I understand native. Im just saying that because some on here keep saying that Barons has a negative, when Thunder has an even easier negative to derive. And the seattle 'fans' have already done so.

I agree though, OKC has the team and can name it what OKC wants - which I hope is Barons or Thunderbarons.

How could you possibly think Thunderbarons is a better name than Thunder? You're joking, right?

Thunder = LAME!

rhymes with Blunder; Seattle people have already adopted that for the nickname.

Thunderstruck = cheesy!

Actually, from what I've read they are saying Thunder thighs.

How could you possibly think Thunderbarons is a better name than Thunder? You're joking, right?

hahahahaha, no kidding. Thunderbarons?? Both names are unimaginative. Combine them and you have a super-unimaginative word. Is that a word? I'm waiting for a dark knight to arrive to the scene next Wednesday.

I don't even know what a thunderbaron is. Great, name us something nobody in the nation will even know what it means. They have a hard enough time trying to figure out the schooner thing.

I'm still trying to understand why you guys want Barons. You do know what it means, right? It is mostly known in the US as a woman who is without children or can not bear children. More popularly known is the term in Europe which means the lowest most embarrassing point on the totem pole for rankings of nobiity. It is not a good thing to be baron. I guess around here you probably associate it with oil barons - most of the world will not. And right now, I don't think anyone is very optimistic about oil or wants to hear about it. Unless you own it and are making bank off our gas prices.

I am neutral on the name, I don't like it, but I would take it. I am just ready to have one! The only name I absolutely do not want is Bisons.

I don't even know what a thunderbaron is. Great, name us something nobody in the nation will even know what it means. They have a hard enough time trying to figure out the schooner thing.

I'm still trying to understand why you guys want Barons. You do know what it means, right? It is mostly known in the US as a woman who is without children or can not bear children. More popularly known is the term in Europe which means the lowest most embarrassing point on the totem pole for rankings of nobiity. It is not a good thing to be baron. I guess around here you probably associate it with oil barons - most of the world will not. And right now, I don't think anyone is very optimistic about oil or wants to hear about it. Unless you own it and are making bank off our gas prices.

I am neutral on the name, I don't like it, but I would take it. I am just ready to have one! The only name I absolutely do not want is Bisons.


Wow oh just wow.

Thats not Baron.. thats "Barren". If you are going to use a term for an arguement at least make sure you are using the right word for the arguement.

kmf, I think you are thinking of barren in regards to women who can't bear children. But I agree with you, it's not a good name from a PR standpoint.

Wow oh just wow.

Thats not Baron.. thats "Barren". If you are going to use a term for an arguement at least make sure you are using the right word for the arguement.

While I didn't know there was a difference in the spelling - that kind of proves my point even more....are they not pronounced the same?

Wow oh just wow.

Thats not Baron.. thats "Barren". If you are going to use a term for an arguement at least make sure you are using the right word for the arguement.

....and also, when you are wow oh wowing someone with intentions of making fun of them or correcting them, you might want to use spell check. ;)

No. Baron and Barren, slightly different pronounciations.

While I didn't know there was a difference in the spelling - that kind of proves my point even more....are they not pronounced the same?

Yes. And no. In the strictest sense, they are considered homophones - words that sound "the same" but have different spellings and / or meanings (there/their, bare/ bear, dear/deer, etc.)

However, among different English speakers, especially in specific regions of the US and/or UK, one might hear a stronger -on in the pronunciation of baron (baa/'ron), than would one hear the schwa sound of the -en (bare-un). (Schwa is the neutral e sound in many American English words. It's almost like the sound of "uh," as in "the," or "American.")

In standard AE (American English), you'll probably not notice much of a difference.

Sorry. Got my second BA in Modern Languages and Linguistics and used to teach ESL. Can't help myself. I'm a language junkie.

Good or bad names are subjective. What gets me is when people say it sounds like a WNBA, or minor league. I am still trying to determine what makes a name minor leauge. I am certain that people in San Antonio complained when their team was named the Spurs.

Clippers, Raptors, Knicks, Nets, Heat. All probably sounded a little odd when first announced. And think of the negative nicknames someone could use with Nuggets and Bucks.

At first I wanted Thunder. Its scary (when you're young, camping, or it is very close) It reminds people of danger, and you hear it everywhere you go (-the sahara) So if someone in Seattle or Dallas hears a clap of thunder they will have that connection.

Thundbarons sounds like a saturday morning cartoon show.....sorry

Thunderbirds could work with hints of the Air Force, and native american folklore. And the mascot could be pretty cool.

Now I don't really care. Whatever Clay and his team pick will eventually grow on us and everyone else. He spent hundreds of millions of dollars bringing a team to OKC...so I won't argue the name with him. Just Thank him.

I'll throw another monkey wrench in the equation for us. Let's go with this "Mark Rogers is right" thing. Let's say the website is www.okcthunderbasketball.com or whatever. Let's say the NBA/thunder is correct. What if Clay is holding a wild card and Thunder is short for Thunderbirds. www.okcthunderbirdsbasketball.com just doesn't have a ring to it. Maybe "Thunder" could be short for Thunderbirds afterall. Personally, I don't like either name, but Thunderbirds is better than Thunder. Just something else to ponder. I'm still pulling for 89ers or Energy.

Luke! I was gonna post about Thunderbarons!

I wouldn't mind to see the team named the Thundersonics. lol

It can goes both ways.

The Thunder Wins
The Sonics Win

Maybe it is gonna be Thunderwind.

The other option Thunder haters (or dislikers) have is to come up with a completely different but related nickname. The OSU Cowboys are alternatively called the Pokes, the Angels are called the Halos. If the mascot is a buffalo we can call them the Buffs, if a cloud with lightning, the Bolts......or something along those lines. If enough people use if, it becomes an accepted part of the name, and bypasses the no "s", slightly cheesy or WNBAish complaints about Thunder.

No. Baron and Barren, slightly different pronounciations.

Oh come on, round these parts they are almost certainly homophones.

Oh come on, round these parts they are almost certainly homophones.

Hey, let's not start calling people names, now. :)

Hey, let's not start calling people names, now. :)

True. As soon as the prefix of homo- is used around here, things get a wee bit out of hand! :)

Well hearing the sound of thunder this evening gave me a charge and made me aniticipate our team. I do like it. It impacts your world no matter what else you're doing. It draws your attention and anticipation and you have to stop and look or at least think about it. Just sayin. And we got thunder the day our team moved in...

OK I retract my statement from above. My friends mom was jacking with me and tried to rile me up. Thunder it is.

Steve, is there ANY WAY you could provide feedback to the editor and the brass at the Oklahoman, that their reporting is so biased and subjective - that it gets in the way of REPORTING THE NEWS! See post 1 vs. post 2 in this thread, and tell me which is proper journalism and therefore preferred.

The Oklahoman? Biased? Say it isn't so.

What do we make of this? I got it from one of the Mods at jimtraber.com. (http://www.jimtraber.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=52112)
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9593/thundercx8.jpg

If this is the team Logo and colors, then I am extremely disappointed. This logo will not be a commercial success, it is just awful. Some of the designs shown on this board are much better. Really disappointed

all of this speculation, and what seemed to be a long wait and thats what we get?
That looks to be the merchandise, maybe the team uni's will be more unique when they are released.

blech

Horrible.

Thats gotta be an alternate logo. Surely the primary logo will spell out Oklahoma City.

Great, we're pepperoni on a piece of pizza.

Yellow, Blue and Orange? noooooooo, in all the times I've dreamed of this team, I don't think I"ve ever thought of those color combos. oh well, I'll withhold further judgement and disappointment until I see it myself on the third.

I'm hoping that this is just a scaled down version of bigger and better things to come or some very good photoshop work.

What little information we get out of that... I like it!

Oh, and the basic design is awfully similar to the NJ Nets
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/8/88/New_Jersey_Nets_logo.png/200px-New_Jersey_Nets_logo.png

http://www.acc-tv.com/images/globalnews/spo_bk_newyorkknicks_1006.jpg

It looks good to me. It appears to be one of the smaller versions of the logo as the ball it is on looks small.

What do we make of this? I got it from one of the Mods at jimtraber.com. (http://www.jimtraber.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=52112)
http://img84.imageshack.us/img84/9593/thundercx8.jpg

If you position the ball so that it is centered (the seams straight, etc), then the logo and the word Thunder would appear to be offcenter. It looks centered now, but the ball is "leaning". I would like to think that someone would actually center the logo correctly.

That's just the way I'm seeing it.

I hope that this is an elaborate ruse.

Unfortunately, I think this is it, and it's disheartening.

Oh Hell No!
I can't see that being an official NBA logo. Look at all the logos and they all have some kind of interpretation of their name if at all possible. Thunder has lot of possible imagery, the NBA wouldn't let them go with something this bland.
http://rustbelt.org/files/NBA_teamLogos.jpg

Mr. Z, I sure as heck hope you're right. It really lacks "punch."

Actually on those lines, I was one of the first to support Thunderbolts.

It was sadly rejected by most on the forum - so I went with Barons.

As for Barons, you have 'the Red' Baron, Rich Baron, Royalty Baron, Oil Baron, and the ubiquitous Robber Baron. All of these are different than Barren (including spelling, meaning, and pronounciation).

