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Welcome to Stuff I Learned Yesterday. My name is Darrell Darnell, 36 days ago my OKC Thunder won the NBA championship! And I believe that if you aren’t learning, you aren’t living.
By metro population, only Memphis, New Orleans, and Salt Lake City are smaller markets than Oklahoma City. By TV market size, only New Orleans and Memphis are smaller. The city of Oklahoma City only has a population of 700k while the OKC metro area is double that at 1.4 million.
When the city threw a parade two days after winning the championship, between 500k and 700k fans cheered them on, becoming the single largest gathering in state history. It was an incredible day celebrated not only by those in the streets but hundreds of thousands more who watched it unfold on TV. The championship itself was celebrated by millions in Oklahoma and around the world.
Life is made up of moments, and this moment in time was not the beginning.
In the early 1990s the city was in bad shape. The downtown area was dying. Buildings sat empty, dilapidated, boarded up, and crumbling. In 1992 a battle was waged to get a contract from United Airlines for a new maintenance facility. In the end, OKC lost that battle to Indianapolis due to their better standard of living and higher quality of life in their downtown area.
OKC mayor Ron Norick and other city leaders had a vision. That vision was for a better OKC that was thriving, growing, full of industry, entertainment, tourism, business, and life. The Metro Area Projects Plan, or MAPS was born. In 1993 they pitched the plan to the citizens and the citizens approved a one cent sales tax to fund the project. As part of the deal, projects would begin only after funding was in place. No debt would be incurred.
And then two years later at 9:02 am on April 19, 1995, a fertilizer bomb was detonated outside the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City. 168 people lost their lives that day, 19 of them children. I was a college freshman sitting in my dorm room situated on the north end of the OKC metro and I’ll never forget the sound of the blast I heard that day.
For the next decade, any time I traveled or met someone who learned I was from OKC, most often I was then asked about the bombing. When people thought of OKC, they thought first of the bombing. We embraced that. We didn’t shy away from it. We weren’t ashamed of it.
That blast destroyed lives and families all across our state, but that attack made us stronger, more unified, more resilient. It made us a family. We helped each other in any way we could. Support services from all across the country poured in and they were astonished by what they witnessed in the spirit and action of Oklahomans. It became known as the Oklahoma Standard.
In 1997 a national memorial was authorized and on April 19, 2000, the Oklahoma City National Memorial was dedicated. On the grounds where the building once stood are 168 chairs, smaller chairs represent the children. Each chair lights up at night and bears the name of a specific victim. Where the street once stood upon which the bomb exploded and violence erupted, a reflecting pool now stands; bringing peace, thoughtfulness, tranquility, and honor.
Flanking the memorial on the east and west end are two structures called the Gates of Time. The east represents the last moment of peace and is marked with the time 9:01. The west represents the first moment of recovery and is marked with the time 9:03. They face each other and the reflecting pool. It’s stunning and beautiful. It’s a must-visit location if you’re even in OKC.
As the city worked to recover from the bombing, it also continued with its vision for improvement. MAPS was a huge success.Some of the MAPS projects included creating a top-tier minor league baseball stadium for the city’s Triple-A team, a canal to revitalize the city’s historic bricktown district (think San Antonio’s Riverwalk district), building a new library, and major renovations to our civic center.
Perhaps the biggest difference maker was the construction of a new indoor multipurpose sports and concert arena. Called the Ford Center, it opened in 2002 without a major sports tenant but the city hoped it might attract an NHL team.
As it turned out, that first MAPS initiative changed everything. Once the first MAPS projects were completed, the citizens voted to keep it going. MAPS for Kids became the second initiative. That led to MAPS 3 and then MAPS 4. These initiatives brought improvements to over 100 schools, a new downtown convention center, streetcar transit, walking trails, a new large, sprawling city park, and a world-class river sports district.
In 2005 Hurricane Katrina devastated the city of New Orleans, causing their NBA team, the Hornets, to seek a temporary home. Oklahoma City was selected as the temporary home for the Hornets and hosted nearly all home games for the team at the Ford Center for the 2005-2006 season as well as the 2006-2007 season, selling out most games that first season and nearly 98% for the second season.
In 2006 an ownership group was formed with the intention of purchasing an NBA franchise and bringing a permanent NBA team to OKC. In July of 2006 the group purchased the Seattle SuperSonics from former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz.
The following month I was in Seattle for business with Amazon. During a conversation with one of the Amazon executives, he asked me where I was from. When I mentioned I was from OKC, he lit up knowing we had something to talk about. “A group from OKC just bought the Sonics!’ he exclaimed. “Yes, and they are going to move the team to OKC!” I replied.
He scoffed and laughed before telling me that Oklahoma City couldn’t support an NBA team. I smirked confidently and told him he would be surprised. Sure enough, on April 18, 2008, one day shy of the 13th anniversary of the OKC bombing, NBA owners approved relocating the SuperSonics to Oklahoma City.
Our city could not be more excited! The first year only brought 23 wins but we were excited to have the team and young talent like Kevin Durant and rookie Russel Westbrook. Our second season was more promising after drafting James Harden, and the team won 50 games and made the playoffs. By the third season they made it all the way to the western conference finals and were picking up fans from all over the world.
The fourth season was the 2011-2012 season. By the time June rolled around the Thunder found themselves in the western conference finals again. I traveled to New York City for business and proudly donned a Thunder t-shirt as I walked around the city. As I walked around a man noticed my shirt and asked me if I was from OKC. He loved the Thunder and told me he was rooting for them to win it all. Minutes later I stood in Times Square looking up at a massive billboard of Kevin Durant.
