OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — With the Oklahoma City Thunder now part of the NBA lineup, the Golden State Warriors‘ mascot might be a goner. Thunder is his name.

Thunder has been part of this franchise for some 12 years and his likeness is featured on the team’s primary logo, though the team doesn’t use that image much anymore.

Warriors team president Robert Rowell is willing to make the switch for the benefit of the other Thunder, formerly the Seattle SuperSonics. When the timing’s right, that is.

“We’re clearly going to do something to accommodate Oklahoma City and not have our mascot named Thunder,” Rowell said. “For the sake of not making things confusing, we’re going to do something. We just have to figure out a good exit strategy.” (SI.com Story)

An interesting move in Oakland, which of course has nothing to do with Oklahoma City’s new team name.

Thunder has always been a tricky mascot character, since he has been limited to being a one-dimensional superhero dunking character, who tries to fill in as a comedy figure.  Thunder has struggled with skits and comedy due to this initially rigid character.

I had a short run as a Superhero character in the 1990’s and found it to be a very difficult character to perform, since you are limited to a rather stoic and limited character.  I always think about how poorly the personality traits of “funny”, “silly” and “clumsy” fit someone like Superman…which is the same problem when you try to make a superhero character into a NBA-style mascot.
As of this weekend Thunder is still listed on the team’s website, so I am not sure where this is headed.  I suspect this was a trial balloon to see how fans would react to the elimination of the mascot.  I wonder if the program wouldn’t be more effective if they pulled Thunder back to the more limited role of occasional special guest who dunked…which is really what he was created to do.  The Houston Rockets had success with their dunking mascot (Turbo) by pulling him back from a full-time role and making him a special guest.
–Cudo