NBA Finals 2012: 10 Reasons Thunder Fans Are More Passionate Than Heat Fans

One thing that has been mentioned many times since the Oklahoma City Thunder reached the 2012 NBA Finals is the amazing home crowd they have. This home crowd gives the team a huge advantage, which indicates how OKC fans are much more passionate than Miami fans.

Whether it is the fans' college background, the unity the team has brought or the heroic status of the Thunder players, it all adds up to a fanbase that truly loves its team, even more than Miami fans love their squad.

Oklahoma City has more passionate fans than Miami, and here are 10 reasons why.

Their College Background

For the last century or so, the state of Oklahoma has been dominated by college sports. The University of Oklahoma has been one of the best football programs in the country, and Oklahoma State University has been very successful in a number of sports as well.

The state also has two other Division I universities—the University of Tulsa and Oral Roberts University—as well as tons of smaller division colleges and universities.

The difference between college fans and pro fans is clear. College fans are almost always louder and more involved. While pro fans love their teams and grow old with them, college fans have a genuine stake in their teams as an alma mater or donor many times.

Few fans can say that they were part of the organization of their favorite professional franchise, but millions can say that they were part of their alma mater university. That makes college fans more invested than pro fans because they have more of a stake in the success.

Oklahoma is a state of college fans. When those fans finally got their first professional sports franchise, they supported it the only way they knew how: as crazed, psychotic college-type fans.

That has translated over the past four years into the best home crowd in the NBA. Miami fans are great too, but their state is hardly a college dominated one. While Florida does have great college sports, they’ve had dominant pro sports for a long time.

The Heroic Perception of Their Team

One thing that happened to LeBron James after The Decision was that he and his team essentially became the NBA’s villains. All those who aren’t fans of the Miami Heat now seem to root against James and company because of how they came together and the arrogance they showed in doing it.

The Oklahoma City Thunder is considered to be the opposite of that. A young team full of home-grown draft picks, Kevin Durant’s squad is considered to be heroic, simply because they came together very differently than Miami did. Miami’s three stars chose to play together after showing they could be dominant alone. Oklahoma City’s three stars were all drafted by this organization and have played nearly all of their careers together.

Oklahoma City fans view their team as heroes who are trying to beat not just the “villainous” Heat but also the philosophy of buying players that built the Heat’s team. While Heat fans don’t agree, most other NBA fans do and that fuels OKC fans even more.

David vs. Goliath Mentality

Anyone who can’t see the David vs. Goliath matchup in this current NBA Finals series isn’t paying attention. Miami is the Goliath to Oklahoma City’s David, especially when it comes to notoriety and attention. That is true both on and off the court.

This aspect of fandom also plays into the hero and villain mindset covered in the preceding slide, but it is a bit different. David in the Bible isn’t just a hero, but he’s also a complete underdog. He’s much smaller and seemingly weaker than his opponent. He’s also much younger and inexperienced, another part of the story that resonates in this current series.

Miami’s city and players both overshadow those of Oklahoma City. We all know about the players, and while OKC’s have gotten a lot of attention, it is nothing compared to that of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Those two are among the best players the NBA has seen over the past 15 years, with James being potentially the best.

The cities are an interesting comparison. Oklahoma City actually has a larger population in its city limits, but the metros don’t compare—Miami has more than five million and OKC has more than 1.2 million. The news coverage of both places and the celebrity support of each also don’t compare.

Fans love David and hate Goliath, even if Goliath has done nothing wrong. It’s just the way these thing work. We love underdogs, and the Thunder is one, despite its talent.

An Only-Child Sports Franchise

How many pro franchises are there in or near the city of Miami?

Miami itself now has the Heat, the Marlins, the Dolphins and the Florida Panthers. That’s four professional sports franchises that beckon from the city. When you include the Orlando Magic, Tampa Bay Rays, Tampa Bay Lightning, Jacksonville Jaguars all within fairly short distances, it is clear that the area is saturated with pro sports.

Now compare that with Oklahoma City, which has the Thunder and no other major professional sports franchise within 200 miles of it. When a team is the only pro sports party in town, that team becomes the life or death of its fanbase.

At least Heat fans will have other sports franchises to watch after the Heat’s season is over. For Oklahoma City fans, they’ll have nothing to root for pro sports-wise until the Thunder begin exhibition play in October.

They Proved They Deserved a Team

You can say what you want about how the team left Seattle and was brought to Oklahoma City. That’s not what this piece is about.

