I’m gonna have to read that again, but I think I got it….

be patient.

 Not just here, but anywhere. Highly recommended, rec’d, +1, and everything. Great job at writing this catharsis!

it’s kind of ironic, i was having a hard time waiting for tomorrows game, so i thought i would look to see if you had posted anything new. low and behold a new article on the very subject. you really hit the nail on the head.. patience is definitely lacking throughout.. we should all just sit back and enjoy the ride.

regardless of context, but espeshelly potent concerning. ive lost a lot of my paswrd info, and hav only ben able tu lrk. after reading this post, i felt moraly obligated tu go creat anuthr email and make a new sb akount. thanks for sharring your devotion.

Absolutely not. Quite the contrary, you stirke a cord in so many of us. We wish we could put our thoughts on paper so eloquently as you do. Good lord, I know I cannot, and most of the time I have to re remind myself of this after I have just hit "post".

Dave, you have a common sense appeal and writing style that draws me to your site. So many of us here choose to share our love for sports with only a carefully selected ring of friends (and maybe some family too). It is with those we trust that we ultimately build our relationships in sports. I trust you when I log on to Blazers Edge. When I add you to my special circle of sports family, you make number 6. In the long haul of sports passion that is part of my daily life, that number is quite enough. When times are exciting, building to potential greatness, the bandwagon moments then become a beautiful thing.

The problem as I see it is simple. Too much is too much. Gavin Dawson and Colin Cowherd are great examples (IMO). I felt both were once real, I trusted them. Now power has changed them both. And as I like to say, character matters when character counts. Too many people lose our trust when given power.

You have not crossed that line. Yet you have that power as I am reasonably sure your readership is now very large and growing. You too could begin to say outrageous things because this new found power could compel, drive and yes change you. Why have you not? I like to think it is because of your character. And for that you are still in my small, very private circle of sports family that I find satisfying and fulfilling. It is because I can trust you.

Thanks for the great story, it is one most of us only wish we could put down into words and exactly why I come here.

Perspective is good. Living in the moment is also good, but it comes without perspective.

It’s fun to think that right now is all that matters, I think it is what makes escaping our own daily grind and losing ourselves in the alternate reality of sports fandom so universal. But adding some historical perspective and quieting ourselves for a longer timeline in this experience is a good thing too.

This was a very enjoyable read and has me convinced that the champoinship soon to come will be uniquely sweet for you and the other long sufferring fans.

I wish I could type more at the moment but I’m am extremely tired having just worked a long day and waking soon to start another. That was a remarkable blog, it attached itself to my emotions and I can’t explain my feelings. This is a great blog on life lessons and education, and seemingly enough will continue to resonate in my mind. I hope with another read over that I can feel the same ingestion.

I will print this off and hand it to people who ask why I am the way I am. I came into it a few years earlier than you – my first pets, two hamsters, were named Wicks and Petey (how I said Petrie). One of them ate the other one, a bad omen for that team.

I understand we may get swept this year out of the first round of the playoffs this year by the L@kers or Hornets,but ‘78-89 and ’93-’98 and ‘01-’03 have conditioned me to be positive. And it is so much easier with a team that is loaded with potential and flexibility.

I’m stuck on the Blazers like one day Oden will be stuck in the paint. Nobody and nothing is going to move him or me. Thank you for refortifying me

Dave,

It’s already been stated but you perfectly put into words what I have been feeling for 30 + years. I was thirteen when we won the championship. My first game was with my dad a few years earlier against Bob Lanier and the Detroit Pistons. He had like 36 points and we got destroyed. But my love for the team grew from that date and it culminated with the championship in 77-78. It has been a great 30 years since then (I block out a few of those years) despite never having won a championship.

I can and will be patient as hard as that can be sometimes, because I know when we win again I will be able to remember the innocence of going to that first game with my dad, how I felt when we won the championship, how I felt when I took my son to his first Blazer game and how the last 30 (or 40 years) provided me with so much enjoyment and family bonding that it will be just like the first championship.

