With the third game in four nights at Chesapeake Arena, you might think that our fans are growing a bit weary. But if you thought that, you don’t know Thunder fans.
Late in tonight’s game, I caught this fragment of a conversation in the ladies’ room:
“You know, I just LOVE Rumble. He’s ….. incredible! He’s just amazing to watch!”
Keep Thundering up, fans!
- Karina Henderson
You may already be familiar with one of the newest faces around our office. If you’ve been reading the Thunder’s game previews and postgame recaps for the last month or so, or if you picked up the latest issue of “Thunder Magazine,” you might recognize the name Nick Gallo.
Nick joined the Thunder organization in early January as our new Thunder basketball writer. In that capacity, Nick writes feature stories, game previews, practice reports and postgame recaps for THUNDER.NBA.COM and various Thunder publications.
The Durham, N.C., native spent the last two seasons with the New York Jets’ publications and media relations departments. Prior to his two years in New York, Nick was a student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., where he also worked with the Tennessee Titans’ media relations department.
Nick will be part of our team headed to the All-Star Game in Orlando this coming weekend. Watch for his updates from the road at THUNDER.NBA.COM!
- Karina Henderson
Tonight the Thunder made a few special on-court presentations – including the winners of our Black History Heroes Challenge, presented by Sprite; the first of this year’s OU/Thunder Scholarships; the Devon Community Heroes award for February; and awards to some of our front-line staffers for 100% Guest Care.
Each honoree has a group of family and friends proud to see their loved one given a moment of recognition on one of the biggest stages our city has to offer – the Thunder’s home court at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
As the Thunder honored the Black History Heroes Challenge winners, parents and siblings stood in the “VOM” – the entrance from the bowels of the arena to the court – and recorded the proud moment as it broadcast on the main scoreboard:
Congratulations to all of tonight’s honorees!
- Karina Henderson
When the new stretch of I-40 eastbound opened up last month, many Thunder fans had to get used to a new route in and out of Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Well, get ready for part two – the new westbound lanes of the I-40 Crosstown will open Sunday morning, which means the old I-40 westbound will be closed.
Starting with Sunday night’s game vs. the Denver Nuggets, fans who use I-40 westbound through downtown will need to be advised of alternate routes.
To help clear up your questions on getting to and from the arena for Thunder games, here’s the latest info.
EXITS/ON-RAMPS
Starting Sunday morning, the new exits headed westbound on I-40 from I-235 will be:
The exits headed eastbound on I-40 from I-44 will remain:
Again, starting Sunday morning, the only on-ramps headed westbound on the new I-40 will be:
NOTE: The on-ramp at Robinson Ave. will close permanently as of Sunday morning. Fans who usually get on to I-40 westbound at Robinson are advised to use the Shields Blvd. on-ramp; Western is an alternate option.
And the only on-ramps headed eastbound will remain:
For detailed information about the changeover, go to http://www.okladot.state.ok.us/.
NEW NOTES
BEST ROUTES IN
From the north (via I-235):
From the south (via I-35):
From the east (via the new I-40):
From the west (via the new I-40):
BEST ROUTES OUT
To the north (via I-235):
To the south (via I-35):
To the east (via new I-40):
To the west (via new I-40):
Thank you again for your patience as our vibrant downtown continues to grow!
- Karina Henderson
Teacher Tegan Sexton stands among several giants of black history, after delivering the Black History Heroes Challenge entries for Pleasant Hill Elementary.
No business can really say they know what’s going to come through their doors on any given day, but the delivery the Thunder offices got today was truly unexpected.
This is the last day we’re accepting submissions for the Thunder’s Black History Heroes Challenge, presented by Sprite. The contest encourages Oklahoma children in kindergarten through high school to submit a written or artistic piece about a hero in black history, whether a well-known figure or a personal hero.
Tegan Sexton, a fourth- and fifth-grade math and science teacher at Mid-Del’s Pleasant Hill Elementary, dropped off the entries for her students today. She had led the children in a project to put papier-mache heads on soda-bottle bodies, creating figures to represent their own black history heroes.
The 38 students chose historical figures from a broad range of backgrounds and accomplishments. Some of the figures included Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space; Garrett Morgan, an American inventor; Barbara Jordan, a civil rights pioneer and member of Congress; and B.B. King.
The Thunder plans to display the winning entries – which may include some from Pleasant Hill – and honor the winners at our Feb. 20 game vs. New Orleans. If you’re at that game, be sure to watch for the display in Chesapeake Energy Arena. (Check your program that night for exact location.)
