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  1. #1
    Mmm... ...ribs.

    BigRedJed's Avatar
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    New York Times article on OKC and the Thunder relocation

    Really good read, but too long to quote here. Published last Friday. I won't quibble with much, other than the date MAPS was passed (1993, not 1992), and the passing indication it gives that the Chesapeake Boathouse was a part of MAPS. Actually, it was privately-funded development that came a decade after MAPS, and is part of the post-MAPS private development that now totals more than $2 billion.

    Linky

    I think it makes some pretty fair assessments of OKC. Many of the positive ones will surprise readers of the NYT. Eventually, the fact that Oklahoma City is an emerging city won't be lost on people, thanks to this type of thing. Which is exactly what MAPS and the NBA relocation were designed to accomplish.

    It's also interesting to see the comparison it makes between the commonly-held images of OKC and Tulsa, even mentioning that at first blush it might be surprising to people from outside of the state that a team is locating here rather than Tulsa.
    Well, crap.

  2. #2
    Sooner All-Big XII-2-1+1-1+1 Ton Loc's Avatar
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    Re: New York Times article on OKC and the Thunder relocation

    Awesome article. There was a lot of stuff in there I didn't remember. I'm impressed that the New York Times wrote a piece that seems extremely positive, states only the basic facts of the move, and outlines what lies ahead for the Thunder.

    Damn, I'm ready for Wednesday.

  3. #3
    Mmm... ...ribs.

    BigRedJed's Avatar
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    Re: New York Times article on OKC and the Thunder relocation

    Eventually they will stop with the "flat, hot, dusty outpost with hideous oil wells on the capitol lawn" stuff, and maybe stop seeking out photos of probably the only pro-NBA billboard in town coincidentally located next to a rodeo billboard. That's the best photo they could scare up to represent OKC and/or its embrace of hoop? Eventually they might show photos of the Myriad Botanical Gardens, or life on Western Avenue, or the Devon Tower, or the canal, or the Chesapeake Boathouse with rowers, or the Chihuly tower at the art museum...

    They definitely still want us to fit their stereotype, but the more exposure we gain the more they will understand that we do not. The article is 95% excellent. Definitely a step in the right direction.
    Last edited by BigRedJed; 10/29/2008 at 12:29 PM. Reason: an/and
    Well, crap.

  4. #4
    SoonerFans.com Elite Member tommieharris91's Avatar
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    Re: New York Times article on OKC and the Thunder relocation

    Meanwhile, Michael Wilbon calls OKC a "pit" on PTI just now.
    "If your dream ain't bigger than you, there's a problem with your dream." -Deion Sanders

  5. #5
    Mmm... ...ribs.

    BigRedJed's Avatar
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    Re: New York Times article on OKC and the Thunder relocation

    Yep, we're going to have to grow a thick skin for a while. Eventually they will know different, and exposure like this article will help change that.

    I was talking to a friend of mine who is a journalist, and told him about John Rohde's "thumbs up, thumbs down" from today. Rohde gave the players props for saying all of the right things about the move, and dogged the media for dogging the move mostly because they are going to now be missing out on expenses-paid trips to Seattle, which is admittedly a great city. My friend told me that much of the venom we get might very well be directed at us because of something as simple and as petty as that.

    It'll take some time, but we will eventually change a lot of minds about OKC.
    Well, crap.

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