Thunder Pride

I must start by admitting that I have no love for the National Basketball Association, most frequently referred to as the NBA.  It has more to do with me wanting to play the game not watch the game, than anything else.  I remember trying to watch a Bulls vs. Celtics game when I was in elementary school.  I grabbed my ball and began my ball handling drills while watching the game.  As the game progressed, I became more anxious and moved into what I thought would be inside safe shooting drills.  I remember it was towards the end of the game and I wanted the Celtics to win for some reason.  The Celtics had the ball dribbling down the court.  The player got to half court, passed to a team mate, who wasn't paying attention.  The ball hit the teammate right in the chest and bounced into the defenders hands.  I was so angry I "shot" my ball a little too hard and it hit the lamp hanging from our 12 foot ceiling.  Oooopppps.  I was sure I had broken the light, luckily the lamp shade was the old 70's style basket woven shade.  I calmly turned the tv off and snuck outside where I shot baskets for the rest of the afternoon.  I don't even know who won the game.

The Oklahoma City Thunder however, has revitalized my desire to watch basketball on TV.  Thus far, I have been pretty proud of myself.  I haven't cussed out the tv, nor have I woken up my sleeping children since almost all of the NBA games start after my bedtime and way after my babies bed time.  I have found myself watching ESPN any chance I get.  I've been listening to commentaries, and analyzing statistics and I have been so excited.  It's wonderful that a professional sports team can bring such excitement to a city.  As I approach Oklahoma City each morning and see the billboards that say "Rise Together," I get chills and that familiar feeling of pride and unity starts welling up in my gut.  I see the buildings that are wrapped in banners for our team and am so excited that the people of Oklahoma have joined together to support something, even if it is a professional sporting event.  With all of the negative criticism of our state, our legislators, our education system, it is nice to have something that we can all be proud of.  Our Thunder is a young team that has made remarkable strides each year since coming here.  So thank you Thunder players, thank you Clay Bennett, thank you to the whole Thunder organization for giving Oklahomans something to be proud of.