You’ve got about 13 years on me in terms of fandom — my Blazer memories started with the ‘91 loss to LA. I actually remember rooting for Chicago in the finals and feeling guilty about it a year later.
I wanted to share one other thing also: I lived in Western Massachusetts during the 2003 World Series. A couple of my best friends were Red Sox fans. They had experienced many more decades of watching and waiting, some even more epic collapses than ours. I had been to a Sox game earlier in the season, right after the Nomar trade, and the local media had panned the team for the trade, saying they weren’t even going to make the playoffs … blah blah blah. Same when they went down 3-0 against the Yankees. But to be there and watch that historic series, to see my friends watching and the excitement growing, it was all pretty cool.
There’s no knowing when it will happen. But I have a lot of confidence that it will happen for us sometime during the KP era.

It is just what it says it is…" A site for the fans by the fans…"

I’m not a fan, per se .. my buddy got on your roster…so i’m paying close attention

you don’t need to make excuses for being passionate about your team — right or wrong, opinions will be all over the place…it’s great there is a place to air it out as a fan..

other analysts have their own biases, and are often less willing to admit them :-)

and talking heads will make nnoise just to get attention…it’s all they do…

true fans earn the right to be optimistic, pessimistic, whatever…ID’ing yourself as a fan first means that you don’t have to have an objective fact based analytical proof…it is all conjecture anyway…

we don’t get the access that all the pro’s get…KP get’s to put people through all kindsa eval and such that we will never see…they time everything, measure everything…we see tidbits…

You spend a lot of time here discussing the minute details of your team and your observations of things around the league…very informed group..very honest about your homer-dom :-)

You have also been very open about letting people like me put our 2 cents in and have been good about giving credit where it’s due and giving me grief if I’m out of line…

No apologies…keep up the good work

Dave, Thanks. I’m totally on board with what you are saying. I am a life long Cubs fan so I feel the same way about the wait and the hype. The pressure contributes as well when you finally have a great season and then lose in the first round. Enjoy the ride because sometimes that’s all you get out of a season. Remember to love your team even when it hurts. Go Blazers!

  Judging from your commentary we are both about the same age, with a similar Blazer fandom timeline. I think you’ve captured a big part of what makes myself, you and others, Blazer fans. One thing I’d like to add to a great piece, is the history you outline, with the passage of time becomes to me like the flames of a crucible. From time to time in various Blazer chat rooms and forums certain fans of a Purple and Gold California team like to make appearances and flaunt their storied history of multiple championships. Some will even (LOL) at what they site as The Blazers “only” championship. Nothing bothers me less. I too have been through the same history you outline. It makes you stronger. Of course as a fan you always want the championship, it’s always the goal but it’s the journey that makes you stronger. I hope someday in the nearer future we do reach that summit of championship and when we do it’s going to be all the more sweeter because of our history.

Maybe all Blazer fans hide a secret dysfunction? I honestly wouldn’t trade histories with any other team and I don’t care how many banners they have hanging from their rafters. I’ll take the good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The recent memories being I remember when we won the #1 pick. That summer was a lot of fun, a real high. The anticipation of being able to draft a #1 pick as highly touted and hyped as Oden. I enjoyed the entire process. But speaking of Blazer fan dysfunction and I’m only speaking for myself, something deep inside didn’t feel right. Some Blazer fan voice whispered that it was all too easy. We had Aldridge, we had Brandon and now the fates had handed us a player many were calling the next great center? Well we all know the reversal of fortune with Oden. We all know recent history. However to me, when you tie it in with the entire history of The Blazers now it feels right. Okay, maybe that is going to upset a lot of purist Blazer fans. But to me, now Oden really is a Blazer. Now he’s been baptised if you will, with adversity. We Blazer fans have a history of challenges, adversities and highs and lows. Now Oden fits. I still dream of a championship for this team but now it includes Oden. When and I say WHEN we win a championship now it will redeem all the lows. The Blazers have never been that team handed perfection. We’ve always earned and built the best of our success. So Oden now must build a new reputation. He must slowly win back all the experts and pundits that once loved him but now have jumped off the bandwagon. I say PERFECT. It makes Oden a Blazer. I’ll take our history and I’ll take Greg Oden over all the shallow banners hanging over the spoiled stars in LA..

I attended every home game except for 6 games in the Blazer’s first 31 years. We never expected to win in 1977 until we crushed the Lakers 4-0 in the conference finals. We had never even been in the playoffs before. But that 1978 team was the finest and most dominant Blazer team ever. We were actually 50-10 (not 40-8) at the time Walton went down, and a 70 win season was within our reach. A 2nd championship seemed like a sure thing. It was heart-breaking when Walton broke his foot and I never dreamed I would still be waiting for that 2nd championship over 30 years later.

