From One....To Six....

Well, it looks like KOCO was wrong. What a surprise. Who called it? Me. And it looks like NewsOK is doing some investigating of their own, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if they were also wrong. But, since the NBA filed for trademark rights to six names....this one seems pretty serious.

The Six Names Are:
Barons
Bison
Energy
Marshals
Thunder
Wind

Well, you've already heard my spiel about the Thunder, but I'll let my opinion be known about all 6 of these names anyway.

#1. Barons- Okay, I know this is a temporary issue, but what will we do when Baron Davis comes to town? He'll be so pumped up that he'll go for 50 points every time! Might as well be the Oklahoma City Baron Davises.

Secondly, according to Dictionary.com, a Baron is "an English Nobleman of the lowest rank". That doesn't seem like it would work out very well when the Sacramento Kings come to town, or whenever Prince Fielder decides to watch the Barons and also decides to root for the other team. I mean, we might as well call ourselves the Oklahoma City Ensigns or the Oklahoma City Interns. It just doesn't make sense! At least we're noble.

#2. Bison- Well, I really can't find too much wrong with this name. Of course, there's a few colleges with the nickname, but you can't be completely original or you'll end up like a Triple-A baseball team and call yourself the biscuits (seriously, it's a name). The Bison is a noble name I suppose, but are Bison really ferocious? I mean, they're really just beasts of burden like a yak or an ox. OR, to a lesser extent, maybe even a cow. I mean, could you imagine us being the Oklahoma City cow? I know the bison are native to Oklahoma, and they are a generally respectable animal, but I just don't think the name is all that ferocious.

#3. Energy- Okay. I'll be brutally honest here. This, to me, sounds like a Womens Soccer team. Maybe a Womens Lacrosse team. Maybe even a Womens basketball team. Now, I have nothing against women, or Womens sports. I respect Womens sports and think they should have a bigger place at the table, but Energy will get us laughed out of the NBA. What will our logo be? An oil rig? Or, even worse, ethanol? I mean, it could be a symbol of Oklahomas willingness to move beyond our oil companies and make Chesapeake Energy our main partner, but our name shouldn't have political implications. This is probably the worst name here. We're not the Chicago Sky, or the Atlanta Dream.

#4. Marshalls- This is a name from the Old West. The US Marshalls were basically....police officers in dangerous territory. A bad job, with the only thing keeping you going being a sense of Justice. I thought we wanted to move away from our "Old West" image, but, oh well. I think it's a nice name, but is this really Oklahoma-specific? It seems pretty general to me. If we wanted to go general, since Chuck Norris is an Oklahoma native, we should go with the Oklahoma City Walker, Texas Rangers. But I am only joking. Anyway, solid name here.

#5. Thunder- Again, the name of the Warriors mascot. I know it wasn't their idea first, but honestly, we shouldn't steal from the same league that we're already in. Knowing the evil money grubbing Chris Cohan (Warriors Owner), I see a lawsuit coming.

#6. Wind- Same issue as Energy. This is a soccer name, or the name of a womens team. And what would our logo be, three lines? Honestly, I know that Oklahoma has unpredictable weather, but it's not the first place you think of when you think, "Wind". I'd think Nebraska, Kansas, or even North Carolina. Bad, bad name.

So, out of the six, the best name is clearly the Marshalls, somewhat closely followed by the Bison.

Still though, I'd much rather have the name "Rough Riders". Even though that name seems impossible now, It's my odds-on favourite. But, if I had to settle for Marshals or Bison, I wouldn't mind. Any of the other 4 names? I'll be pretty dissapointed.

Oklahoma City BBall Poll: Go Vote!