Im sure Seattleites or bitter fans would say or spell Barren or Robber Baron to get under OKC's skin a little - but honestly that is the only negative I can think of against the name.

Thunder - sounds minor league (as does Thunderbarons, it was a joke btw).

If there is the remote possibility of Thunderbolts - Im all for it!

I'm so sick of hearing the "Thunder sounds minor league" comments when the NBA has Heat, Jazz, and Magic...... c'mon MAGIC!?!?!

If you put that logo next to the rest of the NBA logos.... it dosen't look out of place at all. It's clean and simple.

Sure the logos that floated around this site looked good as far as ideas go. The one of the "thundering herd" of buffalo for instance.... is as "complicated" as the Timberwolves' logo, and their logo is my least favorite. I like that it is more like the Knicks' or Pistons'.

I KNOW that we'll all learn to love the Thunder... their colors... and their logo.

I sure hope that's not the logo. It looks like it was designed by a third-grader. Awful!

Im sick of hearing Thunder too.

Actually, I too went and looked at a lot of the NBA logos. Most of them have one which is pretty simple, and about a third have a second logo that is more artistic and interesting, so there's hope this is only one secondary logo. Then I went and looked at the WNBA logos. They are far more elaborate, so perhaps it's not such a bad idea to stick with something simple and classic NBA. I just hope one of the colors is red-orange and not orange.

I agree. I was sort of excited when I heard earlier it would involve blue and silver.
I look good in blue.

Im sick of hearing Thunder too.

Get used to it.

Oh wow...that's horrible. Please God let this be a joke. I've never wanted to be the butt of an internet joke like I do right now.

At least we have a team. Right? Right?????

Really though, the NBA has made a living out of marketing to the "urban" fans. This looks anything but urban. Or cool for that matter.

Or would it be better to be hoping for a team instead of having one that has to overcome negative expectations only to start out with a very amatuerish uniform. Come Wednesday people are really going to wonder how we got a team.

Get used to it.

I dont have to. I dont live in OKC.

That is a pretty pathetic logo if true.

Its gotta be a secondary logo.
Heres an example we should be familiar with:
Secondary:
http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/6/226/thumbs/808.gif
Primary:
http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/6/226/thumbs/q8cgr5dizhfukxvgzk5zf3dt6.gif

New Orleans Hornets Logos - National Basketball Association (NBA) - Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net (http://www.sportslogos.net/team.php?id=226)

Its gotta be a secondary logo.
Heres an example we should be familiar with:
Secondary:
http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/6/226/thumbs/808.gif
Primary:
http://www.sportslogos.net/images/logos/6/226/thumbs/q8cgr5dizhfukxvgzk5zf3dt6.gif

Those pics aren't showing up. Do you have another link?

It worked for a minute, hopefully it stays this time.

sooo, assuming for the moment the team will be Thunder, then the little logo likely is not really the Thunder logo, it's more like a tiny bit of clap for the fans.

Sign up on I-35 saying something like XXX days:hours:min until the Marshals leave town or come to town...just south of I-240.

Sign up on I-35 saying something like XXX days:hours:min until the Marshals leave town or come to town...just south of I-240.

That is a bad prank. Bad? No, it is horrible!

It is the digital board...so if someone else catches it, maybe clear it up on exactly what it says.

I happened to drive by precisely at 5:00 p.m. today, and this is what I read:

3:00:00 'Til the Marshals leave town

So, it is clearly a countdown clock for the Wednesday name announcement, but I still cannot make sense of the above phrase.

Weird...

I'm so sick of hearing the "Thunder sounds minor league" comments when the NBA has Heat, Jazz, and Magic...... c'mon MAGIC!?!?!

The only reason it should sound minor league is because of the Wichita Thunder hockey team. Otherwise, I agree that it is no more minor league-sounding than Heat or especially Magic.

As far as this supposed logo goes, I think it's probably fake, but I don't really understand the negative reaction. It looks pretty cool to me, much more so than at least half the official NBA logos (especially the Bucks'). Even if it is real, it can't be the main logo because it doesn't spell out Oklahoma City.

Okay so our clue...
3:00:00 'Til the Marshals leave town

Thanks Betts for posting, I couldn't remember exactly what I saw. More worried about traffic at the time. LOL

So breaking it down...the time is actually countdown to Weds.

Now the rest...could mean that Marshals is out of the running. If Outlaws wasn't thrown out, I would say that is a dead give away. But if there are other signs that send clues which names are out, then we can piece it together better.

Are there other signs around town that indicate a countdown timer with other phrases?

Someone on the other site mentioned that Barons was on a sign on the Crosstown.