Not feeling the Thunder

It’s the morning after, and I’m still not feeling the Thunder.

After sleeping on it, the nickname Thunder still leaves me feeling groggy. I’m not saying I hate it, but I’m not feeling the love.  Cohort Berry Tramel says we’ll learn to love the name. That seems a long ways off. Right now, I’m just learning to accept it.

When the name, logo and colors were revealed Wednesday at Leadership Square, the Golden State  Warriors immediately flashed before my eyes.

The Warriors’ colors are dark blue, sky blue, yellow and something called Golden Gate orange. The Thunder’s colors are dark blue, sky blue, yellow and something called Thunder red, which looks suspiciously close to Golden Gate orange. Also, Golden State’s mascot is named “Thunder.” Presumably, the Thunder won’t name its mascot “Warrior.”

If I shelled out $350 million for a franchise, (potentially) another $75 million for the right to bring the team here, another $30 million in NBA relocation fees and a few million trying to communicate with the people of Seattle for two years, I would have gone for a bigger splash than “Thunder.”