Eighteen-year-old Ethan Burton is excited about starting classes this fall at the University of Oklahoma. Sure, he’s looking forward to college, but it also means that the drive will be considerably shorter to Thunder home games. To make all but two of the games during the 2009-10 season, Ethan shuttled from his hometown of Clinton in western Oklahoma.
“I thought it would be cool to go to all the games,” he said. “But when I realized I actually could go to all of them, that’s when my passion for the NBA and the Thunder took on a new meaning.”
Ethan became a Season Ticket Member, having socked away money earned from summer jobs.
“I can tell you my parents did not pay one dime all year long for any kind of expense for me going [to the Thunder games in Oklahoma City],” he said with a well-earned measure of pride. “Some nights I would actually come home with more money than I had left with because I would win something here or there.”
The Thunder enthusiast already has his tickets for next season, too. And since Ethan plans to study sports management at OU, maybe his time cheering on the team will count as extra credit. After all, his long-term goal is to be general manager of an NBA team.
“I know most kids have dreams of making it to the Bigs, but this is a goal that I believe I can reach one day,” Ethan said. “Before this year, I had never even given a thought to wanting to be a GM. But having loved sports so much all my life, I was thinking one day while looking at a story about Sam Presti and said, ‘Wow! That’s the most perfect job for me!’”
Thunder fans of all sorts can check out the online, interactive fan community of THUNDERALLY.Phil Bacharach is the Director of Corporate Communications for the Thunder. He is looking for die-hard Thunder fans throughout the world. If you or somebody you know bleeds Thunder blue, contact Phil by clicking here