Spotted walking by the Thunder Youth Basketball Summer Camp this week: Roman Owen, who pulled off a $20,000 half-court shot during Game 2 of the Thunder’s playoff series against Memphis. Owen is a coach at Mid-America Christian University, where we happen to be holding this week’s camp.
Here’s the video of Owen’s shot from that May game:
- Karina Henderson
It starts a little differently for everyone. Maybe you’re fighting the subconcious urge to wear blue all the time. Or you get this itch every few nights, thinking there’s something you should be doing, but you can’t put your finger on what. Perhaps you get a little misty when you hear “Thunderstruck” on the radio.
The season is over, and some of you are going through Thunder basketball withdrawals.
Many of our fans seem to have spent the days following the team’s last game of the 2010-2011 season trying to process everything that just happened – the collective excitement. The way our community was peppered with a vibrant hue of Thunder blue. The shared celebration of and with our team.
As much as we have been wanting to thank our fans, our fans, it seems, are wanting to thank us. Some people have mentioned in person or online that they’re still wearing their Thunder shirts every day, or that they put out a Thunder flag in their yard this weekend.
Other fans have been putting their thoughts into writing; two great pieces in particular came to my attention over the weekend.
Jenifer posted a note to Facebook on Friday, called “An Open Letter To The Thunder.” You can read the whole letter here, but this excerpt in particular struck me:
We’re the people who set what is now called “The Oklahoma Standard” for community response to disaster. We’re the people who taught the world how to grieve in a public and positive way, how to turn disaster into opportunity.
We don’t always win here, but nobody cares more, tries harder, or stays truer than Oklahomans. There’s something strange and special about this place, but you have to stay here for a while to understand it. [...]
You get who we are and you’ve been able to give us a voice in the world by the way you play, by the way you persevere. All of us Native Okies are here because somebody decided to stick it out through the bad times and keep working for better times. When we watch you play, we see those beliefs rewarded. For us, whether you win or lose really is less important than how you play the game.
Ed is a fan I ran into at several games this season. He passed along a blog post he wrote to voice his thoughts on the uniqueness of this moment, entitled “An OKC Love Affair.” Here’s an excerpt:
It’s just different here. And the amazing thing is that EVERYONE knows it. There seems to be a very serious realization of what we have here from the fans right on down to the players. [...]
Play hard, don’t quit, do it the right way… do it the OKC way…and you will receive more love and support than you could ever imagine.
This season may be over, but Thunder basketball doesn’t quit - not from our end, and, from the looks of it, not from our fans’ perspective, either.
- Karina Henderson
Just because the season has ended doesn’t mean our fans – or our dedication to them – will quit. I’ve had a bunch of tabs open in my browser for the last two weeks, just marking fan pictures that I’ve spotted online and wanted to share. Seems as though now is the best time to post them to mark what everything we do is really about – you.
If you need any more testament to our fans’ positive outlook, consider the fact that in the 24-hour span since yesterday afternoon, we had about 15,000 more people “like” our Facebook page – about 9,000 of them since the end of last night’s game. Or, if you’re on Twitter, search the postings for mentions of @okcthunder and just read some of the wonderful comments our fans have been making.
Thank you again, fans. You continue to amaze us.
- Karina Henderson
Last year, Thunder fans grabbed national attention and widespread accolades for their spontaneous standing ovation following the final game of the season, when a Lakers win in Oklahoma City closed out our team’s 2010 playoff run.
With this season’s run coming to a close away from our home court, our fans didn’t have that same opportunity to thank our team with a final outpouring of chants and cheers.
No, they didn’t have the same opportunity - but they created an opportunity anyway.
Scores of fans left their houses after the game and drove, in the middle of the night, to the Oklahoma City airport because they wanted to make sure their team ended the night with a generous thank-you from the fans.
