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    Could OKC Land an NFL Franchise?

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    by Justin C. Cliburn      
    Note: This post now has a permanent home on the OIL Web site that is continually updated.

      The other day I rambled about Super Bowl stories that interest me (few do other than the game itself). Somehow I ended up discussing what the chances were that Oklahoma City could one day land an NFL franchise, what the name should be, where they might play, and more. 

    For the record, I ended up settling on Roughnecks for the team mascot. But all that was buried in a post about the Super Bowl, so it was easily overlooked. So let's consider Oklahoma City's NFL chances in a post all its own.

    I generally laugh at suggestions that Oklahoma City could be granted an NFL franchise, but I used to scoff at the prospects of a successful NBA team here too. Plus, a couple recent lists of potential NFL cities included OKC. It made me strongly consider what the authors of the lists saw and make the case for OKC. It's actually not a hard case to make. Sure, there are plenty of markets that are as deserving or more, but that's always the case. The slam dunks already have NFL teams (well, except for one), so why not OKC? After all, the OKC media market is larger than four current NFL cities. Well, here's the case for OKC:
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    Cover32 lists 10 possible NFL cities on page two of its article discussing which NFL teams should relocate. EliteDaily just listed 10 potential NFL cities back in November. And both lists include Oklahoma City. 

    The OIL is made up primarily of Oklahomans, so we know how much OKC has grown. An NFL team would be fantastic from a personal standpoint. Plus, it's not a stretch to think that it would attract season ticket holders from:
    • Wichita (closer to OKC than to Kansas City; metro population: over 600,000), 
    • Tulsa (metro population: over 900,000), and 
    • Fort Smith (closer to OKC than to Kansas City, New Orleans, Dallas, or Nashville; metro population: over 290,000) to the north and east and 
    • Wichita Falls (metro population: over 150,000), 
    • Lawton (metro population: over 120,000), 
    • Amarillo (closer to OKC than to Dallas or Denver; metro population: over 230,000) and 
    • the whole of western Oklahoma to the south and west. 
    That's a pool of over 3.5 million people to sell tickets. And when you tally the populations of Oklahoma as a state, Fort Smith/Van Buren, and the Amarillo, Wichita, and Wichita Falls metros, the number comes to over 4.9 million potential ticket-buyers. Are you telling me savvy marketers in charge of an NFL franchise couldn't sell 50,000 tickets in a market that large?
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    Oklahoma City

  • Published on

    Under the Radar Super Bowl Storylines

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    There are tons of Super Bowl stories making the media rounds, but I couldn't care less for most of them. We've spent an entire season discussing the strengths and weaknesses of each team. 

    Instead, I like to read stories that delve into a little NFL history or discuss issues that the talking heads are not covering. I found a few of those stories, focusing mostly on Seattle and wanted to share them. 
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    Apparently, the original Seattle NFL expansion bid was to be named the "Kings." Over at SportsLogos.net, there is a great story about that ill-fated expansion bid. It also takes a stab at guessing what the Kings logo would have evolved into after rebranding in the 1980s and 2000s.

    And, even after being awarded a franchise after all, Seattle almost lost that franchise in the 1990s. The Seattle Times wrote a lengthy article on that issue back in October. It is also worth checking out.

    I hope SportsLogos.net or some other site publishes an extensive history of the 1993 expansion that gave us the Panthers and Jaguars. Baltimore, Memphis, and St. Louis were the other candidates that year. While looking up information about that expansion era, I found a great site for archiving NFL expansion candidates for each state. 

    I highly recommend checking out that site and following SportsLogos.net if you're into the history and evolution of sports uniforms and logos. 
  • Published on

    The End is Nigh

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    This Monday each year is the most exciting and depressing Monday of the season. Today starts Super Bowl week. But we also know that it is the final Monday of the 2013-14 NFL season. 

    My grandfather used to greet the end of summer by proclaiming that "the drought is almost over." Well, conversely, the drought is almost here. Seven months without a meaningful NFL game just seems cruel. But we persevere every other offseason and we will this year too.

    Of course, OIL blog updates will slow during the offseason. Expect a few scattered updates here and there but nothing major. 
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    The main priority this offseason will be organizing and finalizing the OIL2. There are still a few spots open in the OIL2, so tell your old 158 or SECFOR buddies about it. We also need to order the OIL2 trophy: the Killman Memorial Trophy.

    And we hope to come to a consensus over the summer on a draft date and location. It would be great to see some of the guys who haven't been able to attend our draft recently. 

    Until then, enjoy the Super Bowl and head on over to Fantasy Football Calculator to get those mock drafts started.
  • Published on

    New Footer

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    New footer at bottom of each page.

    The bottom of each page on okiraqi.org has a new look. The new footer is clean, simple, and professional. I take pride in this site, and I want you to as well. Contact the commissioner if you have suggestions for the web site.
  • Published on

    New Donation Page

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    There is now a donation page on the site and donation buttons spread throughout the site as well. The reasons for this are simple. 

    The OIL has grown a lot in eight years. We have traveling trophies, a Web site, and multiple domain names (the original OklahomIraqis.com, TheOIL.org, and okiraqi.org).

    The trophies cost money to produce and ship. It costs money to engrave the champion's name each year. And it costs money to transport the trophy to the new champion.

    Our Web site is hosted by Weebly. The administrative fees for hosting a site like ours cost about $50 each year. 

    Plus, our domain names have to be renewed each year and their prices vary. 

    And there are incidental fees, which include professional logo design for teams and random purchases for the league (e.g. league banner for draft day [coming in 2014] and league-branded beer coozies). 

    These are things I do because I love our league and being the best commissioner I can be truly is my hobby. I know that nothing I do is required of me, so I don't expect to be compensated for each and every expense. But if you're interested in helping out, there's a way to do that now. 

    This will always be a free league. We play for pride, and we play for trophies. But consider donating to the league every so often so that it continues to be the best fantasy football experience around.

    You may also donate to the league by purchasing OIL merchandise from our league store. We have a little bit of everything for the league and individual teams. Check out some examples:
  • Published on

    Beer Coozies are in the Mail

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    Expect to receive OIL-branded beer coozies in the near future. Thanks to imprint.com for the quick turnaround. 

    Finch asked about small OIL stickers. Those are in production. It was $33 for 100 4" x 2" stickers including shipping. 

    Should anyone want to pitch in for the coozies, stickers, or web site fees, PayPal the funds to the commissioner using the donate page.

    Remember that our CafePress store has hundreds of items you can customize with your league or team logo. If there's a product you want in the store that is not already included, let the commissioner or co-commissioner know and we'll add it.