NBA approves SuperSonics' move to Oklahoma City

[solitude]

You guys are actually getting upset, after all this, about not being separated from the rest of the state in the name?

I don't get it. I'm happy we're getting them. We could call them the Okie Flatlanders and I'd be happy we got a team.

That's not the point. I just talked to Linda at Mayor Mick's office and she admitted she didn't know where the New Jersey Nets play. If this was sold as something MORE than just bringing a basketabll team to OKC, but about raising the profile of Oklahoma City - then it is a VERY big deal as to what it's named.

Clay Bennett knows now it will be Oklahoma. The little tripping over words with his comment about the new name wasn't an accident. (If channel 9 described it right - I missed that wouldn't you know.)

It matters.

[Intrepid]

That's not the point. I just talked to Linda at Mayor Mick's office and she admitted she didn't know where the New Jersey Nets play. If this was sold as something MORE than just bringing a basketabll team to OKC, but about raising the profile of Oklahoma City - then it is a VERY big deal as to what it's named.

Clay Bennett knows now it will be Oklahoma. The little tripping over words with his comment about the new name wasn't an accident. (If channel 9 described it right - I missed that wouldn't you know.)

It matters.

Yeah Bennett definitely stumbled.

[RabidRed]

I think it would be fine if a few games were played in Tulsa too. But that's just me.

[Nixon7]

Mick just said it would be OKC ______

[Karried]

Mayor says it will be OKC! Very confidently

[solitude]

Mick just said it would be OKC ______

It has been made clear to me - personally - that Mick is LOBBYING for it to be "Oklahoma City" by assuming as much and stating as much in public. He truly does not know. He's as concerned as some of us are and even more so after today's press conference you can rest assured. his confidence is his way of pressuring Bennett and the NBA.

[RabidRed]

How about "Oklahoma/Oklahoma City ______" lol

[jbrown84]

It has been made clear to me - personally - that Mick is LOBBYING for it to be "Oklahoma City" by assuming as much and stating as much in public. He truly does not know. He's as concerned as some of us are and even more so after today's press conference you can rest assured. his confidence is his way of pressuring Bennett and the NBA.

Well if that is the case, I wouldn't feel duped by Mick or the Big League City campaign. Clearly they intended and thought that it would be OKC ____. It's likely that pressure to make it Oklahoma ____ came down after the fact.

[metro]

I haven't watched the press conference yet, but again folks, Mick doesn't have the ultimate say so, ultimately Bennett and Stern have the final call, Mick is just a lobbyist.

[dcsooner]

Man, how can anyone who loves Oklahoma let the name be an issue. Damn man we have a team, if it called Oklahoma so be it!!!!! thats about as backwards as this contiuous OU v OSU nonsense. Let's compete at the collegiate level but at the NBA level let's come together

[bornhere]

Hey, I know where the New Jersey Nets play.

They play in New Jersey.

And the Mayor is not a lobbyist. He's an elected official. A lobbyist would have some influence.

[Intrepid]

Here's a new poll (at least new to me) from ESPN.com:

ESPN: SportsNation Polling - 3459 - SportsNation

[CCOKC]

Very interesting results. I would like to see this same vote in 5 years.
I thought the press conference went pretty well (for us) and that the reporters from Seattle came off pretty poorly.

[jbrown84]

1) Where will the Sonics franchise play next season?

52.6% Seattle
47.4% Oklahoma City

2) Where will the current franchise be in five years?

70.2% Oklahoma City
29.8% Seattle

3) Which city is a better NBA market?

77.7% Seattle
22.3% Oklahoma City

4) If the Sonics leave, how long will Seattle be without NBA basketball?

40.3% More than a decade
31.5% 1-5 years
28.2% 6-10 years

5) What should the franchise do with the ''SuperSonics'' nickname?

90.5% Leave it in Seattle
9.5% Take it to Oklahoma City

6) Who is most to blame for the potential departure of the Sonics?

34.7% Current owner Clay Bennett
20.8% David Stern
20.0% State and local politicians in Washington
17.3% Former owner Howard Schultz
7.3% Fans

7) Do you believe Clay Bennett was ever open to keeping the franchise in Seattle?

85.9% No
14.1% Yes

8) From what you know, do you believe there is any merit to Howard Schultz's planned lawsuit alleging Bennett did not deal in good faith?

57.2% Yes
42.8% No

9) Would you support a tax increase to help keep your favorite team in its current home, if the tax increase didn't impact you?

82.9% Yes
17.1% No

10) Would you support a tax increase to help keep your favorite team in its current home, if the tax increase did impact you?

70.3% Yes
29.7% No

Total Votes: 3,634

[solitude]

Well if that is the case, I wouldn't feel duped by Mick or the Big League City campaign. Clearly they intended and thought that it would be OKC ____. It's likely that pressure to make it Oklahoma ____ came down after the fact.