(Sadly, Walton tried to come back and play in the 78 playoff series against Seattle, but left in the 2nd game, and as a result never played for Portland again.)

but you need to get into the ear of your boy Gavin. He went on a rant about how Oden looking spent in the Miami game being unacceptable and that the Blazers don’t look like a playoff team because of Oden (huh?……5-3 is not a playoff team…..last I checked that translates out to almost exactly 50 wins over an 82 game schedule). Anyway…great post

BTW Wheels was on with Gavin and basically took him to task over his attitude re Oden and rightly pointed out that Gavin was basing a season (for Greg) on less than 30 mins of actual playing time ….for a rookie….after micro-fracture.

what a way to wake up!

It was articulate, succinct, and not pretentious. You drew a clear picture of nebulous, near sub-conscious feelings/thoughts that I myself have about snap judgments and fair weather fans. I think a lot of the things expressed in this post can also be applied to the way we go about life in general. I wish people would remember that being a “fan” or having any emotional stake in anyone else calls for patient loyalty. That is to say, I don’t think loyalty isn’t usually patient. I just think that most people forget that it should be. It is of a long-suffering, persevering character. If you are loyal to someone, but that loyalty is lost at the first sign of trouble, trial, or questioning, was it ever really loyalty in the first place?

Your piece was written to be read. Wow.

As I found myself siding with you on the emotional rollercoaster of being a Blazer fan, and remembering the good, bad and ugly times we’ve all been through – your perspective seems to have good reasoning for life in general. I mean, if we knew what will happen tomorrow would we really have interest today?

We are spoiled with technology and we want what comes easy and fast. Old fashioned hard work is gone and it seems that everyone thinks that they “deserve” to inherit money, or with little effort make six and seven figure incomes. We try to Tivo life and forecast with LITTLE data what could and should happen. Where is our patience and what happened to unwaivering loyalty?

Let’s give it a shot. Let’s take this season 1 game at a time. Let’s trust OUR coach, OUR players and OUR management to make this season a good one. Don’t speculate or get anxious. Don’t jump overboard if things get dark – history has proven that they probably will. But let’s watch the story-unfold as we would any good tv series – 1 episode at a time. Dig deep and find loyalty to our team. Don’t worry about trades, upcoming drafts or even the playoffs. They will without a doubt be here.

But if we pile up too many tomorrows and we’ll find that we’ve collected nothing but a bunch of empty yesterdays.

This has been a fun and fascinating season already! So please… stay with us fans. We have a lot of INDIVIDUAL games to cheer for… Tonight in New Orleans will be great!

Once again proving to be the voice of reason. Your absolute transparency shows your passion for this team and this game. That last paragraph gave me goosebumps, especially this:

No self-satisfaction can substitute for the feeling that your team is taking steps forward on a journey towards greatness and that you get a chance to walk alongside.

At times over the very difficult last 7 years I’ve questioned myself for maintaining such a strong love for my team. I’ve wondered if I’m a total idiot for my continued devotion. It’s this walking alongside on the journey towards greatness that makes it all worth it.

A+.

Paging BlogFather Abbott… if there was ever TrueHoop front page worthy material, here it is.

I grew up a Boston Red Sox fan through countless years of heartbreak and shortcomings. I learned something through all of that finally reaching the championship level. The ride was by far the best part. Now, after winning the first one in 86 years, and another last year, It’s really not as exciting anymore. They will always be my team, but in hindsight the years leading up to 2004 were the best and most fun. Just pushing, getting better, this could be the year, imagining what it would feel like, breaking a curse.

I also wonder if all of that negativity, and expectations of disaster in the city manifested on the field. Boston is a place where the mood of the entire city hangs on every pitch, and if its a ball, the season might be over. I really believe those guys felt that on the field, especially after Buckner when they learned they may even be hung for an error on the field. The only thing that changed that and enabled a championship, was a squad of “idiots” who didn’t care (Millar, Manny, Damon, Papi) drinking Jack Daniels before a decisive game to loosen up.

