Originally published Thursday, September 4, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Oklahoma City's NBA team will be called Thunder

Team formerly known as Sonics will be called Thunder

The team formerly known as the Sonics is now the Thunder.

Of course, that isn't much of a surprise.

Last month, nba.com identified the Oklahoma City team as the Thunder when it announced the schedule, then pulled references to the nickname the same day. Last week, some NBA teams began promoting ticket sales, listing games against the Thunder. Last weekend, the team's logo was on the Internet.

Owner Clay Bennett finally made his announcement Wednesday, with a group of children and team members pulling down a curtain to reveal a large banner as the AC/DC song "Thunderstruck" played.

Bennett said the team colors will be blue, red and orange — blue to match the main color of Oklahoma's state flag and red and orange to reflect the colors of the sunset.

"It's not terrible," wrote Oklahoman columnist Berry Tramel of the logo. "But it's not snazzy."

Fan reaction on the paper's Web site was mixed, at best. Some liked the colors and the nickname; very few liked the logo.

"I am Thunder-whelmed," said one fan.

"I'm not going to buy anything with that mess on it," said another.

And finally: "A total hicktown embarrassment."

The Associated Press and The Oklahoman contributed to this report.

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