Been there, done that
by roseburgian on Feb 12, 2007 8:19 PM PST
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And, with luck, not doing it again.
I expect most of you have read today's True Hoop entries (http://www.truehoop.com/) from Kevin Arnovitz. The post that struck home with me was the reference to a column written by Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star: http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070212/COLUMNISTS01/702120328/1062/SPORTS04
Reading Mr. Kravitz's column and--more to the point--the 148 responses to the column, was a blast of deja vu. These fans are CRANKY. Almost every responder was ticked off about (a) the "thug" image of the players; or (b) the crappy job managment and ownership is doing; or (c) "the NBA has generally gone to hell," (but the Pacers, in particular, are in whatever circle is reserved for lousy organizations); or (d) all of the above.
After heroically suppressing the urge to post a "Nyah nyah, your turn. What's that? JailPacers? hehehehe," sort of comment, I got to thinking about the flavor of the posts.
People, this was the kind of stuff I was reading about the Blazers six months ago (okay, or later, depending on who's posting--love ya, prophet and fatty!).
Now I'm not saying all is now well. But, dang, the prospects of the team are looking a heck of a lot brighter than they were six months ago. We like [most of] the players. Paul Allen is buying back the Rose Garden. And I'd say the general tenor of this site is pretty hopeful. This is progress! Enjoy it!
[sigh] This post has been brought to you by Pollyannaburgian.
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Chillingly similar
by shenanigans on Feb 12, 2007 8:50 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
by JPop on Feb 12, 2007 8:58 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
For a while...
But now we've clearly turned a corner in every respect. We still have a couple of players that are regrettable, but overall this franchise is 90% improved and with Allen buying the Rose Garden, it proves to the fans (of which this poster always remained loyal) that this team is here to stay.
For those of us who were here to witness the championship, the Drexler years and then watch the team slide into the toilet and now crawling back out it's been a ride of unspeakable highs & lows. But it has also taught those few of us a lot about professional sports.
by blazerprophet on Feb 13, 2007 7:23 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
again mr.prophet
by fatty on Feb 13, 2007 9:07 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Thank You
by blazerprophet on Feb 13, 2007 9:19 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
A bit negative?
by TwoDeep on Feb 13, 2007 9:51 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
I Know
by blazerprophet on Feb 13, 2007 10:20 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
You know
Every one of those deals (save perhaps a Pippen or so) was like purchasing on a credit card. You were getting all the great stuff now but you knew someday the bill would come due with interest in the form of character/personality issues and massive contracts for declining veterans. You could see it coming. And it did, right around 2001. In the end we basically defaulted and got repo'd.
So it was quick only in the sense that one day the mailbox is empty and the next day the dreaded bill arrives, but really it was several years in the making.
--Dave
by Dave on Feb 13, 2007 10:51 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Agreed
by blazerprophet on Feb 13, 2007 11:05 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Don't ignore the record .....
2001/2002 49-33 record and the playoff's
2002/2003 50-32 record and the playoff's. Almost
beat Dallas in the 7th game after being
down 3-0.
2003/2004 Rebuilding under Nash and so very sadly
for me our 21 year playoff streak came
to an end :( :(
So I'm nor sure about your "You could see it coming. And it did, right around 2001" statement Dave.
If we really were the worst team in major sports as you and BP are alleging, it was only for the years 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 which were the only season's we didn't have a winning record. And even with only 21 wins, 2005/2006 was showing some promise to we 'through thick and thin' fans.
Of course now I'll probably hear that there is more to it than just a winning record, but I was awfully proud of that consecutive playoff streak. As long as we kept winning,it was something the Lakers had/could never match.
by TwoDeep on Feb 13, 2007 2:09 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
It depends on what is classified as the worst
You know, in classic cartoon fashion, the Blazers pulled the sinking ship routine. As the boat goes down, the captain climbs the tallest maste. Once he reaches the top, it doesn't matter because eventually, that's going under too. Our Blazers franchise was basically the same. As the team began to sink, we brought in Cheeks to to act as the tallest maste. Good character guy. This didn't change the fact that the ship was sinking. Eventually, it was Cheeks that went down with the ship. If we look, we preserved one player from that catastrophe. ZBO. D-Miles too, but he's more or less just a chunk of the Iceburg that opened the whole big enough for the ship to gain water.