We have to be careful not to make these guys feel like they can’t make a mistake or that very pressure could be their demise. I think this may have something to do with the Greg face we’ve been seeing. Yes, we should hold them accountable, but remember they are OUR team and support them, wish for good things. They are the youngest team in the league and we expect playoffs. Which is fine, they may be capable, but lets not castrate them if there’s a streak of bad games or trouble getting in.

I lived through that in Boston, and it can CREATE a curse. Most of all, remember to enjoy the process of getting there. Those seasons are even more sweet then the ones after winning it. Expectations are different, the feeling has been realized, and it can’t be the same anymore. I want the Sox to win every year, but now I have to deal with bandwagon fans, and bandwagon accusations, and championship or bust doesn’t let the entire regular season be as enjoyable.

So my experience was that all of the energy and dreaming leading up to the moment, and the moment itself are the best things for a dedicated sports fan. So remember, we are on the ride now. Keep simple realistic expectations, take your time, enjoy the view, watch your team grow, take in the small achievements, these are in fact the glory days.

~Zach

I almost cried. OK , not really, but it was a moving post.

I would just like to say that for the younger generation here (2000 wcf) let us mourn and go through the grief process proper. I am mad at Nate and Travis, that is just level two of the grief chart, right?

Great Post.

Sophia

I couldn’t disagree more. We need more snap decisions based on practically no data. Isn’t that what the ESPN writers do?

I think you’re getting the hang of this writing thing. This post is way better than your second post on Blazer Thoughts about Zach Randolph.

who let all these old folks on the internet? I kid, I kid.

Great post Dave, and an excellent conversation here in the comments. Bedge f. t. w.

It’s so good to hear your perspective, because it truly comes from the heart(and you have a great memory to be able to put your historical thoughts into words )

   I, for one, am just happy that we have something to talk about….and the best part is, it is mostly positive with this team….(I tend to look for flaws too much)
   ….there will never be another 76-78 team..They were their own team………they had their own identity and it was special and special for the fans……it gave the city of Portland it’s own identity as well…Rip City (thanks Shonz)…..I got to watch many Blazer games live in those years, when I still lived in Portland….and I can tell you it was electric, to say the least….in was a festival like atmosphere and it got to the point in the 77-78 season, wins were automatic…(you just knew they would win the game, so you celebrated the whole 48…)…And so entertaining it was……that team was fun to watch play
   This team set the bar so high, that when Walton did get hurt, and you knew we would never be the same, it still didn’t matter…We were still rip city, and just because the bar had been lowered, we would never be taken off the map.
   
  It’s hard not to compare the present team with the 77 one….but to be honest with yourself, you cannot….you’d like them to be like that team…. but, they aren’t and wont be…
      But you also have to be fair in allowing people to visit the past and wish for it to return…..It is hard to change your mindset about basketball play, when you’ve seen the best and thus it becomes difficult to accept anything less or anything but…….you develop this vision of how you like the game to be played, based on the memories of those years and the amazing success of Jack Ramsey ball
    So this is why I may jump to conclusions or get too critical of play….it is a bias opinion of how I think the game should be played….it’s not fair to this team, and I know that, but it is an entrenched point of view that will never go away…..
    This edition of Blazers is for this generation of fans and this team will not let you down….there is just too much good character and solid players for them not to succeed……so even though it may try our patience, continuing to preach it, has merit….there will be pitfalls a plenty, but this team and staff, give you hope…..
   It’s a long way to the championship platform….we may never get there, but we are getting closer to the realization, that the dream, is on the right track to reality…

and then said “not really”. But I really did. Not from the story, but from the responses. I truly thought that Dave was going to get slammed yet again for counseling “patience”. I thought I was going to read “it’s every fan’s right” – to call for Nate’s head, declare Oden a bust, want to trade Travis and bench Steve. I honestly haven’t read even half of what has been posted lately because of all the snap judgments – and wondered if BE had grown too big for me. It’s hard to find the intelligent discussion amongst all the “this is what we should do” posts. But then Dave bares his soul and the responses are so heartfelt that I fell in love all over again. Thank you, Dave and thank you, those who have posted before me.

So for me the crowning heartbreak was in ’92. I still have nightmares about Magic rolling the ball the length of the floor.

> I hate the rush to predict things. I hate the sports culture that can’t think of anything to say unless it is predicting things.

Man, do I agree with that.

