Why I love the Portland Trail Blazers
I am a Portland Trail Blazers’ fanatic. I watch every game during the season (live, on television, or through the internet), read blogs and listen to podcasts online, and engage in Blazer discussions daily with fellow fans. During the middle of the offseason, I find myself searching hungrily for any bit of Blazer news I can find; it is safe to say that the Blazers are a large part of my life year round. My “obsession”, if you will, should only grow in the near future, as I plan to at least occasionally write about the Blazers for OddConnections.
Some friends and family have half-jokingly questioned the amount of time I spend following the Blazers. I have been told that my obsession is “pointless”, advised that I am too emotionally tied to the team, and asked questions like “what do the Blazers have to do with your life?” These legitimate pieces of input have helped put the extent of my fandom into perspective and raised my personal curiosity on the issue. Why do I care so much about the Blazers?
The easy answer to this question is that I am obsessed with sports and the Blazers are the only professional sports team in Portland. But I don’t feel that this answer quite covers it. What is it about the Blazers that consumes my thoughts and has such a large emotional effect on me? Why was I so unbelievably overjoyed when Brandon Roy hit a 30-foot shot to beat the Rockets at the buzzer, and likewise so completely devastated when the Rockets surprised us in the first game of the playoffs? I will now attempt to answer these questions, both to shed some light on a major aspect of my life and provide a base for my future Blazers-related posts.
The first and foremost reason why I love the Portland Trail Blazers is the way the team brings people together and creates a community. I have grown up in a city where Blazermania is rampant. My community of friends and family has collectively felt the ups and downs of the Blazer franchise by attending, listening, or watching games together, exchanging opinions and arguments on the team, and following the team through the same media. I rarely watch a Blazer game alone, and if I do I will most likely discuss and breakdown the game later on that night with others. My favorite memories following the Blazers—the playoff runs during the Rasheed Wallace era, getting Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden on draft day, seeing Roy score 52 points against Phoenix, ect.—are all memorable because I was able to share those experiences with my friends and family in some way.
My competitive nature also plays a role in my passion for the Blazers. I have played sports my entire life and my competitiveness in playing sports carries over to following them. I usually end up disliking any team the Blazers lose to and I detest certain opposing teams and players almost as much as I like the Blazers; I will always hate the Lakers for the 2000 conference finals and certain players, such as Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, and Mr. Bryant, for related reasons.
I am also competitive when it comes to my opinion of the Trail Blazers as compared to those of my fellow Blazer fans. I like to think of myself as a knowledgeable sports fan with an eye for talent and potential and a good sense of general team strategy and tactics. I also like to take and defend strong opinions on these issues (as you will all find out through my writing). I find that having a strong opinion on Blazer issues makes it more interesting and fun to argue about with other people, and it is always exciting to see how my theories will pan out. For example, one of my strongest Blazer-related stances—that Jerryd Bayless is the Blazers’ point guard of the future and will become a great compliment to Roy in the backcourt—is a very controversial point among Blazers fans. This will make it even more intriguing for me to watch Bayless’ development over the next several years, as my sports-knowledge bragging rights will be on the line (I will save my reasoning for being a Bayless believer for a later post).
A final reason why I am so obsessed with the Blazers is the current make up of the team. While I have followed the Blazers closely every year for the past decade, I can’t lie and pretend that I’m not more interested in the team now then during the Zach Randolph, Darius Miles era. This isn’t because I am a bandwagon fan; I still spent a lot of time following the team during the earlier years and rooted for them unconditionally. Rather, it is because the current team is made up of a group of professionals who are not only good teammates and members of the community, but also combine to form one of the greatest combinations of youth, talent, and potential in NBA history.
Brandon Roy (just turned 25 years old), LaMarcus Aldridge (just turned 24), and Rudy Fernandez (24) will begin to enter their prime over the next few seasons. Martell Webster (22), Greg Oden (21), Jerryd Bayless (21), and Nicolas Batum (20), are still a long ways a way from entering theirs. As one can easily see, the potential of this team, a team that tied for the 2nd best record in the Western Conference last year and just added a still-potent Andre Miller, is off the charts. It’s true that a lot depends on Oden and his development. But Blazer fans, don’t be fooled by any Blazer pessimism you hear: this team could be a dynasty and will at the least be among the leagues elite teams for the next decade. Considering the exciting and unique situation that the Blazers are currently in, it is more then understandable that myself and other Blazer fans would care more about the team now then at times in the past.
In the end, though, it all comes back to the community aspect. When I think ahead to the deep playoff runs in the team’s near future, I am mainly excited that I will be able to enjoy the experiences with my Blazer community, whether in Portland or somewhere else. I will be with the people with whom I have spent my entire life arguing and debating Blazer issues, sharing feelings of joy and despair, and waiting for our moment of glory. This will only make achieving the ultimate goal that much sweeter.