In the French port city of Nantes resides basketball lover Maxime Poumerol. The teenager loves the sport so much that he routinely takes time out to coach a group of 8-year-old kids. But while the children look to him for guidance, this teenager gets his roundball inspiration by turning his attention across the Atlantic – to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
“I love how they play,” said the 15-year-old boy, whose other interests include tennis, music and gadgetry.
“There is a collective spirit that’s so impressive! They play together, and it's spectacular. I love that!”
Maxime is especially awed by Serge Ibaka, one of the team’s two French-speaking players (Thabo Sefolosha being the other), but he adds that he can’t really single out a player as his favorite. He owns a few Kevin Durant posters and pays tribute to all the teammates on his French-language Thunder-centric blog.
Still, the seven-hour time difference between Oklahoma City and France doesn’t give much Maxime much opportunity to see the team in action, although he did manage last season to watch two games live over the Internet.
He harbors dreams of eventually seeing his beloved Thunder play in person.
“Perhaps when I will have a job I can discover the United States and see a Thunder game, but it's just a dream.”
The Thunder faithful worldwide are welcome on THUNDERALLY, an online, interactive community devoted to Thunder fans.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