That hit so close to the bone for me (we must be almost the same age) that I was near to tearing up. Let’s give these kids time – because that’s what they are: kids. Average age 23.4. We got time, folks. As long as we keep the core of the team together and healthy, it should be a hell of a ride to an (eventual) title.

I am really just a lurker on this site, but I have to say that I am feeling much happier after reading this post. I am one of the few (few it seems from reading this board) that think this is a team I am happy with without the need for any trades. I really like every single player the team has and wouldn’t like to lose any of them. If we need to make a trade then I will trust the organization (which has earned our trust) to take care of it. But for me, I will be supportive and enjoy to the fullest Sergio, Travis, Bayless, Frye and everyone else backing us up. They are great players and its great to watch them all.

Sure, I get mad like everyone else when we just shoot jumpers (Frye, Roy, Aldridge, Outlaw, Webster, Batum). But no one person is to blame.

To the posters who want to trade like crazy: Just wait, and the value of our players will continue to increase. Then we can get even better trades.

To everyone who thinks we need a veteren: Blake, and Zilla will do. Lets not sacrifice our long term future (Bayless, Batum, Oden) for small short term gains.

The point is every single player we have is a joy in one way or another. Plus they are all upside except our two veterens. We have no reason to complain. We aren’t the best in the NBA, but we can be the proudest. This team is going to give us the journey we have all been waiting for for so long. Let’s enjoy it.

Thanks Dave, for being a fan I can agree with.

(Nitpickers: this post ignores Raef, but he’s a great guy too.)

How I wish I were able to express my thoughts and feelings with the written word even half as well as you do. Just excellent!

I know there are some — but probably not a ton — of people who have followed the Blazers as long or with more passion than myself. This fandom for me has produced many moments of both joy and heartache; but most importantly, no matter what the situation it has always had me filled with hope.

A personal reminder for myself however is to keep sports – even the Blazers – in perspective. It is a wonderful diversion, but from an importance standpoint it barely tips the scale compared to many other life matters (both good and bad). From comments you made in this post regarding your personal life experiences and of those you counsel, I’m certainly not revealing a new thought to you.

I love reading stuff that is written from the heart. Very well done. I too started following “my team” at about the same time………but I must admit my team at the time was the Sonics. What can I say….I grew up in a tine town in central Washington. But when I moved to near Portland in 1980, I began listening to the Schonz as he broadcast teh Blazers. The Paxson/Thomsen era won me over and I’vve been a Blazer fan since. I felt many of hte same things….the high hopes, and dashed dreams.

My young son had his first expereince with a major loss, when teh Blazers lost to Detroit in the finals. He ran crying into his bedroom (6 years old)…and I caught crap from my wife for making the Blazers such a “big deal”. Heck, I figured it was just a good life lesson. ;-)

And while I agree with your general philosophy of not getting too down when things make a momentary turn to the bad, I still enjoy geting completely and irrationally wrapped in thoughts of how well things could go. I hope and expect a great season this year. But it it doesn’t turn out that way, c’est la vie.

The way I look at it, we need to be patient in passing judgement, but I don’t think it’s necessary to be patient in our hopes and dreams for the current Blazers. If Oden is not a worldbeater right away, I’m good with that. The guy has barely played for quite some time, and it;s simply not going to be a quick progress. There’s nothing wrong with that. But I can still secretly hope for a bust-out game tonight of 25 points, 15 rebounds and 5 blocks. It probably won’t happen, but I can always dream.

      I became a Blazer fan during the 75-76 season. Living
in the country outside of Medford, we followed by listening
to Schonz on the radio, often while shooting hoops at our
local grade school. I was a big UCLA fan from listening with
my older brother and loved the draft of the Big Redhead.
The descriptions by the schonz (Lickety brindle up the middle
& Rip City) on the radio just sank the hook a little deeper for
my love of the team.
     The championship year was golden because of the great
teamwork preached by D. Jack and the John Wooden inspired
play of Walton. The Enforcer layed down the law and Gross
and Twardzik were buzzing around the court like flys after honey.
I was a great time for Blazermaniacs and served to increase
the following all over Oregon. Eventually as an adult, I got to
attend my first game in 1982 at the old Memorial Collesium.
Like Dave, the Blazers were a passion stoked by the play of
the Lazy Bahamian & Billy Ray, then Clyde, Kiki, Terry, Jerome
and the Duck. The 2000 team with Sheed, Scottie, the Rasta
Monster and the 6’8"great from Michigan State really got me
going, but that abomination from LA LA land crushed my hopes
of going to Pioneer Square for the first time.
     The point is that although we have had some recent setbacks
with GO and 3M, we are right on schedule with a coach, a leader,
a budding All Star and several ROY & 6th man candidates. Just
give the BIG man some time to get comfortable and then get out
of the way. Great post Dave. Your sentiments are shared by many !

