Update 9/3: Yes, it's officially the Oklahoma City Thunder. Click through to see the logo.
The word on the street for all of you
That's because, as KOCO-5 in Oklahoma City is reporting, it appears as if the NBA's newest franchise name will be the "Oklahoma City Thunder."
The registrar for all of the NBA's Internet domain names reserved okcthunderbasketball.com and okcthunderbasketball.net on July 10, according to information gleaned from whois.net.Now, the first thing that came to my mind when I heard "Oklahoma City Thunder" was "Oooooo ... incredibly loud and completely harmless noises created by nature! I'm terrified!" (At least the Sonics were fast.)
CSC Corporate Domains describes itself as a domain name management company for corporations, law firms and intellectual property professionals. It is the registrar of record for nba.com and all other domains managed by NBA Media Ventures, LLC.
Then I realized that by naming their team the "Thunder", Clay Bennett was going for an all-out barrage of AC/DC at home basketball games. ("Thunderstruck", obv.) Which I totally back.
And, potentially more practically is the fact that the NBA prefers names like "Bobcats.com" and "Hornets.com" for obvious marketing purposes. "Thunder.com" redirects to "Thunder.net", which appears to be a Silicon Valley communications company.
Now, if I'm the owner of Thunder.net, I'm probably willing to take a couple thousand bucks off David Stern's hands so fans don't have to type okcthunderbasketball.com every single time they want to check out their favorite team.
So: decent enough name? Check. Rockin' theme music potential? Double check. Readily available WNBA nickname (Lightning!)? Triple check. Looks good to me. Plus, I hear thunder is technically soulless, so this kind of works well.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
7-19-2008 @ 12:18PM
leslie shepherd's flock said...
nothing I hate more than sports team w/ singular names
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7-21-2008 @ 1:44AM
Stephen said...
Sounds like an Arena Football team.
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7-20-2008 @ 10:38AM
JB said...
I totally back the OKC Robber Barons.
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7-20-2008 @ 2:18AM
anon said...
Too bad Bennet sold the Storm back to a group in Seattle. The OKC Storm would've paired fine with the OKC Thunder. Both names are terrible, though. And the Storm's official themesong is Thunderstruck.
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7-20-2008 @ 1:40PM
Josh said...
Every other NBA team is in plural. Forget the thunder/lightning connection.. thunder is a WNBA team name.
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8-07-2008 @ 3:24PM
Jon said...
Hey maybe you should actually learn a little about the NBA before you make stupid comments like that. The Thunder is definitely not the only NBA team that isn't plural. How about the Orlando MAGIC, the Utah JAZZ, and the Miami HEAT???? Mmmm those all sound strangely NOT PLURAL. Nice try moron. The OKC Thunder will be a force in 3 years. Just wait.
9-05-2008 @ 9:44AM
KW said...
And also there's the Tampa Lightning.
7-26-2008 @ 10:29PM
Brent said...
Jazz, Magic, Heat sound like WNBA team names and they aren't all plural, Josh. Names like those are what inspired the WNBA
team names to begin with. Thunder will do just fine. Go OKC!
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7-20-2008 @ 4:03PM
Jason S. said...
"Josh said...
Every other NBA team is in plural..."
Heat and Magic aren't plural
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7-20-2008 @ 9:20PM
Blazer Fan said...
I am from Portland. We had a football team in the short lived World Football League in the 70's called the Thunder. It's as bush league as a name can possibly be. I'll Bet there are at least a dozen minor league teams in hockey, baseball, lacrosse etc. that have "THUNDER" screen printed across their jerseys. This is the NBA, not Roller Derby. As much as I hated the SONICS, I loved the rivalry between my Blazers and what was that team three hours up Interstate 5. Here are my suggestions:
Seattle Supersonics
OKC Rustlers
Steal-ers
Backstabbers
Children O' the Corn
Hicks
Longhorns
Inbreeders
I have more names that are quite distasteful, but because I am
a gentleman, I won't go there.
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8-25-2008 @ 6:27PM
Matt said...
Yet another ignorant post by someone who lives in the northwestern region of the U.S. It's not like every single Oklahoman marched up to Washington and stole Seattle's team. Great sterotypes btw. Oklahoma does not grow a lot of corn. There are barely any Longhorn cattle in the state. Every state has it's share of "hicks" (even Oregon and Washington however hard it might be to believe). And as far as the inbred comment goes, it just shows how much class you people have up there.
9-05-2008 @ 9:44AM
KW said...
I have a name for you, "Moron"!!
7-21-2008 @ 12:23AM
Anonymous said...
The Okalahoma City Team-Stealers
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7-22-2008 @ 8:37AM
gleason said...
not that bad. every team name sounds a little silly at first but after a while you don't really think about it. it is too bad that seattle didn't show this much emotion when they had the sonics. they had their chance and blew it. a little too snobbish i would guess. just a thought from a non-biased b-ball fan reading all the hateful comments from the non supportive seattle contingency.
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7-21-2008 @ 5:20PM
eli said...
No one in Oklahoma besides Clay & the other owners did a damn thing to bring the Sonics to you... so don't even get high and mighty about how Seattle fans don't care
God you guys have a screwed up sense of reality over there...
7-28-2008 @ 11:47AM
Jon said...
Really, we did nothing? How about attending Hornets games in larger numbers than Seattle fans did for their own "legendary" team? I would say that is what got the NBA's attention. Or, how about voting to provide a new team with a bigger state-of-the-art arena with our own tax dollars? The old saying,"you don't miss something until it's gone" fits Seattle to a "T" and they can't stand that a "Hicktown" like OKC beat them in every way.
7-21-2008 @ 10:42AM
TJ said...
What a lame name. It sounds like a CBA squad. I can just hear the PA announcer, barely audible over the predictable AC/DC Thunderstruck playing during the player intros:
"Now starting at power forward, number 33, Jackie Moon!"
Of course, if you look at the current roster, the Thundah aren't that far off from a CBA squad. An offer sheet to CJ Miles? All you 16,000 fans who signed up for season tickets, get ready for amateur basketball at its best.
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7-21-2008 @ 7:57PM
Chris said...
A minor/little league name. Nice. I'm cringing at thought of potentially ridiculous logos and mascots. Definitely NOT a classy, old-school name. Certainly a crappy, 90s-esque tragedy -- the intersection of money and a poverty of imagination and style.
If there was one thing that the ownership should've let the fans do it's pick the colors/mascot/logo. Because WE are the ones that are going to be buying the merchandise. Or in this case, personally, not buying. What a marketing/PR blunder.
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7-21-2008 @ 9:28PM
Buvi Duvi said...
Ugliest City in the NBA, Ugliest fanbase in the NBA, Ugliest game in the NBA, and now the Ugliest name. But to be fair any team name that starts with OKC is pretty damn ugly.
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7-22-2008 @ 7:58AM
Vinny The Shark said...
Ugliest fanbase in the NBA? LOL. As opposed to the "beautiful women" of Washington? Comparing the women of Oklahoma to the women of Washington is like comparing Jessica Alba to Whoopi Goldberg.