Where Buzzkill Happens

Aside from the somewhat cruddy shooting percentage, very little has been disappointing about the Kevin Durant experience thus far in 2007-08.

But there is something rather disappointing about this Kevin Durant commercial.

Make no mistake, for about 23 of the 30 seconds it runs, this ad is great. The music gets you hyped up and as Durant walks down the tunnel shedding jersey after jersey (going from his high school jerseys to his Texas jersey), the tension gradually builds. You know the Sonics jersey is coming next, and somehow that's exciting even though the Sonics may currently be the most dirt-awful team in the entire NBA.

And just as Durant is turning to head out of the tunnel -- Sonics jersey fully revealed -- and you're anticipating how this ad might end, the tag line comes up on the screen, and suddenly your virtual woodrow goes 100 percent limp.

"Where wearing the dream happens," says the graphic on the screen.

That's the big payoff? Honestly, if that's the phrase they're gonna go with, the ad would be better if it didn't say anything at all -- just flash the NBA logo and be done with it. Never mind that "where wearing" is a decidedly unpleasant slice of cacophony; more so, it's just a wasted phrase that really doesn't pay off how good the rest of the ad is.

There is an alternate version that says "Where the next chapter happens," but even that's a little disappointing. Frankly I think I'd be happier with "Where shit happens" than the current choices. That, or I'd rather see Durant walk out of the tunnel and promptly get plowed over by a golf cart. At least that would be unexpected in a good way, and it would essentially have the same effect of completely sabotaging an otherwise enjoyable ad.

Thank you for your time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have some other entirely inconsequential things to analyze.