THANK YOU! For posting this. People are losing their minds around here. Everyone needs to relax and just enjoy everything that’s going on right now. Pritchard’s gameplan has been 2011 and beyond. Everything before that are stepping stones. Oden is going to take those 2-3 years to get going. It’s easy to see. 1, because of health, and 2, he has a long ways to go offensively. We still have a decade of good times ahead. No need to panic before 2011.

I grew up a Sonics fan in Aberdeen, WA. I moved to Portland in 1996 still a Sonics fan. I didn’t become a Blazer fan until the lock-out season. The Jail Blazer era. Rider, Rasheed, and all. I was young and kind of liked the bad boy attitude…oh, I sometimes miss being that stupid.

That hasn’t already been said.

This was fantastic.

Mortimer

Really puts things in perspective! I think our culture these days is one that is instinctively impatient.

We know the end, but the means are great too.

We have a young team that has the potential to be one of the best ever. That potential includes a chance at decade-long dominance with multiple championships. It is extremely exciting, but recognize that this is still the beginning. We may or may not fulfill that potential, but anyway you put it, there are things to enjoy about this team.

We have a good team in terms of character and skill for us to enjoy. Nothing will be like winning a championship, but nothing will be like Roy’s game winner against Houston, or Travis’ fourth quarter heroics, or Rudy’s amazing understanding of the game. I wish for the championship to come soon, but we can still enjoy the present and acknowledge what happens, whether positive or negative. The overall trend is good for this team, so please be patient and enjoy the ride to championshipville. Patience gives perspective, and I don’t mind waiting as long as there are good discussions to be had with Dave :)

-Tyler

I hope this gets recognized outside this community

First off, amazing post, Dave. You make great points as everyone else has said.. however..

I will just throw out a thought that perhaps patience is not the only answer to the only problem. The last 30 years are reality, but it does not mean that different coaching/player decisions could not have drastically changed everything. From the organization’s point of view, patience can just be another word for missing your opportunity. That window is extremely small for any NBA team and an organization can only permit so much patience.

Of course, fan’s impatience has very little to do with organization action. But while I love your points and echo many of your thoughts, I also respect quick kneejerk reactions for the sake of considering what else is possible. I think the TRUE value in the team KP has developed for us is that he has set up many different routes for us to develop this team to the point where that window will be open and stay open for a decade+. We also have a lot of directions to take this team in the meantime, and it is important to explore the possibilities.

I don’t think the fan experience has to be so passive that we have to just sit back and take whatever ride the organization puts us on. I mean, obviously, in the end that is exactly what fans have to do, but they don’t have to be quiet about it. At the same time, there is a lot more weight to the statements of a mature fan who understands the big picture then there is by fans like young Dave that just could not believe the Blazers wouldn’t just keep winning championships.

Perspective is good, but I also don’t mind saying that Rudy is probably the most exciting AND fundamentally sound player to enter the NBA in a long time.. I also don’t mind watching a brief part of a really good game and think “wow.. the blazers could do pretty well in a playoff run if they can do that”… yea it is presumptuous but I don’t mind it..

No self-satisfaction can substitute for the feeling that your team is taking steps forward on a journey towards greatness and that you get a chance to walk alongside.

Its about taking steps, regardless of how small, in the right direction. Bringing Greg off the bench? Maybe not as big a step as Greg starting, but still a step in the right direction. We can’t cram a season’s harvest into the results of just 8 games. Our team is a work-in-progress, and its that process we, as fans, need to be patient with. This bumpy ride is going to be one to enjoy. Not just this year, but for years to come.

Thank you for this post, Dave. And thank you to the Blazers for being and becoming the team we are proud to cheer for.