I would agree with you up to a point. That point being we now know the March 4th campaign was funded, in large part, by those who own the team. They knew what they were doing. Keep in mind, they got that vote out of the way BEFORE the bill was introduced in the state legislature to give the team all the state incentives.

[CuatrodeMayo]

YAY for the NBA! This is GREAT!

Now Seattle needs to drop these lawsuits, take some money, keep their name, and go back to whatever they were doing.

[solitude]

DCSooner: The New Jersey Nets play in East Rutherford, NJ. Do you think their having the Nets made them an "elite" city? I know, there are differences, but with "Oklahoma" having been heard for years by the public through the Sooners - there won't be anything new to them. Oklahoma City won't get that "people will hear Oklahoma CITY every night" exposure that was so hyped during the Big League City Campaign.

FLASH: (Like the Drudge Report) And this is important. For any of you still wondering, Ron Thulin on Joxx930 said this afternoon that when David Stern said in the press conference that he would let "Oklahoma politics decide that" and then went on to argue his case for it to be called "OKLAHOMA" that for Thulin - it was a done deal. This is a guy who worked with David Stern, right alongside him and he knows him very well. He said Stern calculates every word out of his mouth and that he would NEVER have gone on record as supporting it being called "OKLAHOMA" if he didn't already know that was exactly what it would be called. Thulin said it is a 99% certainty the team will be called the OKLAHOMA _______. He also said what others here, including me from personal conversation, have been saying about Mayor Mick's saying it will be OKC. He is trying to pressure the group into a change of mind about the name and is simply acting as chief lobbyist for the OKC brand.

To those who don't think this is important, go back and read the threads when the March 4th vote discussion was hot and heated here. Almost to the poster the argument was used that having "Oklahoma CITY" all over radio, television and the newspapers would be publicity that simply could not be bought. That is true. But, the publicity to OKC for it being simply "OKLAHOMA" will be negligible because people are used to hearing Oklahoma in relationship to sports because of the Oklahoma Sooners. I'm surprised at the posters, posting now, saying it doesn't matter! How can you possibly say it doesn't matter? The thing we all wanted, the thing that switched my vote to YES, (publicity and prestige for Oklahoma CITY) - would be gone!

[jbrown84]

I would agree with you up to a point. That point being we now know the March 4th campaign was funded, in large part, by those who own the team. They knew what they were doing. Keep in mind, they got that vote out of the way BEFORE the bill was introduced in the state legislature to give the team all the state incentives.

Exactly. Clay contributed significantly, but he didn't know yet that Stern would pressure him to make it more of a statewide market.

[solitude]

I think it was Bennett's intention all along to brand it as a statewide team because of market size, etc.

I posted this in another thread and it deserves to be said here:

If it turns out to be Oklahoma City - it will be because of the intense pressure between now and then. Mick can't do it alone. Because, take it to the bank, as of this moment, right now, the plan is to brand this a state team. Are we going to say it doesn't matter? Or, are we going to be part of the pressure?

[jbrown84]

Also, I disagree with your opinion that we would lose our Oklahoma City publicity.

Even if it's not in the name, the commentators are still going to say "we're back here in OKC for the big Sonics-Mavs match up..." and they're still going to show footage of Oklahoma City before they go to breaks. And the leads on those AP articles are still going to say "OKLAHOMA CITY -- Fans cheered on Kevin Durant blah blah..."

[jbrown84]

I think it was Bennett's intention all along to brand it as a statewide team because of market size, etc.

What makes you think that?

[bornhere]

Do they show footage of East Rutherford before the Nets games? I didn't know there was such a place as East Rutherford, but I don't watch a lot of ESPN.

[Karried]

Go vote

[solitude]

Also, I disagree with your opinion that we would lose our Oklahoma City publicity.

Even if it's not in the name, the commentators are still going to say "we're back here in OKC for the big Sonics-Mavs match up..." and they're still going to show footage of Oklahoma City before they go to breaks. And the leads on those AP articles are still going to say "OKLAHOMA CITY -- Fans cheered on Kevin Durant blah blah..."

You make some good points. Maybe that's why I said negligible, but those are good points. But honestly, did you ever dream of it being anything but Oklahoma City when you went to vote on March 4th? Especially after all the discussion here on OKCTalk about what it brings to the CITY? I remember few - if any - discussions about its impact on the state and how we'll be promoting the state. It was all about a big league city. The name goes a long way further towards that goal than the newspaper dateline. Though, as I said, those are valid points that, at the least, there will be some exposure for us as a city.

[jbrown84]

You make valid points as well. No, I didn't imagine it would be called anything other than OKC ____.