Archive for June, 2011

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Paint the town red, white & (Thunder) blue

Wednesday, June 29th, 2011

We’ve had a great response already from fans who are looking to participate in our “Red, White & Thunder Blue” promotion. Though a few seemed wary to give away too many of their trade secrets (lest other groups of fans, er, “steal their Thunder”), I did hear from two of our fans who are planning some Thunder-ized gatherings over the weekend.

Tammie, who lives in northwest OKC, is inviting her neighborhood over for a “Red, White & Thunder Blue” breakfast before the local Fourth of July parade. The neighbors will come together to decorate their bikes, wagons and golf carts – but they’ll all be sporting some Thunder gear. As Tammie wrote, in her neighborhood, “everybody needs to get their ‘THUNDER ON’ for our Fourth of July parade and party!”

Some of our Blue Alliance chapters are also getting in the spirit. Susie from Mustang is working on a series of photos featuring Thunder gear and patriotic icons that she’ll add to the snapshots from her holiday cookout. Though she was happy to reveal some of her plans, she added a caveat: “I won’t give away all my secrets cause I really do want to win this for Mustang!”

We’re definitely looking forward to see everything you have in store this weekend to show off your “Red, White & Thunder Blue”!

- Karina Henderson

Posted in Promotions, Thunder Fans | Comments Off

And the rains came down

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

A group of staffers had been scheduled to take care of our duties at Woodson Park today – watering the 14 new trees we planted in April and cleaning up some trash.

Yesterday, because of the intense heat wave hitting Oklahoma, we called off the trash-pickup part of the plan until temperatures fall below the triple-digits. Today, because of the early-morning storms, we’re off the hook for watering for a few days.

As one of the staffers who had been planning to hit the park today, it’s very green of nature to take care of the watering for us. But we’ll be back out at the park very soon.

- Karina Henderson

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Draft watching with the Blue Alliance

Friday, June 24th, 2011

Blue Alliance Captains Susie Crockett (Mustang), Cassie Alford (Guthrie), Derek Melton (Stonewall), William Stafford (Nichols Hills), Steven Boyd (Oklahoma City), Jason Zwink (Woodward) and Evan Chadwick (Paoli) pose with Brian Davis at an NBA Draft watch party.

Though it wasn’t an official watch party, several Thunder fans came out to Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar & Grill” in Bricktown on Thursday to catch the 2011 NBA Draft. Among the fans was a group of Blue Alliance Captains from across the state.

Nine captains proudly represented the Blue Alliance; they even turned out wearing the polos they received for taking on the captaincy for their hometowns. They had a chance to enjoy the draft, compare notes and mingle with Thunder staff – including Thunder broadcaster Brian Davis, who took extra time to chat with the fans and pose for pictures.

Amy, who coordinates our Blue Alliance program, emailed me earlier to say that the captains were very excited about their experience. We’re happy to show our appreciation of their dedication to spreading Thunder spirit across the state.

If (for some reason) you haven’t already connected with your local Blue Alliance chapter, click here for all the details.

- Karina Henderson

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Fish gotta swim

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Head Coach Scott Brooks talks about the importance of developing ball-handling skills during a surprise camp visit.

Thunder Assistant Coach Maz Trakh demonstrates what one camper can do at home to perfect his shot.

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly and coaches gotta coach.

(Is that not how the song goes?)

While the Thunder Youth Basketball Summer Camps – presented by Cox Communications - have been going on the past three weeks, we’ve invited several members of the coaching staff to stop by and teach the kids a few pointers – and had a great response.

Today, Coach Scott Brooks made a surprise visit to the camp at the Boys & Girls Club of Oklahoma County. He gave a brief clinic about the importance of ball-handling skills and worked with the campers on dribbling techniques.

Assistant Coach Maz Trakh came to camp today for the second week in a row; he can’t seem to get enough of helping out kids. As I spoke with him last week, one of the campers came up to him and said that a few of the techniques he recommended (you can see what he discussed here) weren’t working. Rather than just telling the young man to take his word for it and keep trying, he grabbed a ball – walking him through exactly what to do and how to practice shooting at home.