Man dave, this is how vividly I want to remember my years as a blazer fan and a basketball fan, I started watching a little late in life, I was 10 and michael jordan was going for his last championship, then next year I fell in love with the blazer team of sheed damon and brian grant, I remember the head band. I remember crying when one of my favorite non-blazers sean elliott, destroyed my blazers bit by bit, impossible three after impossible three. i can only imagine how happy this fan base is going to be if we ever get another ring

You just described my life as a Blazer fan almost exactly. I didn’t start my obsession with the Blazers until the mid to late 80’s when I got my first of many “Clyde the Glide” poster. My first team was the Larry Bird Celtics, but I quickly switched to the home town heroes when Jerome, Terry, and (especially) Buck joined the team. I also remember meeting Sam Bowie as a kid and marveling at how big the dude was and how friendly a guy he was. Those are the guys that started it for me and though they never won the title, they were the kind of players you wanted to root for. They represented themselves, the city, and the team with excellence.

Since then, I have been a die-hard fan and have suffered through, let’s face it, a whole lot of misery. I’ve always known this team would one day get back to being Ripcity and I certainly think they have done that. In fact, it’s even better than I had hoped. We don’t have a Kobe or Lebron to occupy the entire spotlight. We aren’t relying on a franchise savior. No, the best part of this group is that they are a team. Greg is just another part of that team, and it would be silly to place all hopes on one man.

I hope everyone involved with the organization reads this article and realizes that this is how the true Blazer fans feel and maybe some of these new fans can figure that out as well.

Thanks Dave! GO BLAZERS!

Attacking the messenger isn’t going to change that.

I dislike Colin Cowherd because he’s a pretentious idiot with little to no talent. But he’s probably on the right track as far as Oden.

I feel your pain—and your frustration with the continual rush to judgement around here. My only quibble (you know I always have one!): there were Blazer fans in ‘76-’77 who—foolishly?—believed their team could defy history and the odds by winning a championship without even making the playoffs previously. They ignored all the pundits who dismissed their team’s chances; they dreamed the impossible dream. Even when the Blazers fell behind 2-0 in the Finals to the unbeatable juggernaut of the ‘77 Philadelphia 76’ers (a virtual all-star team), those fans believed their team would prevail. Imagine their elation when that dream came true!

Wait a minute: you were one of those fans, weren’t you? Now, having suffered through a freakish number of cruel letdowns over a 30-year period, you understandably protect yourself from more crushing disappointment by continually downplaying the chances of this young Blazer team. But I think you may be a little too hard on those Blazer fans—especially the young ones—who are too naive to know that a team can’t go from the outhouse to the penthouse in one season. Remember that you were once one of those fans—and you were RIGHT when all the wise, experienced experts—like the Dave of today—were wrong. (Cue the Doobie Bros “What a Fool Believes.”)

Having said that: come on, guys: show a LITTLE patience for God’s sake. Relax and enjoy the process—or at least TRY to! As I’ve said repeatedly, if the local fans and media don’t give Greg Oden a chance to breathe, you’ll chase him right out of town. And this guy IS almost certainly going to win championships; the only question is: where?

That’s my slow clap for your post Dave, great job!

I hope that someone within the organization reads that and maybe some of the players see it. As a fan it makes me proud to come to this site.

I wish we had someone that cares as much about intelligent sports coverage/conversation as you hosting one of our sports radio programs.

Preferably in the morning from 7 am to 9am.

For the kind comments.

I think it’s important to understand the distinction between observation/speculation and the kind of overgeneralizing, self-serving prediction I’ve railed against here, for the sake of those who are wondering or perhaps thinking I am saying we shouldn’t analyze or talk about the future at all.

Example: I observe a man writing his grocery list with his left hand. As long as he doesn’t have a cast on his right hand I can pretty reasonably conclude he is left-handed and that if he writes me a letter later (or pitches to me in a baseball game) he’ll be doing it as a southpaw. That’s an observation. “That guy sucks! Look at his pen wobbling! We need a new list writer! There’s no way he makes it out of the store without dropping the canteloupe!” That would be an over-generalization. Both speak of the future. The first extrapolates from the data on hand. The second leaps to conclusions. The first is really about the subject I’m observing. The second is about me and my ability (or lack thereof) to predict.

