No. 4 – No one hates you

Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman

I got married in June 2012, during the NBA Finals between the Thunder and the Miami Heat. Moreover, I got married and honeymooned at Walt Disney World, which is near Orlando, Fla. Yeah, it isn’t Miami, but it’s close enough, so you might think you know where this is headed.

Of course, the wife and I took some Thunderwear along: lanyards, a couple hats and some T-shirts. I was wearing Thunder gear almost daily, because I wanted to represent my home team while I was away from the state.

And one thing that surprised me was how many people expressed how much they love the Thunder.

This was pretty much the sight everywhere we went. (Photo by David McDaniel/The Oklahoman)

People would come up and tell us how they wanted to see the Thunder win the NBA Championship. They came up to us to exclaim their adoration for, literally, every team member, including coach Scott Brooks.

People would yell “Thunder Up!” if they weren’t close enough to say anything else. And, you wouldn’t believe how many people we saw at Disney World wearing Thunder shirts. Naturally, we went up to ask what part of Oklahoma they were from — to our surprise, most of them weren’t from Oklahoma.

Then we ran into a man who was decked out in full Heat gear: Sunglasses, polo, lanyard… He even had a championship ring from their 2006 victory.

Turned out, he was Miami Heat statistician…

I thought it was going to happen. For reals.

AND EVEN HE PRAISED THE THUNDER. </excitement>

That’s right, no lies. The guy talked about how much he enjoyed watching the “young guns” on the Thunder’s roster, and that he knew they’d be a championship-winning team soon (just not right then).

So, you see: Even people who work for the Heat organization can’t help but love the Thunder.

In a way, it’s spoiled the fans. And sometimes it takes a jolt to bring fans back down to reality, like when…