Even the Tulsa 66ers are getting into the fun of camp – Dale Osbourne, their assistant coach, came to camp on Tuesday and had some hands-on time with the kids.

Our coaching staff has been playing or coaching hoops for most of their lives; it’s nearly morphed into their DNA. No matter what the age or skill level of the players in front of them, if you put players in front of them, it’s clear that coaches just gotta coach.

- Karina Henderson

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Draft night

Thursday, June 23rd, 2011

Tonight is the 2011 NBA Draft, and for anyone reading this looking for behind-the-scenes insight on what will happen tonight – frankly, I’ve got nothing.

Anything can happen on draft night, and we’ll be watching like the rest of you.

If you’re looking for a place to watch tonight’s draft with other NBA fans, Budweiser will be having a watch party at Toby Keith’s “I Love This Bar & Grill” in Bricktown.

In the meantime, you can take a look at two great pieces on past drafts. On the our website, Thunder broadcaster Grant Long talks about his experience being drafted by the Miami Heat in 1988. And the Oklahoman yesterday went down the list of Thunder players, discussing how each one came to the team and what picks the Thunder has made in previous years.

The draft will be broadcast on ESPN starting at 6 p.m. (channel 29/HD 720 on Cox in OKC). Our web team will be posting news and updates at THUNDER.NBA.COM as the draft unfolds, so keep an eye on our site throughout the night, as well.

- Karina Henderson

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Hardware

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2011

Team captains Katy, Karlis and Mary Jo with our 2011 Corporate Challenge division championship award

It wasn’t the Oscars – no red carpets, no fancy dresses and very little paparazzi – but after work yesterday, the Thunder business office gathered at a local restaurant for our OU Medicine Corporate Challenge awards ceremony.

Most of the results were posted last week, but anticipation remained over two titles – the Division 2 points championship and the all-around Spirit Award.

We were thrilled to find out we captured both.

Just about everyone who participated in the challenge took home something last night, in large part because we were so successful in the competition. A couple of staffers scored stacks of acrylic plaques, which are popping up on desks and walls in the office today. A few were rewarded just for tremendous effort (our tug-of-war team) or attempts at intimidating the opposition (the dodgeball crew).

Plans for next year’s competition were flying over the pub tables last night. As with any competition, once you succeed, you set high expectations – and you want to meet them.

I just hope not to hear about any injuries related to misguided attempts at dodging wrenches.

- Karina Henderson

Posted in The Office | Comments Off

A bison about town

Saturday, June 18th, 2011

During the off-season, we all get the occasional question about whether or not our entire staff works year-round. Though a lot of folks in the community know how much we do off the court as an organization, they don’t always realize the scope of our efforts all year to make sure that everything, from the website to community events to ticket sales and retention, is successful.

But when we field these questions, there’s one staffer whom nobody questions whether or not he works all year. That’s because Rumble, our bison about town, seems to never rest.

Yesterday was a good example of how much Rumble gets around. Jon, who’s a key part of Rumble’s crew, emailed a series of photos last night as Rumble made his way through several community appearances. The last one came through as their day was wrapping up – at about 9 p.m.

The one question probably every staffer has gotten about Rumble is whether he is one bison or two. We’re occasionally met with skepticism when we reassure fans that there is only one Rumble. It’s sometimes hard to believe that one bison can do so much.

- Karina Henderson

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Longing for summer camp

Tuesday, June 14th, 2011

I saw a comment on Twitter earlier today from someone who stated that, though she was almost 30, there was nothing she wanted to do more than to attend a Thunder Youth Basketball Camp like the one going on this week.

I know that for some of us staffers who do get to attend camps, it’s tough not to pick up a ball and join right in.

Today, several members of the business office stopped by the camp as Serge Ibaka spent an hour playing with, coaching and talking to the camp participants. We were there facilitating media presence, taking photos and videos of the visit or just jumping in wherever someone needed a little extra help.

