Photo by @sambo2084, via Twitter
Been saving up for Thunder tickets? Don’t forget – single-game tickets to all preseason and regular-season games at Chesapeake Energy Arena go on sale Tuesday at 10 a.m. Central. We have a very limited number available, but you can always get tickets during the season through the Thunder TicketExchange or, on game days, at the Rewards Zone.
On Tuesday morning, you can CLICK HERE to see available tickets.
LET’S GO THUNDER!
- Karina Henderson
Kids lined up to meet Rumble, even in the middle of Utah. After all, who can resist our own favorite bison?
For those of you who know our very own Rumble the Bison, you know how much he loves giving back to kids all over the great state of Oklahoma.
However, last night, Rumble was invited to take part in an event in Utah put on by his furry friend, Jazz Bear.
We all know how hard Rumble trains to stay in shape during the offseason to be ready once Thunder games start, but before last night, few knew that, on occasion, he also takes to the gridiron for charity.
In front of over 9,500 people on a cool evening in Lehi, Utah, Rumble and his furry pals matched up against an imposing group of 12-year-old future football stars.
His teammates included fuzzy guys from acros the NBA: Gorilla, Clutch, Boomer, Rocky, Crunch, Bango, Jazz Bear and Bear’s half-pint friend, Lil Bear.
They began the evening with fanfare from around the area, they marveled at skydivers and had a riveting national anthem. Jazz Bear even set a Guiness World Record football toss from atop a crane 350 feet in the air.
Once the pagentry ended, it was time for Rumble to take part in the game and strap on some cleats to those hooves … which is really not possible.
Now, we’ve all seen Rumble’s amazing talents at work. He drums, he flies in from the ceiling at Chesapeake Energy Arena, he stacks bowls on his head, he makes fantastic behind-the-back shots from half court. But we learned last night that Rumble’s skills don’t quite translate to the football field.
At school shows, Rumble always tells the kids to try their hardest and do their best, and try he did. Using his amazing speed and agility, here were some of Rumble’s stats on the day: four missed tackles, one pitch back to Crunch, a couple of really nice blocks and a lot of hijinks. But he tried, as you can see in this video:
While Rumble and his furry friends may be masters of the hardwood and know all the rules of their game, basketball, let’s just say these guys are not exactly experts in the rules of the football field … Many, many penalties …
In the end, the young men from Lehi, Utah took the game 28-23. But we found out that Rumble’s popularity doesn’t end at the Oklahoma State line. With hundreds of autographs, dozens of pictures taken and too many hugs to count, Rumble was a star in this show, no matter his football prowess. No yellow flag thrown for that!
In addition to his football play, Rumble did what he does best: dancing, drumming and lighting up the faces and warming the hearts of the crowd on a chilly evening in Utah.
But what is is that would make Rumble travel all the way to Utah for, of all things, a football game?
The kids.
Rumble’s assistance will help the Bear Hugs for Kids charity provide over 250 lower-income kids with Christmas gifts that they otherwise would not be able to have this upcoming holiday season.
Kudos for the effort Rumble, but it doesn’t appear you are ready for big-time football quite yet … Thankfully for Thunder fans, basketball is only a few weeks away !
- Jon Brooks
Today, as Cole Aldrich and Reggie Jackson joined the Rolling Thunder Book Bus for a visit at OKC’s Westminster School, we found a familiar face in the crowd of kindergarteners looking to pick out a book.
Our Community Relations staff made sure that the visit to Westminster included Jack, who had written them this letter asking if he could meet some Thunder players:
We first met Jack this summer, when we found out he had quite a talent for such a young kid: the ability to recite the entire Thunder roster.
One of Jack’s teachers noted that he follows Thunder Basketball intensely during the season, frequently coming to school the next day and wowing her with the statistics he’d memorized.
Jack, who got his wish to meet a couple of Thunder players granted, rattled off the Thunder roster again today for Aldrich and Jackson.
“Thunder Jack,” Aldrich called him. “It’s hilarious. The quality of fans that we have, knowing those things. The kid is six years old and he knows everybody, even the newest guys on the team. It’s remarkable.”
- Karina Henderson
The court at Chesapeake Energy Arena isn’t the only one the Thunder is focused on this fall.
Through a partnership between Sprite and the Thunder Cares Foundation, we’re renovating the outdoor court at Pitts Park in northeast OKC, giving it a new surface, a new walkway and – of course -a Thunder theme.
Crews broke ground on the refurbishment project yesterday, and we hope to have the court ready for the neighborhood kids sometime next month.
- Karina Henderson
Normally, our office is pretty quiet. And since it’s Friday, things are even a little more laid back around here than usual.
Sometimes we have interesting noises around the office – loud and energetic meetings in our main conference room (called Center Court, by the way), or happy visitors coming through our reception area. In the hall just outside the elevators, we have a flat-screen TV showing images from games and community events, and a soundtrack of cheering fans and shoes squeaking on hardwood floors fills the lobby.
A few minutes ago, I started hearing quiet rolls of thunder. Now, as of ten minutes ago, it was about 100 degrees and sunny outside, so at first I thought it was someone from our Events & Entertainment department trying out new soundscapes for a game-night video, or maybe a subtle prank.
But no. I finally looked out a window, and it’s raining – so the sounds are an actual thunderstorm.
As one of my co-workers said, “You never know around here.”
- Karina Henderson
Thunder fans have gained a reputation for being devoted to their team, but once in a while we’re still impressed with the level of dedication of some fans.
Take this, for example:
Navigating the ins and outs of Thunder Basketball has never been – well, trickier, thanks to the folks at Reding Farm in Chickasha. Every fall, they create a maze in their corn field, and as you can see, this year’s theme has some familiar icons. (The Redings even stopped by our office to make sure we saw their handiwork.)
If you’ve got something that tops this, we’d sure like to see it …
- Karina Henderson
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