You know, despite all of it's problems I love living in Tulsa.
I love the fact that I grew up here. I'm glad I got married and had children here. I'm even glad that I got divorced here, which is kind of messed up but I don't care.
Despite all this overwhelming love for my city I still am disappointed at the lack of vision that exists here. To a degree it isn't anyone or anything's fault, it's just that we are a little slower on then uptake than the rest of the country. We are a bunch of backwater hicks to people who live in other states, or we are a "red" state, or some other derogatory term. It has been my experience recently that people who grew up here...people I went to school with and moved away for school or work or whatever and are very quick to point out that they are "glad that they got out of that place" because they were so "intolerant", "behind the times" or my favorite, "uneducated and unenlightened".
For someone who has spent 40 of 45 years in Tulsa, I say balderdash. Tulsa has a lot more going for it than people might think. I also say shame on the people who "diss" their hometown after departing for greener pastures because though Tulsa is a little more behind the time, it isn't as bad as people might think.
Sure, I would like to see Tulsa be more ambitious. A smart person might see beyond the slowness and traditional values and see that this is fertile ground ripe for the taking. If they are willing to work with, and not against people it shouldn't be any problem. That's the trick because most people want to take the easy route and not work with the powers that be to forge a bond with the city and the citizens.
There was a glimmer of hope when it was bandied about that a few people wanted to take a stab at trying for the Summer Olympics. I am both a sports and Olympics nut, and even I thought it was far fetched idea to think that Tulsa could pull off an operation as daunting as the Olympic Games slap dab in the middle of the country, but that wasn't the point. The fact that there were a few people who thought it could happen pushed through the negativity and the chortling and guffawing and the dismissals of basically everybody to think that it was possible.
And why not?
Somebody had the vision to bring the NBA to Oklahoma in 2008 and they thrived. Made th NBA Finals in their third season Before that...though most won't count it, there was the Tulsa Roughnecks on the North American Soccer League in the late 1970s-early 80s and they won the NASL Championship the year before they...and the rest of the NASL...folded. Argument can be made that Tulsa has a major league professional team now, and that would be true if people took the WNBA seriously.
Anyway...Yes tonight's entry has bent toward sports but there's a reason behind it.
This blog was inspired by a post on a social networking site asking if Tulsa might ever have an National Hockey League team. Being a hockey fan for a long time in Tulsa it got first a laugh from me, and I responded with a comment that people in Tulsa lacked the vision to make something that ambitious happen in the BOK Center. It's too small, it lacks the luxury amenities that the NHL values so much now and the price of tickets would eliminate the strong support that hockey has now, even with the dry seasons our minor league team has had in the recent years and not surprisingly the comment got universal approval from those who read it.
Then I thought more about it and why are we excluded from being an NHL town? We are basing this on what MIGHT happen, not what will happen. There is random complaint about the "quality" of the hockey being played here in the Central Hockey League and whatnot flying around; to say nothing of the officiating. As a writer covering the team I have often wondered why, in the 22 years that hockey has flourished in this town has there not been a louder outcry for a move to a higher tier league.
Oklahoma City has been a rival in every sport that they've shared a league in to include hockey and since they are in the American Hockey League (AHL) and a move to that level would virtually guarantee a similar situation would happen there. It would be close to a sellout in either building. The travel would be a bear but it could be manageable, especially if the parent club footed the bill. It would be a more sensible move than a jump to the NHL in any case.
All it takes is someone to just have the vision to look forward and to quit spinning wheels. The question is, who will step up?
For someone who has spent 40 of 45 years in Tulsa, I say balderdash. Tulsa has a lot more going for it than people might think. I also say shame on the people who "diss" their hometown after departing for greener pastures because though Tulsa is a little more behind the time, it isn't as bad as people might think.
Sure, I would like to see Tulsa be more ambitious. A smart person might see beyond the slowness and traditional values and see that this is fertile ground ripe for the taking. If they are willing to work with, and not against people it shouldn't be any problem. That's the trick because most people want to take the easy route and not work with the powers that be to forge a bond with the city and the citizens.
There was a glimmer of hope when it was bandied about that a few people wanted to take a stab at trying for the Summer Olympics. I am both a sports and Olympics nut, and even I thought it was far fetched idea to think that Tulsa could pull off an operation as daunting as the Olympic Games slap dab in the middle of the country, but that wasn't the point. The fact that there were a few people who thought it could happen pushed through the negativity and the chortling and guffawing and the dismissals of basically everybody to think that it was possible.
And why not?
Somebody had the vision to bring the NBA to Oklahoma in 2008 and they thrived. Made th NBA Finals in their third season Before that...though most won't count it, there was the Tulsa Roughnecks on the North American Soccer League in the late 1970s-early 80s and they won the NASL Championship the year before they...and the rest of the NASL...folded. Argument can be made that Tulsa has a major league professional team now, and that would be true if people took the WNBA seriously.
Aside: No disrespect intended to the Tulsa Shock, or the WNBA with that last line.
Anyway...Yes tonight's entry has bent toward sports but there's a reason behind it.
This blog was inspired by a post on a social networking site asking if Tulsa might ever have an National Hockey League team. Being a hockey fan for a long time in Tulsa it got first a laugh from me, and I responded with a comment that people in Tulsa lacked the vision to make something that ambitious happen in the BOK Center. It's too small, it lacks the luxury amenities that the NHL values so much now and the price of tickets would eliminate the strong support that hockey has now, even with the dry seasons our minor league team has had in the recent years and not surprisingly the comment got universal approval from those who read it.
Then I thought more about it and why are we excluded from being an NHL town? We are basing this on what MIGHT happen, not what will happen. There is random complaint about the "quality" of the hockey being played here in the Central Hockey League and whatnot flying around; to say nothing of the officiating. As a writer covering the team I have often wondered why, in the 22 years that hockey has flourished in this town has there not been a louder outcry for a move to a higher tier league.
Oklahoma City has been a rival in every sport that they've shared a league in to include hockey and since they are in the American Hockey League (AHL) and a move to that level would virtually guarantee a similar situation would happen there. It would be close to a sellout in either building. The travel would be a bear but it could be manageable, especially if the parent club footed the bill. It would be a more sensible move than a jump to the NHL in any case.
All it takes is someone to just have the vision to look forward and to quit spinning wheels. The question is, who will step up?
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