Oklahoma City THUNDER?

[jaybird2001wi]

The "new" Oklahoma City franchise has selected "Thunder" as its logo officially as of today. I am just a bit underwhelmed to say the least. Not only does the Logo look like it was designed by a kindergartener having fun with photoshop, but the name doesn't end in an "s" like team names should. The NBA is the biggest culprit in naming teams after dumb animals or stuff that does not even exist within the team's geographic area.

 

You would think they would actually attempt to pick a name that resembles the Oklahoma City culture but apparently they are going the way of choosing a name that is cartoonish and absolutely lame.

 

The NBA has the lamest nicknames in all of sports...

 

1) Orlando Magic - I have often thought this name was absolutely dumb. First it doesn't end with an "s" and second it sounds like an 8-year-old kid thought of this nickname.

2) Miami Heat - See Magic.

3) Toronto Raptors - There are no Raptors in Toronto. Why not name them after something reflecting its Canadian heritage?

4) Washington Wizards - See above but does end in an "s"

 

Ideally my opinions on the rest:

1) Atlanta Hawks - tolerable, but don't know if Hawks are popular in Atlanta.

2) Boston Celtics - Classic team name, no touching this one.

3) Charlotte Bobcats - Lame name but I just checked wikipedia out, and apparently the Hornets name did make sense in Charlotte.

4) Chicago Bulls - Too much history to touch this name.

5) Cleveland Cavs - Tolerable

6) Dallas Mavericks - Acceptable and does seem to follow the Texas-style culture

7) Denver Nuggets - Does follow the "Rocky Mountain" theme.

8) Detroit Pistons - They had a horse as the logo. Since its the Motor City, I would have thought it was named after the car part.

9) Golden State Warriors - I didn't know Native Americans were prevalent in Oakland.

10) Houston Rockets - Follows the NASA theme

11) Indiana Pacers - Seems to follow the "Indy Racing" type theme.

12) Los Angeles Clippers - Clippers sound more like an East Coast name because of boating and such.

13) Los Angeles Lakers - Originated in Minneapolis, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," but it is kind of too late to change this one.

14) Memphis Grizzlies - Sounds kind of like a "cartoonish" nickname and did seem to make sense in Vancouver. Why don't they rename them the "Memphis Blues?"

15) Milwaukee Bucks - Makes sense to me, we are a hunting state.

16) Minnesota Timberwolves - Makes sense to me.

17) New Jersey Nets - Its a basketball team, so the name makes sense... but I think the owners named them the Nets because they couldn't figure out what else to name them. This is like the equivalent of a baseball team calling themselves the "Anytown USA Gloves."

18) New Orleans Hornets - the name Jazz sounds better and there once was a team called the New Orleans Jazz, they are now in Utah. See below for my comments on the Utah Jazz.

19) New York Knicks - Makes sense and the name does have the richest history of all the teams in the NBA.

20) Philadelphia 76ers - American Independence.

21) Phoenix Suns - Acceptable

22) Portland Trailblazers - When I was a little kid I never understood this name but I guess it can be acceptable since its in Oregon and does name itself after the "Oregon Trail" in a sense.

23) Sacramento Kings - Apparently they named themselves the Kings in Kansas City because Royals were already taken following their move from Cincinnati.

24) San Antonio Spurs - Makes sense

25) Utah Jazz - They NEED to drop this name. First off, Utah should not have the name of Jazz because no such thing exists. They need to give it back to New Orleans and New Orleans needs to give the Hornets back to Charlotte.

[bullox]

Orlando Magic - Magic Kingdom, makes sense to me.

 

OKC Thunder - Tornado alley, makes sense to me.

 

I have no such qualms with team names that lack an s. And boy, you must have some serious time on your hands.

[mothershipconnection]

I hate singular nouns and adjectives as a name for some reason as well (Magic, Heat, Wild, Thunder), unless they still indicate a group, like maybe NC State Wolfpack.

[owbc]

I like the "Thunder" as a name, but the logo is very 1990s and very ugly.

"Vortex" would have been better.

[pitchleague]

Toronto picked "Raptors" because when they came into existance, dinosaurs were even more of a cool thing than normal, thanks to Jurassic Park and the sequels. Just like their purple color scheme.

 

I agree it should be something better but what? Toronto Mounties? Toronto Freeze (tribute to the Great White North, like Miami to it's sunshine)? Toronto Maple Syrups?

[Fatter than Joey]

1) Orlando Magic - I have often thought this name was absolutely dumb. First it doesn't end with an "s" and second it sounds like an 8-year-old kid thought of this nickname.

 

Orlando is dominated by Disney -- The Magic Kingdom

 

9) Golden State Warriors - I didn't know Native Americans were prevalent in Oakland.

 

The Warriors were from Philly.

 

17) New Jersey Nets - Its a basketball team, so the name makes sense... but I think the owners named them the Nets because they couldn't figure out what else to name them. This is like the equivalent of a baseball team calling themselves the "Anytown USA Gloves."

 

I assumed they wanted to it to be like Mets/Jets

[1992casey]

I'm not fond of singular sports team nicknames, either. I guess it's OK in soccer. "Milwaukee Wave" never bothered me.

 

"Hawks" is a shortened version of "Blackhawks." The team dropped "Black" when the Tri Cities Blackhawks moved to Milwaukee in 1951.

 

I think "Milwaukee Bucks" is one of the best team nicknames in pro sports.

[Invader3K]

I like the "Thunder" as a name, but the logo is very 1990s and very ugly.

 

I agree. The logo looks like the most generic thing possible.

[GAME05]

i can't stand that everyone mispronounces Celtics.

[Godspeed]

Thunder? Quad City did it first.

R.I.P. CBA.

[DatHoser]

To add on to what pitchleague said about the Raptors, at the time when the Toronto franchise needed to come up with a nickname the Anaheim hockey franchise was named the Mighty Ducks - Disney marketing dept. naming it after the movie. With hockey being almost a religion in Canada, the good folks up north were, rightfully IMHO, incensed. Jurassic Park was popular at the time, so the Raptor nickname was born as a backlash to Disney's Mighty Duck which was considered a slap in the face to the sport of hockey.

[Mr QL]

I think I can get use to "Thunder" but the logo is just plain looking to me. Color scheme is pretty meh too. Wish they could of gotten a name more relevant to their local culture.

[John Brew]

I think I can get use to "Thunder" but the logo is just plain looking to me. Color scheme is pretty meh too. Wish they could of gotten a name more relevant to their local culture.

The article linked in the original post has a little background on the name:

 

"Thunder is a fitting moniker for the Oklahoma City franchise, not only as a reference to powerful storms in the area known as Tornado Alley. The Oklahoma City-based 45th Infantry Division carries Thunderbirds as its nickname, and that's a reference to the state's American Indian heritage."

 

In light of that I think Thunderbirds would have been better, but whatever.

[RyDogg66]

Other names considered were Barons, Bisons, Wind, Energy, and Marshals. I would have gone with Barons or Bisons.

[Godspeed]

Other names considered were Barons, Bisons, Wind, Energy, and Marshals. I would have gone with Barons or Bisons.

Isn't 'bison' is both singular and plural, like 'fish' or 'deer'?

Of those 5, I think Barons would be the coolest. Especially if they could acquire Baron Davis.

 

[Invader3K]

I don't get the Baron idea...when I hear the world "Baron" some old German guy with a beard and fancy clothes or something.

[DatHoser]

Barons - as in oil barons, which OK has a good share of.

[jwill535]

9) Golden State Warriors - I didn't know Native Americans were prevalent in Oakland.

Just curious, but what does Warriors have to do with Native Americans. It is just a generic term for someone who is a fighter, soldier etc.

[sbrylski]

Other names considered were Barons, Bisons, Wind, Energy, and Marshals. I would have gone with Barons or Bisons.

Isn't 'bison' is both singular and plural, like 'fish' or 'deer'?

Of those 5, I think Barons would be the coolest. Especially if they could acquire Baron Davis.

 

 

That's what I thought too, but there's Buffalo Bisons in the International League, who have been around forever.

[Diskono]

Just curious, but what does Warriors have to do with Native Americans. It is just a generic term for someone who is a fighter, soldier etc.

I've often wondered the same thing myself, yet we're still stuck here with Golden Eagles.

[bucks2281]

The nickname sucks. I was hoping for "Barons", but I'm morally opposed to team nicknames that lack an "s" ending. The NBA holds some of the best team nicknames in sports: Celtics, Knicks, Lakers, Bucks (I'm not just saying that -- the name is original and have relevance to the area), but, boy, some of the nicknames are awful: (Bobcats, Thunder, Heat, Magic, Wizards). Meh, I've really soured on the David Stern NBA lately.

[brwrsfan]

Toronto picked "Raptors" because when they came into existance, dinosaurs were even more of a cool thing than normal, thanks to Jurassic Park and the sequels. Just like their purple color scheme.

 

I agree it should be something better but what? Toronto Mounties? Toronto Freeze (tribute to the Great White North, like Miami to it's sunshine)? Toronto Maple Syrups?

Calling them the Mounties would be classic....I'd love to see that happen someday!

[valpocrewsader]

Toronto picked "Raptors" because when they came into existance, dinosaurs were even more of a cool thing than normal, thanks to Jurassic Park and the sequels.

A team name that they considered was Toronto Saurus. That would have been amazing.

[Invader3K]

Toronto picked "Raptors" because when they came into existance, dinosaurs were even more of a cool thing than normal, thanks to Jurassic Park and the sequels.

A team name that they considered was Toronto Saurus. That would have been amazing.

 

They didn't go with THAT? That would have been awesome!

[Bikeage77]

i think the name is pretty boring and generic. barons woulda been better.

 

Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys fame) wrote a song called mascot mania and came up with these team names to make teams sound tougher

 

New York Muggers

Detroit Murders

Chicago Mob

Boston Bigots

Texas Swindlers

L.A. Cops

Miami Drugs

New Jersey Dumps

Denver Smog

Seattle Fads

New Orleans Hoods

Milwaukee Cannibals

San Diego Jarheads

Arizona Drought

Dallas Oswalds

Washington Bribes

Pittsburg Polluters

Houston Drive-Bys

Florida Abortion Bombers

 

Funny stuff