Right now the unofficial Thunder merchandise market is booming. Not satisfied by the typical sporting goods store stock or JC Penny Thunder attire, Thunder fans have flocked to local screen printers and boutiques to snag t-shirts that range from fearing beards to thanking Seattle.
Not to be outdone, the State's Most Trusted News is now trying to cash-in on the lucrative Thunder-ground (ehh...) apparel market. Check out the following Oklahoman shirts you can purchase online.
Yeah, that's pretty funny. If there was some CNBC reality show called "Sad Attempts By Businesses to Make Money," this idea would have to be considered for the pilot episode. Plus, just to make this thing even funnier, take a look at the cheesy attempt by some Oklahoman copywriter to sell and describe the shirt:
OKC Thunder is headed to the NBA Finals Believe It! Share your joy and team spirit for the Thunder with our Believe It Tee. Complete with the article from The Oklahoman Newspaper OUR 100% cotton tee will is the perfect shirt for wearing at the game, around town to celebrate or even at home while watching the Thunder on the couch. Impress other Oklahoma City Thunder fans young and old alike with this high quality silk screened tee. Machine washable with like colors, tumble dry low. Available in sizes, M, L, XL and 2X.
Ha ha ha. That reads like something your mom would write when selling something on Craigslist. The only thing it's missing are a few more typos and some RANDOM ALL CAPS. And what's up with the website that's selling the clothing? It looks about as reputable and trustworthy as one of those Thunder merchandise tents that are popping up all over the metro.
Anyway, someone should probably go ahead and sue the Oklahoman for false advertising, because "Oklahoma City Thunder fans young and old alike" are not going to be impressed with that shirt. It's also not "the perfect shirt for wearing at the game, around town to celebrate or even at home while watching the Thunder on the couch." If you're caught wearing that thing at any of those places you should be laughed at and bullied like you're about to eat dinner at the Spaghetti Warehouse.
Also, isn't this some sort of copyright violation? All the local business get away with their bootleg stuff because they don't use the official Thunder logo or photos of players. Maybe the Oklahoman gets away with it because they are a big sponsor of the Thunder, or perhaps the team lets them do it because they know the shirts won't sell. Both options are possible.