One of those fans, Dennis, recorded the experience and posted it this morning. It is a heart-lifting display of love and appreciation for this team that is truly unique to our community of fans. The still says a lot; the video speaks even louder (literally and figuratively):
We know how exceptional this is. We know how uniquely strong the connection is between our fans and our team.
I know our fans didn’t do this for more attention, but I strongly suspect a lot of people are going to take notice.
- Karina Henderson
Paul, a Thunder Season Ticket Member, is helping his friends in El Reno clean up their home after it was hit by yesterday’s devastating tornado. One of Paul’s co-workers sent us this stirring picture that he’d taken, saying of the family cleaning up their home, “Even amid the destruction of their lives, their Thunder spirit lives on.”
- Karina Henderson
When you’re working for a pro sports team that’s been in the Playoffs for nearly six weeks and playing three to four games a week, your focus rarely strays from the task at hand. Many of us have been working six to seven days a week, and game days easily stretch into 12-14 hour work days. For staff traveling with the team, the days and weeks seem to all run together.
Make no mistake – we all spend every moment of these long days feeling incredibly privileged to be a part of something like this. However, with this level of job intensity, few of us have been able to focus on much outside of our jobs. We’ve joked about laundry piling up, about trying to get our families to understand our job demands and about not knowing what’s in the news.
Yesterday afternoon, though, we were all yanked into full awareness of what was going on in the world around us as severe weather ripped and roared and grabbed all our attention.
Overall, our staff was very fortunate. The only encounter with one of the tornadoes that I know of is that one staffer’s brother lost part of his home; she’s spending the day sorting through the damage with her family.
With that one exception, we’re all back at work today, determined to do the best job we can for our team and our community. We’re fortunate to be able to focus on the game, but we’re fully aware of what’s most important in our state right now.
On Monday, we dedicated a portion of the proceeds from our in-game auction to tornado relief efforts in Joplin, Mo. Little did we know that night that today we’d be working with our partner organizations to direct assistance to tornado victims in our own states. We encourage fans who want to help relief efforts to contact the Red Cross, the United Way, the Salvation Army or other local organizations leading the way in affected communities.
Andrew, one of our fans, just posted to Twitter that Oklahomans “need our spirits lifted from the storms” and asked that we do our best to do that with tonight’s game.
We’re on it, Andrew, and we’re glad to be back on the job today.
- Karina Henderson
When Regan joined the Thunder a couple of years ago, she had three goals, she told me. Two had to do with the team’s long-term performance. But the third one was to get Hanson to sing the National Anthem at a Thunder game.
On Saturday, one of Regan’s goals was realized – and, of all things, it had a lot to do with Twitter.
I found Regan standing outside of the OKC Arena on Saturday, waiting with butterflies in her stomach to meet the Oklahoma brothers whose music she’d been following since she was a child. Regan, a native Oklahoman herself, latched on to Hanson’s music when they hit it big and never ceased to be a fan.
She told her father when she was hired into the Thunder’s business development team that she was going to get Hanson to open a Thunder game. Eventually.
She’s been working on it ever since. If Regan went to a Hanson show, she’d try to mention it to one of the brothers. If Regan ran into their manager somewhere, she’d hand over her card. If she had a chance to say it, she said it. Some of her friends started thinking of it as an inside joke.
Thursday night, Regan was watching Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals on TV, when her determination came to a head. She decided she was going to get on Twitter and send messages to the band’s account until she wore herself out or they responded.
The Hanson brothers tell the story from their perspective in this video interview they did with us on Saturday evening. According to them, they saw Regan’s tweet and thought it would be a great idea – if they could fit it into their schedule. In just a few days, they’re headed to London for a five-night, five-show, sold-out tour, and they’re deep into rehearsals to prepare.
But once Regan got their response on Twitter, there were no more caveats. She was going to make this happen – and Tyler, in our events and entertainment department, was more than happy to help.
It took all day Friday, but by the end of the day, we had Hanson confirmed to sing the National Anthem for Saturday’s game against the Dallas Mavericks.
