The Warriors' primary logo: That's Thunder
If you see a muscular, blue action hero with a lightning bolt for a hat stumbling around Oakland and muttering about life's injustices in the next couple of days, don't be surprised.
The NBA team in Oklahoma City will get its official nickname on Wednesday, and all indications are that it will be “Thunder.”
That's right: Thunder.
That decision probably didn’t sit well with the Golden State Warriors. Not to mention the guy who wears the suit.
Why?
Because “Thunder” is the name of the official Warriors team mascot _ NBA-approved, by the way.
Warriors' secondary logo: The "flying W"
Not only that, the image of Thunder is prominent in the Warriors’ primary logo _ the one with him holding the lightning bolt above the word “Warriors.”
The Warriors _ like all teams _ have a secondary logo, and theirs is called the “flying W,” which is the one with a lightning bolt ripping through the “W,” superimposed on a basketball.
Interestingly, the Warriors use the “flying W” logo more frequently than their primary logo with Thunder.
But that doesn't just mean you cast him aside, right?
It will be interesting to see how the NBA handles this little issue … if at all. Can it really have a team in one city with the nickname of “Thunder,” and an official NBA mascot for another team named “Thunder?”
The real Thunder: seasoned vet
That doesn’t seem right. Unless there's some kind of trade brewing.
Let's put it this way, the Warriors better be getting something out of this. And hopefully it's not at the expense of the guy in the suit.
But there's just no way you can have two Thunders.
What happens when Oklahoma City visits Oakland this upcoming season for a game against the Warriors and the public address announcer begins to introduce Thunder?
Who comes out? The team or the guy in the suit?
And will there even be that guy in the suit anymore?
Comments
We don't need a mascot. The Lakers don't have one. I hate Thunder, we don't need some cartoon figure in our logo. I hope he goes to OKC.
What happens to Thunder?Well he dissapears from the face of the earth,pronto.This is what Bennett and his crew do ya know.They steal other peoples stuff and call it their own.If you fight them on this you too will dissapear dear Warriors.David Stern will make sure of that.If you choose they may allow you to hang the husk of Thunder"the suit"from the rafters.Just remember tho it belongs to Bennett and he may send a semi truck for it at any time...and your training room TV set.
Thunder has mailed it in for a few seasons. He shoots some tshirts in the stands, maybe does a dunk off the trampoline in the 3rd quarter, but probably watches some kid do it instead.
He's gotten soft and maybe this will motivate him!
Hopefully this will finally be the impetus to get rid of this clown. What is it about the Bay Area and horrible mascots?? Sharkey, Lou Seal, this idiot and the Niners mascot that looks more like the mayor than a guy from the 1840's! get rid of mascots entirely. if the game itself isn't entertaining enough for your kids, they have no business being there.
Screw OKC Thunder! Bennet wont be happy until he steals something from every city in the North West. Seattles Team, Oaklands Mascot, watch out Portland, he's probably coming for our GM
whatever, the w's logo and uniforms are lame anyhow. i pine for the well-loved & classy 'city' uniforms. doesn't it seem like the players had a little more moxie with the throwbacks? the crowds adored them, too. matt, you should give your personal ranking of w's uniforms, past and present. we could use a light break from the gloomy anticipation of this coming year.
yeah, and thunder as a mascot is atrocious, too. the costume is somewhat menacing and his routines are tired. (break dancing and t-shirt launching?) get rid of him and lure the denver mascot. that guy is without doubt the best in the league. hands down.
Thunder is nothing but a Power Ranger. Might have been fresh and new in the mid-90's... not so anymore. He says nothing about the Bay Area and there's very little about him that says "Warrior" to me.
I remember when the Thunder idea came about (along with the major uniform redesign) and how there was concern about him sporting a weapon of any type, thus the lightning bolt imagery. But, really, why does a warrior need a sword/gun/bolt at all? Why not a shield instead... something that can appear on the Oracle Arena jumbotron -- emblazoned with Warriors logo -- during a particularly important defensive sequence?
And then there's the arena-name... Oracle. It invokes Greco-Roman imagery and unlike some other sports venues around the Bay Area I don't see it changing any time soon. Why not re-design our Warriors mascot into a Greco-Roman shield-toting type (emblazoned with the standard "W" or perhaps something more stylized encorporating the bridge found on The City jerseys). I'm sure there's a design team out there competent and skilled enough to make something that's fresh and distinct from either the San Jose Spartans or USC Trojans, particularly if a Warriors-specific logo is utilized. Make these sorts of changes and I prophesize a brighter future for the franchise.
I look at what the New Orleans Hornets have done this offseason...
http://www.nba.com/hornets/0809rebirth.html
...and wonder, particularly in light of the new OKC name, why not us too!? Thunder the mascot, I think, is something to be associated with 13 years of failure and a formerly cheap basketball product. It's time for a change! Warriors marketing and front office... are you reading??
I think the Warriors should change there mascot from Thunder to the ULTIMATE WARRIOR! If he's not available then Jean Claude Van Damme should get second billing. JCVD would electrify the crowd with his round house kicks and could do splits during intermission.
There is no thunder in the Golden State Warriors logo at all. It is a fact that it is lightning. Thunder is the sound that lightning gives off when it crashes to earth. So get over it your team made a mistake calling it thunder in the first place.
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