But some of us – myself included – spent a good chunk of our childhoods at basketball camps. Just like the kids today, we developed our basketball skills, our sense of teamwork and hard work, and our love of the game.

Most of all, we had fun – which is why it’s so tough, even when we’re wearing business attire, not to grab a ball and jump right in.

We all had our turn when we were young, and now it’s this generation’s time to learn, to grow and to have their fun.

… Still, I was this close to kicking off my heels today and running some lay-up drills.

- Karina Henderson

Posted in Community, Players, The Office | Comments Off

Corporate challenge accepted

Monday, June 13th, 2011

The stands weren’t full, but smack in the middle stood a team of loudly cheering fans. Wearing matching T-shirts, waving posters, clapping “fan bammers” and yelling into megaphones, they made sure the whole stadium knew that they were rooting for their Thunder.

The athletes they were cheering for took their positions. They played hard, ran fast and pushed themselves to the finish. They didn’t always win, but they played with heart, and it paid off with a series of joyful Thunder victories.

This weekend’s OU Medicine Corporate Challenge gave our business-office staff a chance to switch roles with our fans and our players for a few days. We stepped into your shoes and became Thunder fans, pushing our team every step of the way from the sidelines. We stepped onto the court, the track, the pool and the field, becoming competitors.

And from the stories I’m hearing, we loved every bit of it.

Results from the Corporate Challenge have been posted here. We’re proud to have done so well and to have effectively represented our team, our fans, our philosophy and our community spirit.

With such a spirited crew, there were bound to be a few injuries. Office manager Jennifer is so hoarse today she can hardly speak. Community relations manager Wyjuana tripped while dominating the 55m sprint and ripped up her knee. And premium sales director Travis fell hard during the basketball game, later finding out he broke two bones.

About half of our full-time staff signed up for some event or squad and took part in the challenge; more turned up just to root for our crew. Frankly, between the intensity of our cheering section and the success of our team in several events, we’re just hoping we get invited back next year.

All things considered, I believe we met the one goal we set out to achieve: living up to the name “Team Thunder.”

- Karina Henderson

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Thundering up, corporate-challenge style

Friday, June 10th, 2011

Disclaimer: If you are with the OK County Health Department, Blue Cross and Blue Shield or any of the other Division 2 competitors in this weekend’s Corporate Challenge, don’t read this post until Monday – just in case I give away any of our team secrets.

For everybody else, the Thunder is participating in the OU Medicine Corporate Challenge today through Sunday, and in case you couldn’t guess, we’re a bit pumped up about it.

The challenge is a series of about 20 sports events designed to get company staff moving, fit and working as a team.

…Gee, does any of this sound like something the Thunder would be interested in?

For a few of our staffers, training for these events started early. It makes sense - we’re a professional sports team, and the last thing we want is to get schooled in an athletic challenge.

Matt, our director of ticket sales, organized a few training sessions for the track events. He said that he and fellow ticket-sales staffer Mino have been the only two at a few of the sessions, but he’s feeling confident that we’ll make a good showing.

Our director of season ticket retention, Karlis, led a group on the basketball court this week for practice. Here’s one of those secrets I’m giving away – in the spirit of fair competition, our basketball team is not going to be made up of our players. But don’t count out our office staff. We’ve been watching the team quite a bit, you know.

Part of the competition is based around team spirit, and that’s another area where we are determined to make a good showing … We might just have a little experience in that arena. Mary Jo, who’s our manager of event presentation, has been gathering up banners, noisemakers and other goodies to ensure we’re bringing some Thunder to this event.

The requisite massive poster-making project was led by Jennifer, our office manager, who probably cleared a couple of craft stores out of glitter glue and Thunder-colored posterboard. She’s on site at the Challenge right now, and no comment as to whether or not she’s scoping out the competition.

The event kicks off tonight, and we’ll be there in droves, T-shirted, faces painted and ready to rumble. (Oh, yeah, we’re bringing Rumble, too.)

Injury reports and other tales to follow throughout the weekend…

- Karina Henderson

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