Thanks to the a couple of idiots, the hot topic in Oklahoma City over the past 24-hours is what should happen to the Thunder Alley festivities that take place outside Chesapeake Arena.
The answer to this question is simple. Keep Thunder Alley, but get rid of the stupid watch party.
Thunder Alley, in its original form, was a harmless pre-game activity. It was a family friendly area where kids could jump on a moon bounce, practice free throws and meet Thunder Girls while their parents listened to shitty live music provided by Banana Seat or Super Freak.
During the playoffs, the Thunder incorporated a watch party into the Thunder Alley concept. They would broadcast the game over the big screen, rally the crowd, etc. This was pretty harmless, too, but it eventually grew into a chaotic mess where things like this happened:
Yeah, nothing says class and family friendly fun like people fighting while waiting in line to use a portable toilet.
Here's the deal. The Thunder Alley watch party started off as a good idea, but it quickly deteriorated from a family friendly event to something you'd see in a parking lot outside of a club or bar in Midwest City. As one who lived in Midwest City and went to plenty of clubs or bars in that area, that's not a good thing.
And a bad crowd and violence isn't the only reason for the watch parties should be canceled. Do you as an Oklahoma City taxpayer really want to fork over the extra cash to have extra police babysit some random bad apples? And who would be liable if something really bad were to happen? The Thunder? The City? Who knows.
Anyway, the crowd, the cost and liability concerns are all solid reasons to stop the watch parties. It kind of sucks for the good fans out there who for some reason want to watch the game in a congested street rather than in their home or a sports bar — and the arena won't look as cool during TNT aerial shots — but it makes sense.