Traffic snafus had Regan waiting on the brothers to arrive for about an hour, getting more nervous by the minute. Once they arrived, though, she was utterly unruffled, guiding them into the building, getting them through security and showing them and their families through the arena. We pulled aside minutes before they were scheduled to sing and took a quick photo – a photo Regan had been waiting to have for a long, long time.
The brothers did an outstanding job at singing the National Anthem; watch the video here. (On the version I recorded that night, it’s a lot tougher to hear their great voices above the crowd’s screams.) And I haven’t seen her yet today, but I’d imagine Regan is still on cloud nine.
- Karina Henderson
Many of our fans have been enjoying Thunder Alley throughout the Playoffs, but we know some of you might be headed down there for the first time tonight or Monday. So what does every Thunder fan need to know to get the most out of Thunder Alley?
1. Find something blue. Get your Thunder gear on before heading to Thunder Alley, and you’ll fit right in. Is your wardrobe a bit lacking? Head to the Thunder Shop in the arena before the game (they’ll shut the outside entrance around 6), or gather ’round the merchandise trailer to gear up. Word to the wise – if you’re meeting friends in Thunder Alley, don’t just tell them “I’ll be the one in the blue shirt.” You’ll want to get more specific.
2. Wash your face. Face painters and a caricature artist will be on hand, so make sure your cheeks are clean and ready for paint and pictures.
3. Have a camera handy. You never know what’s going to happen in Thunder Alley, so be ready to capture the memories. Whether it’s your child cruising down an inflatable slide, your friends dancing to the band’s music or your crazy aunt letting out a whoop and a holler after a big Thunder play flashes on the big screen, get it on camera. Make sure nobody else misses the moment by emailing pix to artwork@thunder-nba.com, vids to fanvideo@thunder-nba.com or by tagging us with an @-reply on Twitter.
4. Bring your appetite. We’ll have some food vendors on hand and $2 beers at the Budweiser Beer Garden, so you don’t have to fuel up before you head to the block party. You might find it easiest to stock up on cash in advance, though.
5. Lawn chair? Yes, please. Planning on watching outside on the big screen? Grab a lawn chair and get there early to set up a spot. Of course, if you’re just way too excited to sit during the game, there’s plenty of standing room to be had, too.
6. Wear your lucky whatever. If you’re looking to get last-minute tickets for the game, wear your lucky T-shirt, jeans, underwear or whatever and get in line for the Thunder Rewards Zone. Register by 6, then cross your fingers and toes as we announce who’s going to have a chance to win or buy tickets at 6:30.
7. Bring the THUNDER. It’s a nice day today, but it’s going to be Thunderous outside the arena. Bring the energy, bring the passion, bring the noise – in other words, bring the Thunder and cheer on your team!
- Karina Henderson
The puns about our team’s win last night and the thunderstorms that drenched and echoed across Oklahoma yesterday are ripe for the taking.
But among all the Thunder/thunder humor and hype I noticed online yesterday, there was one comment that stood out – it was from a fan who, noticing that yesterday was Thursday (named for Thor, mythological god of thunder), wondered what the Thunder’s record is on Thursdays.
Turns out, it’s pretty good.
Few NBA games are played on Thursdays; it’s usually a day off before a heavy weekend schedule for the league. However, of the six games the Thunder played on Thursday this season – including two preseason matchups, three regular-season games and last night’s playoff game – the Thunder is a perfect 6-0.
There you go, fans – a whole new set of puns to make. Fire away.
- Karina Henderson
Thanks to everyone who stopped by the Love’s Travel Stop in Ardmore today to load up on Thunder gear. We know Rumble had a great time – I mean, when doesn’t Rumble have a great time meeting Thunder fans?
Special thanks to the Blue Alliance Captains in the area for promoting the event – including Cindy, our Ratliff City Captain, who also posted this pic. Thanks for getting Southern Oklahoma “Thundered up!”
- Karina Henderson
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