F R O M
T H E
ED I TO R
A Love for the Game T H E DAT E WA S J U N E 6 , 2 01 2 — T H E day I became a sports fan and never looked back. Only real ones will immediately know the moment. We had just barely sat down to watch the Oklahoma City Thunder play the last game of the Western Conference Finals, when Russell Westbrook took off from the ground over the entire Spurs starting lineup in one of the most monstrous dunks anyone had ever seen. The crowd erupted in unison. One big, deafening, sold-out, free-white-T-shirt-wearing mass of celebration. KD went on to score 34 points and played the entire game. The OKC Thunder claimed a spot in the NBA Finals by definitively and enthusiastically beating San Antonio. There wasn’t any “house divided” that night. The entire state was on board and on its feet. And we won — the underdogs won — and better yet, we beat Texas of all places! Kid brother no more. I watched the game from my apartment in L.A. with visiting family, and saw something. Something big and different was happening in Oklahoma. I had that same feeling this summer watching the softball Women’s College World Series. The whole city was packed with visitors wearing fan gear. My social media feeds were full of people traveling with their families to OKC to see the
game and commenting on it. Something big was going on, and the world was noticing. In this August’s 405 Magazine, we cover our city’s deep passion for sports and how it has shaped our community. David Skidmore, Evan Musil and I absolutely loved writing this invigorating feature. Art Director Christopher Lee took our cover and design spread to the next level with a playbook-style layout that jumps off the page (pg. 36). You will also find a long-form article written by the brilliant Evie Klopp Holzer, covering the life and story of a woman who went from Miss Oklahoma to the first female sports agent to represent a Top 5 pick in the NFL Draft, and who continues to change the game (pg. 46). Also in this issue, you will find a colorful tailgating fashion spread (pg. 22) as well as game day food tips (pg. 58). We have the honor to introduce you to a man making OKC safer through mentorship (pg. 20), explore an elegant Tudor revival home (pg. 30), highlight the diverse downtown food hall that our staff frequents weekly (pg. 52), meet the mother/ daughter duo behind Oklahoma’s biggest beauty brand (pg. 66) and share an interview with Mayor David Holt on what it means to now officially be the nation’s 20th largest city (pg. 70). Lastly, we are always thrilled to present to
you the distinguished “Faces of the 405” (pg. 50). As always, we are thankful to have you, our readers, on our team! Go fight win,
Julie Partin EDITOR IN CHIEF
THUNDERING UP THROUGH THE YEARS As an OKC fan living in downtown L.A., I would try to catch the Thunder anytime they played one of the local teams. Once we moved here, I was elated to start going to the home games in person. I’ve been fortunate enough to experience it all. Loud City, courtside, corporate box, Russ’ emotional return, the kiss cam, buzzer beaters when we won, buzzer beaters when we lost, even that weird year when I was a virtual fan in the playoffs bubble. I can’t imagine life in OKC without our sole major league team, and I have full confidence that one day — hopefully sooner rather than later — we will watch the championship parade in person.
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AUGUST 2022
