141. Logos: Two Nice, One Lame

A few months ago I lamented the move of the NBA's Seattle Supersonics from the Great Northwest to Oklahoma City. The Sonics were Seattle's first major league team and won the only championship the city's seen in 1979. (Actually, they had a hockey team which won the Stanley Cup in pre-NHL days. Just so you know.)

At the time I not only lamented the move of a long-time and well-supported franchise, I was also disappointed in the location, name and logo that the team would adopt. Oklahoma City is, I am sure, a fine place to be, but when you think of it, 'Major League' is not what pops into you head. I'm not mean, it's just true.

And then, the logo and name are so rinky-dink, how could you get excited? The Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder. What is a Thunder, anyway? At the time I said I would not be posting the logo or the uniform.

Why bring this up? Well, because I'm going to post the logo here, but I have a good reason. The reason is the logo at the top right of this blog. THERE is an EXCELLENT logo for an Oklahoma City team. Shoot the whole town ought to adopt some version of this - it's beautiful!

So, the point is to compare the two.

Well, here is the Redhawks logo and I really like it! I'm a sucker for circular logos, apparently, and this one fits the bill. I like the font. It evokes the old West without looking like the 'wanted poster' type. And the colors work for me, too. Red, white and blue are fairly standard, but the buff color just adds a little bit, sort of a nostalgic look.

Overall, I like it a lot. OKC can be proud of this one.

Now, we have to look at the new one for the Thunder. (Thunder?)

I just really don't know what to say about this. The only thing compelling to me is the colors. I do like that combination, but beyond that there's nothing here. One person called it 'clipart'. Here's what another commenter wrote about it:

"Take out the basketball and the OKC, and you've got a solid logo and color palette for a new laundry detergent."

I think that guy is on to something - "New Thunder will flood your wash with lightning bleaching action that will storm stubborn stains and force them to run off. Available in Spring Rain fragrance."

Meanwhile, this one is gone: