Let's play a game.
I'm going to name several team names, and you tell me which one isn't the name of a past or current WNBA team.
Dream, Sky, Sun, Shock, Thunder, Fever, Storm, Fire, Mercury.
Any guesses? It's tougher than you think, huh?
Well, if you guessed Thunder, then you'd be correct, because that's not a WNBA team, but the newest team name of the former Seattle Supersonics.
Just two months after announcing that the team will move from Seattle to Oklahoma City, the franchise announced today that it would take on the nickname Thunder.
Lame.
If that doesn't sound like a WNBA team name, I don't know what does. The theme with the team names in the WNBA has basically been twofold - either counter the existing NBA team in your market (Houston Comets, Washington Mystics, Charlotte Sting, Sacramento Monarchs, etc.) or take some natural element that sounds either scary or intimidating and make that your team name (see list above).
Thunder fits that latter criteria, and I find that a disappointing choice.
The league rests on very original team names, typically without consideration of the natural elements. Granted, I will submit that I was also not a fan of the choice the "Bobcats" for Charlotte's expansion team a couple of years ago. Rawr.
I'm not that creative either, but resorting to a WNBA-caliber team name just seemed to be a poor choice for the new Oklahoma City squad.
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2 comments:
agreed. what the hell is up with the thunder? something to do with sooners? or even some original (mythical) animal, like the griffins? they weren't even selecting among that great a set of names (bison?!).
also, as my roommate just pointed out, the logo, too, is very wnba-like.
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