So, remember the NBA’s plan to include gold patches on the backs of jerseys commemorating historical championships beginning next season?
Well, in addition to not being that great of an idea in the first place due to the fact that over half of the teams in the league will be wearing them (which makes it a fairly meaningless gesture), it’s stirring up some old hurt feelings and potentially creating a needless bit of controversy.
From Cody Stavenhagen of The Oklahoman:Catalog photos show Thunder jerseys appearing without the tab, despite the fact the Sonics won a title in 1979.
However, a Thunder spokesman has not confirmed whether the Thunder will or won’t wear the tab. The Thunder does have rights to Seattle’s history and records, though the organization doesn’t typically take advantage of it as part of branding a new identity. ...
In the case of the Thunder, a small story has sparked a sizable debate, even if it is one-sided. In a NewsOK.com poll, 4,120 people (90.33 percent) voted “no” to Oklahoma City recognizing the title on their jerseys. 441 people (9.67 percent) voted “yes.”
NBA fans in Seattle haven’t come close to being OK with the fact that their beloved Sonics were ripped from them and relocated to Oklahoma City just six years ago, and supporters of the Thunder largely believe that their team’s history effectively began once it came to town in the 2008-09 season.
This seems like an easy call, because leaving the patch off of the Thunder’s jerseys would appear to be the right decision, and one that would be easily agreed upon by both sides.
But a better move, again, would be to forego this silly idea in its entirety.
