I attended the Hornets/Spurs game on Sunday (Dec. 18). I helped with our coverage at WWLS The Sports Animal. I figured I would write a column for the blog as well. The photos of the game are from my lovely wife (a huge Spurs fan, she was mad at the outcome!).
OKLAHOMA CITY ‚– Remember the Cavs?
Most people in OKC vaguely remember the city’s last professional basketball team (The ABL's Oklahoma Storm played some games in OKC but mainly play in nearby Enid). They folded after a championship season in 1997, playing their home games in the Myriad (now the Cox Convention Center).
Fast forward to 2005.
Just a few yards away in the Ford Center, some of the best basketball players in the world were in Oklahoma City and it wasn‚’t just for an exhibition game.
The Ford Center was packed with Oklahomans that are usually concerned with who is the starting quarterback just south at Norman.
There was no Sooner talk this night in the Ford Center, as the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets beat the defending world champion San Antonio Spurs 89-76.
It was a big league atmosphere. It was also a packed, loud atmosphere, something the Hornets (11-13) haven‚’t had in their few visits back to their home state of Louisiana.
Only 7,300 plus showed up in Baton Rouge for a contest with the Suns.
In OKC, 19,297 showed on a dreary December night to see the Hornets explode in the fourth quarter. The crowd was the largest to witness a sporting event in the Ford Center. (Unofficially, it is a state record as well for basketball games. OU and OSU only seat around 13,000 in their arenas.)
“It was electric in there tonight,‚” Hornets forward Rasual Butler said. ‚“We have one of the best sixth mans in the NBA.‚”
The noise level was deafening in the fourth quarter as the Spurs (19-5) broke a 69-all tie at the 8:12 mark. The Hornets went on a 10-0 run before Duncan finally made a driving layup at 03:58.
With each big shot and each San Antonio turnover (they finished with 23), the crowd rocked with excitement.
‚“The crowd was unbelievable. You know, they really motivate us,‚” Hornets rookie point guard Chris Paul said. ‚“It go so loud one time. I think it was out of a timeout. I had to walk right up to Speedy (Claxton) and get in his ear to talk to him.‚”
What does this mean?
Oklahoma City is ready for the NBA? Maybe.
New Orleans isn‚’t ready to get the NBA back? Probably.
Of course it helps that the talent level and excitement is higher in the NBA than the CBA, but I think Oklahoma City learned something.
You get out of it what you put in it.
The minor league (Triple-A) Oklahoma Redhawks set a single season attendance record this past summer. The minor league (Central Hockey League) Oklahoma City Blazers lead their league in attendance.
Time will tell. Will the seats be filled if the Hornet languish at the bottom of the Southwest Conference? Will it be a sellout if the Sooners are in the hunt for another BCS title? What if Oklahoma State is in the Elite 8 or Final Four in basketball again?
No one knows, but Oklahoma has the NBA and the major league sports world scratching its head: What‚’s going on down there?
As you might have heard, I have taken over the play-by-play reins for the Oklahoma City University men's and women's basketball teams.
