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Thunder can't sit at Kobe's lunch table?
Published: 2/24/2012 10:58 AM
Last Modified: 2/24/2012 5:29 PM

Ever since an NBA team arrived on the other end of the turnpike, those of us in the Tulsa media market have wondered just how much interest there is here in the Oklahoma City Thunder.

My first guess is there is more state-wide interest than we suspect. Someone I graduated with told me that his parents --who in the past treated the NBA like it was a skunk -- now watch every Thunder game as if it was must-see TV. A fellow at the OSU-Texas game last week told me he knows someone who drives from Laverne, Okla., for every Thunder home game. Don't bother getting a map. I'll tell you Laverne is so far away from Oklahoma City that the town was probably considered for (and this makes sense nowadays) Big East expansion.

My second guess is people in Oklahoma just got a lot more interested in the Thunder, thanks to Kobe Bryant. This is why: The Laker superstar made the mistake on picking on one of "us."

The Thunder played host to the Lakers -- and beat the Lakers -- on Thursday night. Bryant got into a tiny war of words (let's call it a skirmish of words) with James Harden late in the game.

Afterward, Bryant was asked about the exchange and this is what he said: "Maybe one day they'll be able to sit at my lunch table. Right now we're at two different lunch tables, man. The conversation's pretty brief."

I'm scoring it as an "oops" moment for Bryant. Yes, he's got more rings than my Aunt Gloria. But, in pointing that out, he took a shot at the adopted Oklahomans who wear Thunder jerseys.

If there's one thing Oklahomans won't stand for, it's an outsider taking a shot at us. Remember when one of Howard Schnellenberger's assistants, Gary Nord, said something (and he was only joking) that typecast Oklahomans as hillbillies? It didn't go over too well.

This won't go over well, either. Don't be surprised if people in this state who aren't caught up in Thunder hysteria use Bryant's comments as an alibi to all of a sudden jump onto a crowded bandwagon. It falls under the category of Oklahomans can say anything snarky about each other (see: Bedlam) and that's acceptable. But when a "foreigner" does it, those are fighting words.

About that NBA lunch table: You know what's on the menu today? The flavor of the day, and that's the Oklahoma City Thunder. Yes, the Lakers have rings. And, not so coincidentally, they are the same shape as day-old donuts.



Reader Comments 1 Total
Gailmail (12 months ago)
That was a good game! Bryant's so arrogant. We are Thunder fans and always have been. Cant wait to see the All Star game! We also got interested in the Clippers since Paul is there. The Thunder doesnt seem to get the respect they deserve but like they said last night- they have the best fans in the NBA!!
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Tulsa World sports writer Jimmie Tramel is a former class president at Locust Grove High School. He graduated magna cum laude from Northeastern State University with a journalism degree and, while attending college, was sports editor of the Pryor Daily Times. He joined the Tulsa World on Oct. 17, 1989, the same day an earthquake struck the World Series. He is the OSU basketball beat writer and a columnist and feature writer during football season. In 2007, he wrote a book about Oklahoma State football with former Cowboy coach Pat Jones.

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