Growing up, I never watched sports. Until college, I watched less than 5 football games all the way through. My childhood self had no desire to enter the sports world. As an Ohio native, our family would watch the annual Ohio State/Michigan football game. We would sit on the couch and eat our chocolate covered peanut butter balls that resembled the fruit of a buckeye tree, and then I would sneak away and play Call of Duty. One can safely assume that my interest in sports was minimal at best. During Covid, I surprised myself when my interest in sports took a big shift.
I, like the majority of men in the software industry, started playing disc golf during the pandemic. Like really into it. Most days after work, weather permitting, I played until after sunset. Consequently, I started watching the disc golf pro tour. This is the first time in my life I started to grasp how people can enjoy and consume sports content.
Fast forward to now, and I am now at a moment in my sports journey where I actually keep up with a basketball team. This may sound trivial and childish to those who grew up watching sports, but this is a first for me, a 28 year old who is now consuming NBA content and watching basketball games. My inner child is screaming, “What happened to the Jeff I grew up with?!”
A few months ago I read Boomtown by Sam Anderson, which is easily the best book written about Oklahoma City. Sanderson retells the story of Oklahoma City, from the Land Run in 1889 to the Thunder team’s championship run in 2011. I also read Big League City, written by Oklahoma city’s very own mayor, David Holt. While not the mayor at the time of publication, Holt was a first hand witness to the Thunder’s landing in Oklahoma as the mayor’s chief of staff, writing about how the Seattle Supersonics became the OKC Thunder. Due to these books and learning about the history of the Thunder, my fondness for the team grew.
During last season’s playoffs, I attended each home game for the Thunder. On the 135th anniversary of the Land Run, which is only fitting, the Thunder’s playoff run began with a match against the New Orleans Pelicans. We crushed them. The streak continued for the following 3 games, progressing us to the next round. I then watched the Thunder play the Mavs. The Thunder started strong in the series, crushing the Mavs, but the following games did not go the way we wanted. We won one more game, making it a 6 game series, but the result was our elimination from the playoffs.
While we lost the series to the Mavs, ending our playoff run, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pride in our team, knowing that only a few years ago, OKC’s downtown was struggling. No one wanted to live nor spend time here. That changed when the Thunder came in 2008. OKC is now on the rise, and the energy from the Thunder games is spreading deep into the roots of this city. I am a Thunder fan because of what the team has done for OKC. The pulse of downtown has begun to beat more rapidly and the changes brought to the city are palpable. While the long-awaited wait for the next season is ending, the anticipation is rising. Only 23 days to go! #ThunderTakeState