It was only supposed to be a one-night stand, to mark the occasion. On April 22, 2010, Oklahoma City played its first playoff game at home, a surprise for a group as young as the franchise itself. Against the Lakers, outgoing champion, the room which was then called the Ford Center was all dressed in blue. The Thunder didn't know it yet, but he had just created a ritual that had become immutable. The t-shirts given to supporters during the final stages have become an institution, eagerly awaited for the return to the playoffs this season.
A recent franchise in the NBA, in a region where there is little competition from other major professional sports leagues, OKC relies on one of the most fervent communities of supporters in the league. But also one of the most attached to symbolism. Like when fans rush to the airport to welcome their protégés in the middle of the night upon their return from their last “road trip” of the regular season. Or when every fan of the home team remains standing at the start of the first quarter until the Thunder scores its first points. These t-shirts offered by the franchise on each seat and which almost the entire public wears, regardless of the price of their ticket, are another cement of the “Thunder Nation”.
A “sign of unity”
This year, the leaders swapped the blue of 2010 for white for Game 1 against the Pelicans. And Oklahoma City has reached the milestone of one million t-shirts distributed in its history. “ We never thought we would have done something like this » recognizes Brian Byrnes, vice president of sales and marketing, at The Oklahoman. The manager was one of the employees responsible fourteen years earlier for an express operation: 48 hours to design, have printed and receive more than 18,000 tunics in preparation for Game 3 against Los Angeles.
“It has become much more than a t-shirt” explains Brian Byrnes. It’s obviously a signal to our market that it’s time for the playoffs. The playoffs are a different intensity. And the t-shirt is a signal that the experience is moving up a level. But what also matters is when everyone wears this t-shirt together. It is a sign of unity. »
1,000,000 t-shirts sold
Adults, children, businessmen and the working class alike… With their evening clothes, they all become one voice, one of the loudest in the league. “ This is what we want this t-shirt to be, a trigger of energy, and this way of bringing our fans together behind a common goal. » Sunday evening, this millionth t-shirt was as if touched by grace, given to a supporter… before he scored a shot from the middle of the field to win $20,000 in an ecstatic Paycom Center. A symbol, always symbols.
And a nod to this first match in the playoffs of the “Baby Thunder” of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden, winner in a landslide for the Lakers (101-96) like that of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday against New Orleans (94-92).