The next day I flew to Chicago for another conference. That night was game 6 of the western conference finals and as I returned to the hotel from dinner I was hoping to catch the end of the game. As I walked through the hotel lobby and past one of the restaurants I heard loud cheers. As it turned out, patrons, hotel guests, and even hotel staff were gathered around the TV in the bar watching the game. All of them were rooting for the Thunder.
The Thunder prevailed and advanced to the NBA finals! For the first time in our state history, a major sports title would be fought for on our soil. Media and fans from all over the world converged on OKC for games one and two of the series before it moved to Miami for games three, four, and five. Miami took the series in game five. We were disappointed, but excited about our young team and the future.
As any sports fan knows, cheering for your favorite team comes with highs and lows. The Thunder had great seasons in the three years that followed, but never again reached the finals. James Harden left after that 2011-2012 season, Kevin Durant left at the end of the 2015-2016 season, and Russel Westbrook left after the end of the 2018-2019 season.
The team won only 22 games in the 2020-2021 season and only 24 the following season. But just two seasons later the team won 57 games and earned the number one seed in the western conference playoffs. They were eliminated in the conference semifinals and made a couple of strategic off-season trades to improve in key areas.
That brings us to this season. The experience and trades from the previous season proved valuable as the team once again earned the number one seed in the west and the overall number one seed for the playoffs. They set records for the largest margin of victory in NBA history.
The team’s star player, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander won the league scoring title and the MVP. He also won the western conference finals MVP as the team advanced to the NBA finals for the first time since 2012.
The city was ready. The new city park was situated right across the street from the arena. New hotels and restaurants were now found all over town. The streetcar transit system was fully operational, and spring rains had brought beauty and fullness to all of our green spots and gardens around town.
The team was ready too. They faced a team that was relentless, hungry, and confident. They never flinched, never gave up, never saw a deficit that seemed too big. They gave the Thunder everything we could handle. The series came down to game seven here in Oklahoma City where the Thunder prevailed.
That moment became the crown jewel in our city’s history. It’s the biggest sports moment in our state’s history. In an ironic twist that nearly all missed, including myself, it was a familiar opponent we faced in that series. Indianapolis, that foe of a city which won the United Airlines contract which served as the catalyst that led to MAPS which led to our arena, which led to the New Orleans Hornets, which led to the Thunder, stood before us as our foe again.
This time, OKC prevailed.
I don’t know who designed the route of the Thunder’s champions parade, but the route they put together was genius. It started on the north end of downtown at the intersection of NW 10th and Harvey. The parade headed south for five blocks where it then turned and headed west.
The corner of NW 5th and Harvey is the western edge of the Memorial. Remember, the eastern gate of the memorial is 9:01, the last moment of peace. The western gate of the memorial is 9:03, the first moment of recovery. There, in the shadow of that recovery gate the parade turned and headed westward. A new moment was forged.
Thunder photographer Jimmy Do snapped a photo at that moment. I’ve used that photo as the thumbnail for this episode on our website and YouTube. In the background the words of the memorial are clearly seen: “We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived, and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope, and serenity.”
In the foreground is an open top bus wrapped in a graphic emblazoned with the NBA championship trophy, the OKC Thunder logo, and words 2025 champions. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander stands atop the bus, looking at the memorial, arms stretched outward in celebration. I doubt he knew the moment was being captured or even the impact the moment would make. I doubt it was even intentional on his part.
But the photo quickly went viral all over town. There’s our leader, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander looking back at the memorial as the bus carries him westward, onward to the next moment.
Here’s what I learned.
Watching my city and state grow over the last 30 years has been incredible. When friends visit from out of state I love taking them downtown and letting them experience the great things our city has to offer. So the question I want to consider today is: how did all of this happen?
Thirty years ago someone in our city had a dream, a vision, a desire, a hope of what they wanted our city to be. They might have said to themself, “One day our city will…”
And I think that’s a sentiment we can all identify with on a personal level. We’ve looked at our present state and longed for something more. We’ve hoped for a better future filled with…
How do we get to “one day?” We take action. Those city leaders developed a plan, took action on that plan, and followed through with that plan. Even when they faced unbelievable obstacles. Even when they were scoffed at, looked down upon, thought less of by larger cities, they persevered.
You may know that the Summer Olympics are coming to Los Angeles in 2028. What you probably don’t know is all of the Olympic events will be held in the greater Los Angeles area except for two of them. Canoe slalom and softball will not be held in Los Angeles, or southern California, or even in California at all. Those two events will be held right here in Oklahoma City. Remember that world-class river sport complex I mentioned earlier? MAPS is paying off in ways nobody ever imagined.
We can dream that one day our life will be better, and we should certainly dream. But achieving those dreams means making a decision today. It takes action, determination, grit, and perseverance. One day, or day one. Which will you choose?
I’m Darrell Darnell, and this has been Stuff I Learned Yesterday.
I want you to be a part of the next Monday Mailbag on September 29th! Monday Mailbag is your opportunity to Share what YOU’VE learned, so that other listeners and I can learn from YOU. It can be a message as short as 30 seconds or several minutes long. It really doesn’t matter just as long as it’s something that will benefit others. You can send in questions or responses to my SILY episodes, and I’ll respond to them via Monday Mailbag episodes. You can participate in Monday Mailbags by visiting the Golden Spiral Media listener feedback page.