Thunderous Intentions
Fansided

OKC Thunder – Top 10 moments of 2008-2009 season

By Stephen Dolan

UNITED STATES - MARCH 24: Fans wait to enter the Ford Center for a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Nearly three decades after an energy bust that forced 122 banks to close statewide, Oklahoma City is in the fifth year of an economic expansion that's produce the lowest jobless rate for a major metro U.S. area. Oklahoma City demonstrated it could support a NBA team, encouraging the Seattle Supersonics to move permanently and become the Thunder, which now draw crowds as large as the Boston Celtics. (Photo by J.P. Wilson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
UNITED STATES - MARCH 24: Fans wait to enter the Ford Center for a National Basketball Association (NBA) game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Oklahoma City Thunder in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., on Tuesday, March 24, 2009. Nearly three decades after an energy bust that forced 122 banks to close statewide, Oklahoma City is in the fifth year of an economic expansion that's produce the lowest jobless rate for a major metro U.S. area. Oklahoma City demonstrated it could support a NBA team, encouraging the Seattle Supersonics to move permanently and become the Thunder, which now draw crowds as large as the Boston Celtics. (Photo by J.P. Wilson/Bloomberg via Getty Images) /
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Identity

The Oklahoma City (Blanks) were a team with a home, but without an identity until September 3rd. On that day, the OKC Thunder name, logo, and colors were officially revealed. The sky blue matched the color of the state flag. Yellow represented the Oklahoma sun. The “sunset” (come on, it’s orange) walked the line between OU crimson and OSU orange, pleasing all while angering none.

The name “Thunder” was selected as a reference to both Oklahoma’s famous storms and the 45th Infantry Division, the “Thunderbirds.” It’s also been used to reference the sound of a herd of bison “Rumble”-ing across the plains.

The reactions to the logo and name were, let’s say, mixed. Love for the team has caused them to grow on the fan base, but in all honesty, they aren’t great. That did nothing to dull the announcement, though, as you can see in this honest-to-goodness personal blog.

Darnell Mayberry was there!

This was a great day for Oklahomans, when we finally knew officially what team we would cheer for and what colors we would bleed. It was not, however, the first time this information made its way out.

The Leak

According to this second blog post, the logo leaked a few days early. This was before Twitter or Reddit took off. It was even before cell phones commonly came with adequate cameras, and per the blog, an employee snuck a digital camera into the warehouse for this bit of espionage.

For anyone already plugged into the internet hive mind, the information was out there early.

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