These fans proved they deserved a team when they took in the New Orleans Hornets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina and loved them almost as much as they now love the Thunder.

This franchise is more important to this fanbase because the fans feel like they earned it. The Hornets' time in Oklahoma City was like an audition for the city and its fans. No one thought that they could support a pro sports franchise, but after seeing how they supported the Hornets, the NBA bumped Oklahoma City to the top of the relocation list.

These fans love this team because they feel like they had a small part in bringing them here. They feel like their frenzied support of the Hornets made all of this possible, and they are right.

The Humility of Their Stars

LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh marched into Miami two years ago, bragging about the “not six, not seven, not eight” championships they would win there. Their arrogance screams in sharp contrast to the humility of the Thunder.

Kevin Durant signed a new deal around the same time LeBron James did with Miami. Granted, it wasn’t his third contract, only his second, but he did it without any of the ceremony James did his with. He did it at home, with his family.

Kevin Durant actually makes more money annually from playing basketball than any of the Heat’s big three do. You wouldn’t know it though, and that’s part of why Thunder fans love this team.

Oklahoma is a humble state filled with humble people. They are quiet, respectful and incredibly kind to visitors. They love their teams with passion that few could match, and they like their heroes quiet and respectful like they are. This Thunder team is a clear match.

A Divided State United

Another reason this Thunder fanbase is more passionate than its Miami counterpart is the unity the team has brought to the state of Oklahoma as a whole. Say what you like about the excitement the Heat brought to Miami when the big three signed there. It was nothing compared to what the Thunder have done in Oklahoma.

The sports fans of Oklahoma have never had one team they could all rally behind. Loyalties are divided in college sports primarily between the University of Oklahoma and Oklahoma State University, who duke it out each year in the Bedlam rivalry. The two schools’ fanbases aren’t fond of one another, and just about everyone is on one side or another.

The Thunder has given Oklahoma something the whole state can root for wholeheartedly. Finally, the crimson-clad and orange-clad can all put on their Thunder-blue and yell for the same team.

Finally in the Spotlight

Not only is the Oklahoma City Thunder the only major pro sports franchise that the area has, it is also the only one that has ever been there period. And even beyond that, Oklahoma City has never really been in the national spotlight, despite being a very nice city that is just as advanced as any other big city.

Be honest, what did you think of when you thought of Oklahoma City before the Thunder came to town? It was the same with everyone. It was the 1995 Murrah Building Bombing that people knew OKC for and nothing else.

How excited would you be if you finally had something positive after being known for a mass murder for the past 15 years? These fans are trying to build a new image on the back of this new franchise, and are excited about it. Miami fans can’t say that.

No Other Celebrities

Honestly, what other celebrities does Oklahoma City really have other than a player for the Thunder like Kevin Durant? Up until recently, it seemed most celebrities that hailed from Oklahoma did so quietly or not at all.

Of all the celebrities that have sprung forth from Oklahoma, very few live there now. ESPN First Take big-mouth Skip Bayless is from Oklahoma, but if the Thunder hadn’t become such a sensation, you might never have known. Bill Hader of SNL is from Oklahoma originally, as is Ron Howard, Brad Pitt, and Kristen Chenoweth, just to name a few.

But those people, although Thunder fans are proud of them I’m sure, do not live in Oklahoma. Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden do, at least for the time being. That adds even more to their frenzy, as these players they support are seemingly the only famous faces that they can be proud of who are in their home state.

Miami, on the other hand, is crawling with celebrities. They line the walls of the arena and the locker room. They love Miami, and Miami loves them. Oklahoma City adores its players as its lone celebrities.

Genuine Love

Maybe this isn’t a real reason. Maybe it is a combination of the previously listed reasons, but Oklahoma City’s fanbase loved this team even when it went 23-59 in its first season.

They were fervent then and are fervent now. It took Miami to sign two other superstars along with keeping Dwyane Wade to get even close to that type of excitement. Miami had to buy success to get its fans anywhere close to Oklahoma City’s.

The fans in Oklahoma loved Russell Westbrook even when he was a young player who looked like he’d never be able to lead a winning team from the point guard spot. They loved James Harden even when his first playoff series seemed too big for him. They have loved Kevin Durant even though he never promised he wouldn’t do to them what LeBron James did to Cleveland’s fans.

This fanbase loves this team. It is an unconditional love, win or lose. That may change, and probably will, as the newness of having an NBA team wears off. But right now, in this NBA Finals moment, this fanbase loves the franchise unconditionally. Miami’s fans cannot say that, and it wouldn’t be fair to expect them to.