Extending our example to the Blazers, I’ve observed Rudy Fernandez excelling at shots within the flow of the offense, especially as an endpoint for people’s passes due to his off-the-ball savvy and movement and his ability to hit shots consistently. He’s had a bunch of alley-oops and some dunks off of the break, for instance. He’s had very few drives off the dribble for layups. I’ve also observed Rudy having amazing success doing what he’s doing offensively. When people ask about Rudy getting his own shot, then, it’s perfectly reasonable to say, “That’s not the best part of his game right now, perhaps individually, certainly in the team concept. You’re not likely to see him get the ball out top and go at it like Roy does.” That’s an observation. It’s about a specific part of Rudy’s game in the context we’ve observed. It’s also alterable. Let’s say a bunch of people who watched him in Spain write and say, “We saw him create his shot all the time in Spain!” Then you file that away and say, “Well…he must have some ability in that area. Let’s watch him and see how he does in the NBA with that. If he starts making those moves successfully we can call people’s attention to it and change that assessment.” In either case, now or later, all you’re doing is telling the truth as you see it, explaining the data. It’s also arguable. Somebody else may see things a different way and as long as you’re using the same data you both can interpret it. Maybe everybody learns something about the player or game or each other. That’s all good…and fun. To me, that’s sports talk. That’s the challenge and joy in trying to figure out the unknown tomorrow based on what you know today.

All of that is a lot different than the “Oden is a bust!” or “Rudy’s never going to be a starting shooting guard!” style of conversation. You’re not talking about the player anymore there. You’re talking about your prediction about a player. There’s no discussion or interaction or further learning there. There’s only whether you’re right or wrong, whether you can brag or whether you’re shamed. To me, fandom is supposed to be more than that.

In the first it doesn’t matter so much if you’re wrong as long as at each step you made the best possible analysis based on the data at hand. You’ve still gone through a valuable process and learned something either way. In the second it doesn’t matter if you’re dead right because all it amounts to is vanity. That’s the difference. No-lose versus no-win.

One of the things I’ve always strongly tried to avoid is the temptation to make this site a pillar of homage to my vanity, so I try to be precise in how and why I talk about the future and in the patience I show in gathering data about it.

Thank you to everyone who helps make this place a fruitful field for discussion.

—Dave

I’m definitely with you on this one. Now is probably the MOST important time for us to be patient. Because many, if not all, the pieces seem like they might be in place. We just need to give them time to develop. And enjoy the journey. I find myself saying and thinking that about so many parts of life these days.

it’s about the journey. Don’t get so focused on the finish line that you forget to enjoy the sights around you. There are always great sights, even if you don’t win the race. There will always be things to enjoy on the way.

Dave, your article hits the nail on the head for Blazermaniacs. Thanks for a wonderful and emotional story! The best yet on BE!

I loved your descriptions of the earliest basketball you can remember.

You’ve probably guessed by now that I’m not really Elgin, I just call myself that. My earliest recollection of basketball is watching The Real Elgin on television in 1962. I was seven years old.

He was so freaking awesome. He had the nervous head tic, which meant that he was about to go into the lane and score again. He would pull one foot behind the other, to let you know he was going to hang you out to dry one way or another. He could pull up anywhere and hit a jumper. In 1962, he averaged 38 points and 19 rebounds a game.

That’s 38 and 19, folks.

Michael who?

I definitely wanted to grow up to be 6 feet 5 inches tall and black as the ace of spades.

And the Lakers (OK to spell it out if they are the pre-1990 Lakers) missed a championship because Frank Selvy, who once scored 100 points in college playing for Furman, couldn’t hit a 12-foot baseline jumper – he probably hit a million of them in his life, just not the biggest one he ever took.

And that was just one Finals loss in a long series of Finals losses for Mr. Baylor and Mr. West. Jerry finally got a ring, but Elgin never did.

Yes, let’s be patient with these Blazers. They are so young. There are so many fans who wanted to go this route, who wanted to let the kids do it without any help from a Billups or an Iverson or a Bowen. Hopefully these are not the same people who are losing their patience now.

Nice piece of writing Dave! – Not Elgin.

what an amazing piece! i bow down to you Dave. clap clap clap

I almost e-mailed you a good bye note a few days ago because I was weary of the interaction going on. I decided to take a few days off instead and I come back to read this.
It felt like you might have watched Bull Durham recently. I was waiting for, “I believe in deep wet kisses that last three days…”

Thanks again. Enjoy the season!