- Karina Henderson
Looking at the above photo, you might find yourself thinking that that is one lucky little girl.
But unless you know the rest of Lilly Gillon’s story, you don’t know how lucky she is.
Less than a year ago, Lilly and her family – including her father, Graham (also pictured) – traveled “across the pond” from Birmingham, England, to Oklahoma City, with a sole purpose: getting treatment for Lilly’s rare brain tumor.
Doctors in Birmingham recommended the family go to Oklahoma City and seek treatment for Lilly at the ProCure Proton Therapy Center.
They came, and it worked. Lilly is cancer-free.
But when the family returned to England, they found themselves missing something. The family told local TV station KFOR that the people of Oklahoma lifted Lilly’s spirits so much, they had to come back.
Graham, Lilly and Lilly’s mother, Cherie, visited Oklahoma last week and were special guests at the Thunder’s Feb. 3 game against Memphis, hosted in a Season Ticket Member’s suite and enjoying visits from Rumble and the Thunder Girls.
Graham, who sported a Thunder shirt the whole day, has become enamored with not only the people of Oklahoma, but also basketball – especially our team.
“The Thunder’s obviously the best team to come watch,” he said as the crowd roared in the background.
Lilly’s three sisters stayed in England this time, but Graham says the family is planning many more visits to Oklahoma in the future.
For more on this story, CLICK HERE to watch this week’s “Thunder Insider” – our story on Lilly’s journey begins at the 16:43 mark.
- Karina Henderson
For those of you who have been to Thunder games, you know that one of the fun parts is not just people-watching – it’s Thunder fan art-watching. So many of our fans funnel their time and talent into creating some very cool personal pieces of fan art, whether it’s signs, bags, shirts or other wearables, and we always enjoy seeing what you make.
We’ve come across a few pretty impressive items lately, with one thing in common – they all pay homage not to the team or a player, but to our own Rumble the Bison.
Joseph Koshiway, a local Native artist who does amazing hand-painted shoes, found Rumble at an event in December and asked him to sign a pair of custom Rumble shoes he’d created. When they were finished, Joseph donated the shoes to the Thunder – and we’re going to give you an opportunity to bid on them!
We’ll be auctioning off the shoes at our home game on Sunday, Feb. 19 as a part of Mascot Mania. If you’re there, be sure to stop by the auction tables outside of Section 120 to see Joseph’s amazing work and to bid on some great items. We use our proceeds to benefit the Thunder Community Foundation, which supports our community-outreach efforts.
On Saturday, when the Thunder entertainment crews came to Tulsa for Affiliate Night at the 66ers game, we found out that Rumble has fans just about everywhere he goes. One fan had made crocheted likenesses both of Rumble and of Routie, the 66ers mascot, and was happy to show them off to us.
We also spotted a few members of the Herring family sporting some nifty bison headgear while making signs. Looks almost as fuzzy as the real thing, too.
Keep up the creative work, and remember to check out those shoes on the 19th!
- Karina Henderson
Time for some fun fan photos! We try to keep an eye out for fans who tag us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to share photos of how they “Thunder up” at home, at school or at the game.
Here are a few that have caught our eyes recently:
Thanks to all these fans, and keep posting pix!
- Karina Henderson
Last week, Gov. Fallin declared “Tobacco-Free Oklahoma Week” in our state to highlight the costs of tobacco use that we all experience, whether we use tobacco products or not.
Throughout the week, several organizations partnered to discuss the impact tobacco has on health and productivity, and to encourage Oklahomans to prevent and reduce tobacco use.
The Thunder took part in the efforts by promoting a contest to encourage Oklahomans to share their stories about becoming – or remaining – tobacco-free. From hundreds of entries, the one submitted by Brett Lavell stood out. Brett, who is a business major at Oklahoma Wesleyan University in Bartlesville, talks about quitting smoking:
“I have had a great opportunity to be able to stop smoking while attending school here since tobacco is illegal on campus. Before coming to school I was heavily involved in smoking cigars and what not. Since coming here my life has changed; I have stopped smoking to follow school rules and just came off a semester where I got a 3.9. I would love to be able to come to the Chesapeake Energy Arena and represent a tobacco free environment.”
Brett got his wish by winning our contest and enjoyed Friday night’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies.
For more information on the state’s tobacco-free efforts, including resources on quitting, talking to your kids and promoting tobacco-free lifestyles, be sure to visit the “Tobacco Stops with Me” website.
- Karina Henderson
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