My point is, no matter who was standing at the top when the ship sank, it was still sinking during those early 2000-2003 teams. Portland won, but nobody cared.
Now, we win a game or two and it's a relief, it's hope, but most of all, it's a small step in the right direction, the right way.
Maybe the Blazer's weren't the worst team in the league after 2000 WCF Game 7 loss to the Lakers. But to the fans who could see it coming, even through the "Winning" seasons with Cheeks, the worst was well on it's way.
As a blazer fan, it was hardest to stomach the players that gave just enough to CTC. Who do your root for? You team filled with a bunch of A-Holes that could care less if the fans in Portland were supporting them, or the Lakers.
I, for one, sadly, supported the Lakers. It was just too painful to watch the players squander the love that I had for this team.
Though I know that most of the Blazer Fans on BE, would probably lynch me after this confession, to my defense, the Blazer squads of a few years ago were Blazer teams worthy of Praise.
Once Bonzi was traded, I knew that the team was moving in the right direction. When we got Rahim for Rasheed, I was more motivated to watch the team.
I never had a problem with Ruben and to this day, I still think that Damon has earned himself a place in the Blazer hall of fame. But all of these guys may have played for the Trailblazers but this was not a Team that fit our legacy.
Bottom line. If I had a choice between rooting for those teams that won 50 games a year or the one that won 21 games last year, I'd have to go with the last years team. More painful to watch, but in the end was well worth the suffering. It helped me grow to appreciate what it means to have an NBA franchise in my home town.
by rpxxxiv on Feb 13, 2007 3:46 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Correction about Praise
by rpxxxiv on Feb 13, 2007 3:49 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Real Nice Post rpxxsiv!
But I do want to respond to your following statement:
"My point is, no matter who was standing at the top when the ship sank, it was still sinking during those early 2000-2003 teams. Portland won, but nobody cared.
Well, I was one Blazer fan who did care. Very much cared. As I'd mentioned, I was extremely proud of that consecutive playoff streak. We nearly set the all time record for any major sports team ever! The worst franchise in pro sports? I have trouble comprehending that thought.
by TwoDeep on Feb 13, 2007 4:27 PM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Of course you cared
Yeah, the playoff streak was a nice feather in our cap, but let me ask you this: Would you trade those last three playoff busts for a playoff appearence now?
I would gladly trade all of the streak for a championship.
The playoffs are nice, but during the end of Portland's streak, the appearences were not only meaningless, but the personell that we had on our team did not care enough to strive for the next level.
You could say that it was because of the letdown of 2000, or Cheeks' inability to put the right Xs and Os in front of his guys, but the bottom line is that working hard and bringing it to your opponent became secondary to the Players egos and off court agendas. Eventually, no one really cared if we made the playoffs, only that Portland continue its streak. Once the streak was over, so was the support of all of the fairweather fans.
In my opinion, we could make the playoffs for 100 years in a row, but if we never won the whole thing, the playoffs would really mean nothing at all.
We had the talent on this team to win, we just never had the heart, after 2000.
So to clarify: you represent the faction that was spurred on by keeping the playoff streak alive. I, on the other hand, focused more on the success of this squad, in it's attempt to put a banner in the rafters..
Anything less than dedication towards winning is a deriliction of duty.
But because our fanfair was boosted by the inflow of New Oregon Residents riding the train that was put in motion by the hardwork of our Rip City Teams, once the train stopped and the streak of playoff appearences ended, so did the apparent support of the fan base.
The true blazer fans had a voice that couldn't be heard through the rumblings of the bandwagoners. Most of the fans that were so fired up during the 2001-2004 seasons, weren't around for the pre"Rip City" era, when Clyde, Porter and Kersey were drafted and didn't stick around for the gory mess afterwards. Sure they were there when we played the Bulls in 1992, but they didn't struggle through the rough years between 77 and 89 where we were pretty much mediocre.
The reason for their support: Winning
The reason for their desertion: Losing
The reason for our(True Blazer Fans) support: Community Love
The reason for our desertion: Paul Allen moves the team
The point of the above is that no matter if we win or lose, we love our team. It's our team. It's the fans that made this team the beautiful entity it is. Yeah, during the successful times, everyone got the benefit of more attention, more respect and greater revenues, but the core of this team did not change. The core being the fans that support this team, love this team as a whole, and the players who love this team.
