Thunder then Rain, Rain then Growth

Living in Oklahoma City, a person has one thing to do: farm.

Flat and arid terrain scape around the city like fat fingers. Slow moving tractors trek into the outskirts of the city dropping bundles of fresh squash and broccoli at the feet of produce distributors. Children run through sprinklers that sparkle like crystal embers under the lurid sun.

Oklahoma is everything you imagine living in the celebrity state of California. Everything. The simple lifestyle and the Christian-oriented family backbone are the hearts of the city. Something foreign to our “holly-weird” culture.

When the dust bowl occurred in the 1920’s and 30’s, “Okies” set out to California for reprieve from their starvation and suffering. It was like Mother Nature decided to cut the throat of the land’s mineral blood flow, and once drained completely,  she left the land like a barren womb cold with decay and rigamortis.

Things did not get easier when the people moved on. Californians saw the “Okie” as an unworthy worker—a lower citizen than the African American because they were both white and poor. The “Okies” suffered because of these judgments and were forced to settle  in run-down compounds where they gathered food like hobos and begged for pennies from passerby’s.

On April 19th, 1995,  Oklahoma City experienced a major set-back when Timothy McVeigh decided to blow up the federal building in the name of political rebellion, killing 168 people. Once again, death ate away at the state’s soul like the slobbering anger of a wild dog. Like gold in the teeth of its panhandler, the people were pressed and tested.

 How could this happen here? Why here? Were the questions asked by the common Oklahoman after the event. I remember watching the video tape run over and over on the static-lined TV screen. It was like one of those chilling horror flicks when the TV cuts out and all one can do is wait for the encroachment of something evil. When the bomb thundered on the TV screen, it shook your bones, and your heart skipped a beat for a moment.

Thank God something else is thundering now.

The city is experiencing a revival. Nearly seventeen years since McVeigh strapped four bombs at the base of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, things are beginning to look up. No its not because the city’s agriculture is booming. Rather, it’s the Thundering taking place on the hardwood.

Known as the toughest place to play, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Ford Center underscores the NBA with a true providence. A town without much to do has been reveling in their local NBA team since last year’s breakout season in which the Thunder, as the eight seed, nearly knocked off the Lakers in the first round of the NBA playoffs.

The word is nearly. The series finished in six games, with L.A. doing what L.A. does, winning. But when a city goes through what Oklahoma City has, a moral victory and underachievement for the season is much more powerful than just another win. For the first time in seventeen years the city has sensed a bit of hope, watching their small-town kids nearly upset the all-mighty Zeus.

Pau may have tipped in a winning bucket, but the Thunder inspired a nation.

Before the beginning of the season, team USA’s MVP, Kevin Durant, tweeted to all of his local fans and asked them to text him about everyday things. The slender, spidery armed forward was true to his word, returning numerous fans’ texts about everything from the NFL, to College Football, to favorite movies and food. According to this fan, Durant not only returned his text, but they also then communicated for twenty minutes. I am amazed at the inter-connectivity between a professional NBA player and his fans. It is inspiring to say the least.

Durant has continued his growth into a perennial superstar. He has humbly put the organization on his shoulders, and by signing a five year extension before the beginning of last season, Durant, unlike so many superstars, has made it very clear that he is willing to stick with the organization that believed in him first. At week’s end, Durant is once again the league’s leading scorer, and is again doing it with incredible efficiency.

This old fashioned unity does not come from the top down. Clay Bennet, majority owner of the Thunder never reached out to the city of Seattle when the Thunder were the Supersonics. He is still quietly going about his business collecting a hefty sum of money, based upon his team’s 352 million dollar value, which includes a 6% increase in revenue this season.

Where’s the love?

This nation’s history has taught us one thing – that movements rarely start from the top. In fact, usually movements look to tear down the kings who are unkindly sitting on their thrones. So what gives? As expected, you can subtract Bennet from the feel-good equation in Oklahoma City. It is clear that the marriage between a depressed city and the loyalty of the players has developed this immutable bond. The organic nature of the city’s love for their quiet-natured team has been like a farmer plowing and plowing at fallow soil until baby shoots rear from the tilled dirt.

And as of now the Thunder are a title contender, first in the Northeast division at 44-23. Unlike last season, the expectation now is that the Thunder will ascend the underdog status into a true leading role. With the emergence of players like James Harden and Serge Ibaka, the Thunder have built a solid future, one like a young olive tree birthing better fruit as it ages.

The players’ professionalism and poise should not be taken for granted. These young kids are REALLY just kids. The calm Durant is a true jester in the locker room, known for his hilarious pranks at the most unexpected moments. Check out the funny hip hop video by Hard Knocks TV featuring Durant.

No matter what happens, the Thunder are eternal victors. They have picked up the pieces of a city’s broken heart and put it back together. As they continue their growth into basketball superstars and heroes, my prayers go out to the people of Oklahoma City who for the first time in a long time have found something to cheer about.