Separation Anxiety and a Cry for Help

by fatwansaboni on Jul 30, 2007 3:45 PM PDT Comment 9 comments

Living here in scenic southern New Mexico has many advantages. Talking to other Blazer fans is not one of them. While I love to visit Blazersedge and it does keep me informed and entertained (thanks Dave and all), I crave person to person conversation at the local brewery that is lacking.

I try and try but there are only so many Bill Walton the counterculture icon, Bill Walton the awful announcer, didn't draft Jordan, Jailblazers, number one lottery pick, and doesn't it rain all the time there conversations I can endure. Converts are hard to come by and to make matters worse, despite our proximity to Phoenix, San Antonio, Denver, Houston, and Dallas, the place is crawling with LAKER fans. Kobe jerseys are everywhere.

My wife tries but her fandom is limited and usually only surfaces when she sits in front of the TV or the team and watches them play. She will also counter questions about Jack's ego and Przybilla's tendency to hug other grown men with smart aleck comments that expose her truly limited devotion. I mean come on these are big issues. My daughter is still a little young but I'm slowly bringing more Blazer paraphernalia to her attention.

So, my Blazermaniac brothers and sisters in distant lands, what should I do? What do you do? While "stop whining" might be an apt response, I'll just get it out of the way now.

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ask your boss

For a job transfer to Portland, Oregon?

It's a start...

Give me Blazers, or give me Death!

by nateinaloha on Jul 30, 2007 4:04 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Here's what I do.

Okay, I'm in Seattle, so it's not like New Mexico where you're completely out of Portland's sphere of influence. However, people around here are so down on the Sonics that it's really hard to find someone who really loves NBA basketball.

So my response has been to simply drop Blazer references and pretend that people know what I'm talking about. For example, I work with a talented guy who never manages to live up to his potential. One day I told him he was like Martell Webster and he just needed to get his head on straight. When he inevitably asked what on Earth I was talking about, it opened the door for me to spend ten minutes talking about the Blazers. The interesting thing is, now that my friends all know me as a Blazer fan, some of them actually keep up on NBA and Blazer news just so they have something to talk about when I bring it up. They've also offered to go see games with me when the Blazers come to town.

by bocious on Jul 30, 2007 4:24 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I like

Next time I get man hugged I'll call the guy the vanilla gorilla!

by fatwansaboni on Jul 30, 2007 4:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Or...

You could always just hide out at your office and post on BlazersEdge. That's what I do!

by Champs2009 on Jul 30, 2007 4:29 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Find friends who like basketball

Then you talk shop about each others teams and watch them play against each other. Eventually they'll learn about your team so they can trash talk it and then that moves into taking your team as their second. Of course, this means you have to endure THEIR team speak, but this helps you know the enemy and lets you post some insightful thoughts on the BE.

Hard work beats talent when talent fails to work hard.

by ratbastird on Jul 30, 2007 5:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Yeah

I do have a little of that with the guys I play pick up with but none of them seem committed enough to a team to really exchange too much. I imagine part of my expectation has to do with the amazing resource we have here.

This area seems devoted to football but I know we have basketball fans too because they were there to see the NMSU Aggies make it into the NCAAs with their now former coach Reggie Theus. I hear many folks here express like for college ball and outright dislike for NBA ball.

And yes I imagine I am a bandwagon jumper here at NMSU because I moved here a paltry seven years ago. Don't hate on me fatty.

by fatwansaboni on Jul 30, 2007 7:50 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i feel for you

man i was stationed in oakland,orlando and then philly... i really know your pain dude :O)

if it can be conceived it can be achieved

by lyfefindsaway on Jul 30, 2007 7:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I know your pain...

I spent our great early 90's run travelling between Germany and Georgia in the Army..and to make it worse, during Desert Storm I was stuck on a tank Crew with 2 guys from Detroit and a guy from Southern Cali. Couldn't really talk Blazers with them, but the arguements were sure entertaining. THe nice thing about being in Georgia was that for 4 straight seasons I could go to Atlanta to see the guys there (never had trouble getting tix), and since I was the only person in the lower level in PDX gear with a giant sign proclaiming Portland Superiority I created some issues in the stands. I miss those days :)

On Paul Allen's cash it should say "In Pritchard We Trust"

by kevingiard1 on Jul 31, 2007 8:13 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Rooting for the away team

I did live in Houston for almost a year and I went to see the blazers play there. I was indeed a minority and the locals made it known that I was not welcome. There were some good games.

Portland played a preseason game against Denver in El Paso and I went to that two years ago. There were many Denver fans but mostly they were Najera fans. I think the game was set in El Paso to draw Mexican fans who wanted to see their countryman. He destroyed us by the way. My wife bet some middle schoolers forty pushups on Portland and, when we lost by 30 or so, she did them to the astonishment of those kids and the rest of the peeps around us.

These are good memories you're triggering. Thanks.

by fatwansaboni on Jul 31, 2007 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs