OSU vs. TU at BOK

[DowntownDan]

Went to the game tonight.  As a poke fan, I cheered for the Pokes and we won.  It was a pretty good atmosphere.

I noticed, however, that "Rumble" from the Oklahoma City Thunder was there and they were actively promoting the Thunder.  My question is why they are marketing Tulsa so hard?  The ownership of that franchise went out of there way to thumb their nose at Tulsa and from what I hear, the OKC government made part of the Ford Center lease that they had to be called "Oklahoma City" and not "Oklahoma."

So my question is why are they marketing Tulsa so hard?  They have made clear that they only represent Oklahoma City.  They throw us a bone with one preseason game a year that means nothing, and they make absolutely sure that our city has no inclusiveness in that franchise, but they want us to support the team?  Why?  As a state of 3.5 million residents, they should have named the team after Oklahoma.  They should have been the "Oklahoma Thunder."  The ideal would have been to play a few regular season games a year at the BOK Center, but I could even deal without that if they marketed it as the state's team.  Instead, they make sure that they represent only OKC, but they want Tulsans to support it?

Give me a break.  That team made clear that they are only represent Oklahoma City and not Tulsa.  I will not support them.

[dbacks fan]

(Insert Nancy Kerrigan crying 'Why') When the Myriad was first built, in 1974 or '75, they garnered a preseason Toronto Maple Leafs vs Philidelpia Flyers NHL game. OKC was for many years the home of the NFR Rodeo. It's the home of the college soft ball world series, the "Cowboy Hall of Fame", just south of OKC was and is, a world class drag strip. Norman is the home to OU, Barry Switzer, and Brian Bosworth. I'm a Tulsa native and since the 60's it has been the unfortunate situation that Tulsa, while being a cosmopolitian city has lived in the shadow of OKC, and OKC has rubbed Tulsa's nose in it for as long as I can remember.

[TheTed]

It was a pretty good atmosphere.

For taking a nap? A half full BOK Center (spread across the upper and lower decks) is pretty much the opposite of a good atmosphere. That was a horrible atmosphere for basketball.

Playing college basketball games at the BOK Center is just dumb. It sucks any life out of the venue. If that game were played at TU, it'd be a good atmosphere. Plus you'd be able to sit in decent seats for a decent price. $40 for all lower level seats is ridiculous for this state. This isn't football, it's a sport that has trouble drawing fans here.

[spartanokc]

I believe OSU charges more than that for lower bowl seats at Gallagher Iba.

[TheTed]

I believe OSU charges more than that for lower bowl seats at Gallagher Iba.

Which is why I'll never go to another game at Gallagher-Iba. Well that and the fact that they have no desire to schedule even one decent team in the nonconference schedule.

You can sit in the first few rows at TU or ORU for $10. Plus they don't play the worst schedules money can buy every single November/December.

[bmuscotty]

Playing college basketball games at the BOK Center is just dumb. It sucks any life out of the venue.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/TU/article.aspx?subjectid=94&articleid=20101210_234_B1_Ticket617366

[TheTed]

http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/TU/article.aspx?subjectid=94&articleid=20101210_234_B1_Ticket617366

Check that. Should've said playing local college basketball games at the BOK is dumb. The NCAA will undoubtedly bring in some combo of Kansas, K-State, Missouri or some other regional teams that regularly sell out their arenas.

It's dumb to play OSU-TU at the BOK, when the Reynolds Center, with its much cheaper tickets, sold out only a couple days before the game last year despite less than half the capacity of the BOK. It's also dumb to price the tickets so highly.

The prices they're charging are similar to what they charge for a doubleheader of better teams at various other regional venues, like KC and Dallas. The CBE Classic in Kansas City charged $25 for a lower behind the basket, and that event featured four teams, all of which are better than TU or OSU.

Also dumb, buying NCAA tournament tickets at face value. I'll be buying my lower level tix for $20 (for the first session) up to maybe $40-$50 (for the better sessions) outside the arena on gameday. Plus when you only pay $20, you don't feel so bad leaving some craptastic 1 vs. 16 matchup to go home and watch good games on TV.

Face value of those NCAA tickets comes out to $80/session. May have been a decent buy when lowers were available. But now all that's left are upper level tickets. If you're paying that much for bad tickets, you need a lesson in economics.

[spartanokc]

Maybe OSU just isn't interested in playing on TU's campus. I think the Reynolds Center would have been sold out with the crowd they had? OSU probably thinks a little too highly of themselves to play games in the Reynolds Center (which is very decent IMO) on TU's tiny campus.

I gotta agree with the Picker yesterday though when he said all of college bball has been a funk lately. What happened to it? Especially my Sooners 

[SXSW]

Maybe OSU just isn't interested in playing on TU's campus. I think the Reynolds Center would have been sold out with the crowd they had? OSU probably thinks a little too highly of themselves to play games in the Reynolds Center (which is very decent IMO) on TU's tiny campus.

I gotta agree with the Picker yesterday though when he said all of college bball has been a funk lately. What happened to it? Especially my Sooners 

Agree, and man I miss it.  Oklahoma was a college basketball hotbed in the late 90's/early 00's.  All 3 of the state's teams were good, and Bedlam match ups actually meant something other than bragging rights.  TU especially was one of the top mid-major programs in the country, up there with Gonzaga.  That would be a great thing for Tulsa to have TU become a national power in basketball again.  I'd actually rather have a powerhouse college basketball team than an NBA team just because college games are much more exciting.