thunder. She still was fired up about the series conquest of the Lakers.

“I’m a huge fan of the Thunder,” she said. “It’s been such a great ride.”

These kinds of stories keep popping up. I’ve told you about my daughter and niece, not even novice sports fans but ga-ga over the Thunder. I got a text from a friend, whose grandmother is one of those grand Pentecostal women who wears her hair in a bun. The text was a photo of his grandmother, with her hair in the bun, watching the Thunder play while wearing some kind of smock with “Durant 35” on the back.

Now a call from Australia. Sarah’s husband is from Oklahoma. His family still is here. Sarah and her husband watch the Thunder all they can on ESPN and NBA League Pass. I suppose I could have figured out that NBA League Pass extended all the way to Australia, but it certainly never occurred to me.

Sarah and her husband are coming to Oklahoma in two weeks for a visit. They are hoping the Thunder remains alive, so they can catch an NBA Finals game at the ‘Peake.

“All the coverage has been great,” Sarah said. “Congratulations on it all. I’m a huge fan. I just can’t go to bed (it was 11 p.m. in Australia). I had to talk to someone. And hopefully you guys are going to get some rest.”