Thunder Shots: OKC debut new F-5 City Edition uniforms

You know, when you’re right, you’re right...

I wish the gray was the same shade under the game lights as it is in this video, and I’ll admit I wish the black background didn’t start fading until halfway down the jersey, but I still love the new City Edition uniforms.

Almost exactly as I envisioned it, five twisters stalking the court and then the F-5, the he-dog twister of them all, Steven Adams, lowering the boom on the helpless Wizards.

Oklahoma sits in the heart of tornado alley and from mid-March until June, severe weather is just a part of being Oklahoman. In my full-time job, I speak to hundreds of people from throughout the US. Invariably, when they ask where I live, they will say something like, “oh my, I could never live there, too many tornadoes!”

And my pat response is, “ahh, when you have grown up here, tornado watching becomes a spectator sport”, and in truth, it really has.

Oklahoma boasts the most advanced severe weather detection network anywhere. The University of Oklahoma is home to one of the top meteorological schools on the planet and designated as a world leader in mesoscale, severe storms and radar research in a recent external review. Every local network TV station has the newest detection equipment available and a trained meteorologist on-site 24 hours a day throughout the storm season.

Ironically, Oklahoma is not the most dangerous state in regard to numbers of tornadoes per year, that dubious honor resides with the state of Texas.

Further, the state of Florida, home of the Miami Heat, and Illinois, home of the Chicago Bulls, average nearly the same number of tornadoes as the Sooner State.

That is why I scoff at outsider’s fears. Tornadoes can occur at any time of the year as well as practically everywhere except for Vermont, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. My thinking is simple, sure, we have tornadoes, but we also have the best severe weather warning around, if you’re afraid of tornadoes, move to Vermont and drink maple syrup.

Don’t misconstrue my words and think R.K. doesn’t respect tornadoes, I do. Only a fool would disregard the awesome power of nature and R.K.’s momma didn’t raise no fool. However, respecting something and fearing it are two different things.

We don’t have big mountains in Oklahoma, but we have these:

Towering thunderclouds, gargantuan mountains of water with peaks climbing 70,000 feet into the air and dwarfing everything beneath them. Mt Everest is a foothill compared to an Oklahoma cumulonimbus thundercloud. From experience, I can tell you the cloud that inspired the painting above is perhaps 45,000 feet at best, but that could change. Our mountains aren’t idle monuments made of stone, they live and breathe, and grow. Feed the cloud above with the right air current coming up from the Gulf of Mexico and in minutes it could turn into this:

These wonders of nature are what inspired Nike’s City Edition Thunder uniforms. I nicknamed them the F5’s because that is the most powerful result of these incredible creatures that growl and roar as they cross the Oklahoma countryside.

Are they dangerous? Yes, but these incredible monsters in the sky that bring so much fear to the unknowing also produce vast amounts of life-giving water and in their wake, the newly washed air is as fresh as when the world was new.

I love them and I recognize Nike’s attempt to make them part of their Oklahoma City Edition uniforms. It was an impossible task, but I applaud the effort thus how could see these uniforms as anything but beautiful when I see so much Oklahoma in them?

Many of the people I spoke of earlier live in mountainous regions and when they realize I’m not overly impressed by their concern for tornadoes a lot of them will come back with, but Oklahoma is so flat, to which I merely agree while thinking to myself, “yeh, but those bumps you’re so proud of would only spoil my view.”

The Thunder are 1 and 0 in their new togs, and as J.A. Sherman asked in the post-game write-up.....ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?

Thumbs up Nike, well done.

Enough Oklahoma chest-thumping, let’s have some fun!!

THUNDER SHOTS

Something told me when I saw these uniforms they would inspire our players to new heights!

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

Of course, any time you’re bringing in a new look you have to have a photo shoot.

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

And finally, the money shot...

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

AHA!!! A convert!

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

maybe two?

Layne Murdoch @ Getty Images

Everybody Loves Raymond.

And finally, coming home can be so bitter-sweet sometimes...

Mark D Smith @ USA TODAY Sports