Published: July 04, 2008 01:05 pm            

Welcome to the big leagues

EDMOND — Nov. 16, 1907, and July 2, 2008, are arguably the two most important dates in Oklahoma’s history. On one date Oklahoma became the 46th state. On the other, Oklahoma’s capital became a big league city.

Some might dismiss my claim that this date is one of the two most important dates in state history as just the rantings of a lunatic NBA fan who has become delirious about the prospects of watching more NBA basketball. But I must confess, I am not a big NBA fan. I never went to watch the Hornets play, and have never even watched an entire NBA game on television. Yet, I am excited about the NBA coming to Oklahoma City.

There is one simple reason for my excitement: The NBA will improve our state’s image. For too long our state has been defined by land runs, dustbowls, oil busts and tornados. For too long non-Oklahomans have thought of our state as a barren backwater in flyover country. And if we are to be brutally honest, for too long too many Oklahomans have believed that Oklahoma is only “OK.”

But beginning this fall, Oklahoma will be welcomed into the NBA, one of the most successful business enterprises in the world. And Oklahoma City literally will be in the same league as world-class cities like New York, Los Angeles, Dallas and Chicago. After July 2, Oklahoma City is officially a big league city, and Oklahoma is a big league state.

We must remember that when it comes to attracting workers, tourists, businesses and investment, image matters. It matters because whether we like it or not, life is a lot like high school — everyone still wants to be hip, trendy, fun and cool. Frankly, the presence of an NBA team will do more for this state’s image than any other business ever could. As a result more workers and businesses will take a look at our state and all we have to offer. As a fourth generation Oklahoman who has chosen to live, work and raise my family in Oklahoma, I am confident that if those workers and businesses just give us a look, they will like what they see.

Of course, the NBA in Oklahoma City will not solve all of our state’s problems. We still will have much work to do to strengthen our state’s economy and improve the well-being of Oklahoma families. But the presence of an NBA team is an important, positive step.

So, sometime this upcoming season I will take my children to see our first NBA basketball game. Whether the team is eventually named the Barons, the Thunder, the Thunderbirds, the Fighting Bennetts or the Waving Wheat, I really do not care. We will go because they are now our team. We will go because supporting this team means we also are supporting Oklahoma. We will go because we want to prove to the world that Oklahoma City is ready for the big leagues.



MICKEY HEPNER is an associate professor of economics at the University of Central Oklahoma.

        

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