Jersey Patches Are Here: Twitter Reacts
On Friday morning, the Thunder announced they would be partnering with Loves Travel Stop for a jersey patch. Oklahoma City was the last remaining sponsor-less organization in the NBA, so it’s sort of a big deal.
While the timing was a bit of a surprise, Oklahoma City taking advantage of the money that comes along with jersey sponsors shouldn’t be. According to Royce Young, league sources are saying the Thunder landed one of the 10 most valuable deals in the league in their partnership with Love’s.
The Thunder aren’t wasting any time getting the “echo heart” on their jerseys, either. The new patch will make its debut on the Statement Edition uniforms this Saturday on ABC against the Golden State Warriors. I’m sure a few people will be watching that game.
The jerseys sold at Thunder Shops will have the Love’s jersey patch. You’ll still be able to purchase patch-less jerseys outside of the arena.
My Reaction: B+
I don’t hate it. But I don’t love it, either. (I won’t make that joke anymore, I swear.) It could be much, much worse. My fear since jersey patches became a thing was the Thunder would end up partnering with some random company with ugly colors and a weird logo. Have you seen Milwaukee’s? Not. A. Fan.
I give this partnership a B+ because I’m not sure the Thunder could do much better. Would I have liked to see a less noticeable logo? Absolutely, but brands are gonna brand.
Some thoughts:
- It feels a little too big. It’s kind of just “BAM! LOVES!”
- The colors aren’t awful. At least yellow, orange, and red kind of, sort of go with the Thunder color scheme.
- Love is a good thing. So that’s good.
- Love’s is a solid company, right? I mean, I know if I’m going into a big Love’s Travel Stop there’s going to be plenty of choices for snacks and a decent sized restroom. I value such things.
Twitter’s Reaction: Not Happy
The news dropped this morning and Twitter came with the heat. Seriously, you guys are not fans of the patches. Check out Thunder Twitter’s reaction to the jersey patches:
I don't have anything against your convenience stores but I gotta say, that 1970s-esque heart logo with the red, yellow, orange on that blue background is making my eyes bleed.
— T. K. (@Tom4OKstate) March 15, 2019
Your logo is AWFUL. I hate that you're ruining such good looking jerseys. I'll never shop in your stores. (I don't anyway, because I live in Tulsa with the far superior QuikTrip.)
— Leah (@leah_bh) March 15, 2019
guess I’ll be shopping at on cue and circle k exclusively from now on
— Dillon Branscum (@JeffreyDillon_) March 15, 2019
Well our opponents are always open so this makes sense.
— Brad (@nukulartek) March 15, 2019
Boo. At least it’s not Bumble.
— Rachael Jamison (@rachjamison) March 15, 2019
but like, what if you DIDN'T do that.
— Kathy (@cheapbutnotfree) March 15, 2019
or couldn't you have least stylized the logo colors? i mean we know what love's is, we wouldn't forget just because you made it blue and white or whatever
looks cheapy cheapy cheap cheap
That’s awful…. chase bank didn’t want their name on this? Like ya know a blue themed company…
— Brett Moss (@BrettMoss57) March 15, 2019
It was down to Braum's, Sonic, Love's or Devon in my mind
— Travis Cagle (@Trav_is_Funny) March 15, 2019
It’s worth keeping in mind, whether you like the patch or not, it was going to happen eventually. For a team that is notorious for being concerned with its salary cap tax, this big deal with Love’s will come in handy for those actually having to foot the bill. Whatever helps.
