Sports Extra - Blogs - Thunder isnt scared of King Football

OU | OSU | TU | ORU | HIGH SCHOOLS | THUNDER | COLLEGE FOOTBALL | COLLEGE BASKETBALL | NFL | OUTDOORS | GOLF | PROS | ALL

@TWSportsExtra

HOMEPAGES

SPORTS EXTRA BLOGS

FOR THE RECORD

Scores, statistics and standings for local and national sports.

LOCAL PROS

ALL SPORTS

PHOTOS & VIDEOS

OUTDOORS

FIND A STORY

Search the World's archives

EMAIL ALERTS

SOCIAL MEDIA

RSS FEEDS

CONTACT US

Editors
Michael Peters
Sports Editor
Patrick Prince
Asst. Sports Editor
Columnists
John Klein
Sr. Columnist
John E. Hoover
Columnist
Writers
Eric Bailey
OU sports, Big 12 sports
Guerin Emig
OU sports
Jimmie Tramel
OSU sports, ORU sports
Kelly Hines
OSU sports
Bill Haisten
TU sports, Thunder
Barry Lewis
High Schools, Drillers
Mike Brown
High Schools, Shock
Kelly Bostian
Outdoors

BUY PHOTOS & PAGES

Buy a published photo by clicking the "Order this Picture" link on the photo. For a full-color page reprint, call 732-8198 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday or order online.

ADVERTISE ON SPORTS EXTRA

Learn more about the site.

Thunder isn't scared of King Football
Published: 9/26/2012 9:39 PM
Last Modified: 9/26/2012 9:39 PM

The NBA season hasn't even started yet, and the Oklahoma City Thunder has already fired the first shot across the bow of King Football.

Coming off its first NBA Final since moving to OKC and seen as a favorite in the Western Conference, the Thunder holds its season-opening media day next Monday.

You may remember that's the same day the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State football teams have their weekly gab sessions with the state media.

The Cowboys won't have one next week because they have a bye after the Texas game Saturday. But whether by design or accident, the Thunder go head-to-head with OU football for attention on Monday evening newscasts and Tuesday morning sports pages.

It's further evidence times are changing in Oklahoma's sports scene.

I've wondered since last year's playoff run what the long-term impact of the Thunder's success would be on sports in the state.

OU and OSU football have never had anyone to compete with but themselves. Will the Thunder's new-found popularity change that? Not overnight for sure. But with the possibility of OU and OSU both being out of the Big 12 championship race by Saturday night, basketball season might be starting early this season.

It's well documented the success of the NFL played a role in diminishing the popularity of TCU, SMU, Houston and Rice football in the Metroplex and Houston. But those are big cities, and the NFL is the NFL.

I do, however, remember the story of a mid-major men's basketball program in the 1990s that fired its coach because the school was losing ground to the new minor league hockey team in town.

University of Memphis basketball doesn't seem worse for the competition with the city's NBA franchise, but then again, the Griz have never had the kind of sucess OKC has.

As evidenced by its decision to kickoff its season next Monday, the Thunder certainly isn't scared of college football.

If the state's football programs should be afraid of the Thunder remains to be seen.

Reader Comments

2 Total

Show: Newest First

Learn About Our Comment Policy

Golden Hurricane (5 months ago)

This is a great observation. I have found myself far less invested in college football and especially college basketball since the Thunder arrived.

I'm not even a Thunder fan...I like them, but have always been a Mavs fan. That said, the Thunder have brought "real" sports to our state and quite honestly, it's hard to watch the other stuff now.

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters (5 months ago)

For whatever reason, pro sports seem to have a way of taking over. Maybe it's because every single person who lives in a geographic region is a potential fan.

If OU and OSU struggle in football, it will be interesting to see how soon people start turning to the Thunder for their sports fix.

2 comments displayed

To post comments on tulsaworld.com, you must be an active Tulsa World print or digital subscriber and signed into your account.

To sign in to your account, go to tulsaworld.com/signin.
To activate your print subscription for unlimited digital access and to post comments, go to tulsaworld.com/activate.
To purchase a subscription, go to tulsaworld.com/subscribe.

The Editor's Desk

Tulsa World Sports Editor Michael Peters has nearly 20 years of daily newspaper experience. A 1993 graduate of Texas A&M, he worked at papers in Bryan-College Station, Texas, Beaumont, Texas, and Galveston, Texas, before joining the Houston Chronicle as High School Sports Editor in 2008. While in Houston, he coordinated coverage of the 2008 Texas Class 5A state football championships and the 2011 NCAA Men's Final Four.

Follow Michael Peters on Twitter

Subscribe to this blog

2/2013	1/2013	12/2012	11/2012	10/2012	9/2012
8/2012	7/2012	6/2012	5/2012	4/2012	3/2012
2/2012	1/2012	12/2011	11/2011	10/2011	9/2011
8/2011	7/2011

Your bookmark will appear on your Profile page. Please give it a title, and short description so that visitors to your page will understand where the bookmark leads.
Bookmark Title :

Bookmark Text :