As for being the worst franchise in sports, it's not because of the True Fans, but because of the mass Exodus by the Fair Weather fans and poor franchise management.
The statistics that go into the ranking of sports franchises is fair. The variables that were used to breakdown various areas of the fan experience, I feel are valid and create solid benchmarks for gauging the active participation by arena management, team management, and overall franchise contribution to the sport.
Portland lacks in quite a few areas that it once set the benchmark for. Unfortunately, due to the integration of the Rose Quarter with Trimet, it makes it difficult to just build a new arena, or perform some major overhauls to the RG.
This will be a process, in which the play and success of our Blazers will lay the ground work.
Hopefully, there will be a better streak, one that I feel every Blazer fan can hope for: Consecutive Sellouts!!!
It's hard to move a team that has a record number of sellout going on. :-)
by rpxxxiv on Feb 14, 2007 10:13 AM PST up reply actions 0 recs
Prophet's noble assessemtn
In losing our voice, we lost one of the things that made Portland great, our connection to the only major sports franchise to have a home in the Rose City.
We all struggled. Prophet, Fatty, Dave, Scotty (And I could go on and on but we all know who we are), suffered because the critics of the team were not the fans as much as the outsiders who called out for change, but were in no way supporting the teams that we had.
Whenever I go to the Rose Garden to watch the game, the empty seats don't tell me that no one wants to come to the games. It tells me that the transplants are not interested in rebuilding Portland's team. They just wanted to cling to our success then detach themselves from our failures.
Well, if this isn't a sign of good things to come. I take the bus nearly every day to work. For those who are familiar with Portland, everything revolves around the downtown area. Max, Trimet and CTran all make numerous stops at the Rose Quarter, before making the trip across the bridge into downtown. Especially if you are coming from the East Side of town. The one thing that I have noticed, and happily I might add, the amount of Blazer hats, Jerseys, Coats, swag etc has become more prevalent again. I hear teens talking about Martell or Brandon Roy. I hear adults talk about Z-BO and Jarret. More importantly, I hear a voice within the community. Portland is reconnecting with the thing that made it a great team to play for, the Community.
Once the Blazer's were no longer competing for deep runs into the playoffs, the team changed it's focus from appealing to the community that supported it to the national spotlight where it's negative image could be sold and marketed.
But after that downfall, the running jokes around the league in reference to the JailBlazers, that spotlight became more of a deterant and drove the last remaining non-community oriented fans away.
I think our turning point came when on Draft Day 2006, Stephen A Smith made an ill-fated reference to the JailBlazers. This was one of the best things to happen to Portland on that day, along with drafting 4 future stars in the making. (I'm including Joel Freeland because he's having some great success overseas) In one moment, the Jailblazers reference was snuffed out by the ignorant commentary of the uninformed media personalities. It showed that Portland has exited the media spotlight and could now focus on what is really important to the team: Rebuilding it's relationship to the community.
This is what made this team so great for so long. As fans, we accepted losing to better teams, having an off night or two as long as our players gave it all that they had, weren't afraid to embrace our community, and most of all loved this team above all other BS.
We have most of that now. As for being a fan, we have to stick buy our team, so that the new fans, the young fans and even some of the bandwagon fans have an example of team dedication.
Last year, we were babies. This year, we're toddlers. Next year, we start school and expectations will be much higher. Next year, the tests will start, the losses will be more scrutinized and our patiences as Blazer Fans will be tested.
Until then, I'm going to enjoy watching my team go from taking baby steps to running, to climbing up stairs. Eventually, they'll be at the top with an appreciation for the hard work it took to get there, the patience that was needed to persevere and connection to the community that supported them through thick and thin.
by rpxxxiv on Feb 13, 2007 10:37 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
rpxxxiv
by fatty on Feb 13, 2007 11:47 AM PST reply actions 0 recs
Wow.
That is, after Portland has a couple more trophies in the case :)
by rockingharder on Feb 13, 2007 1:46 PM PST reply actions 0 recs
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