He was around this site all of last year, commenting on the Blazer games with us and updating us on Rudy. Blazer fans knew about Rudy all of last year, and many of us watched all of Team Espana’s games at the Olympics. So, Blazer fans (and especially BlazersEdge readers) have been excited about Rudy for a while.

There have been other fast fan favorites— one example is Ime Udoka (now with the Spurs), who grew up in Portland and started 70+ games for the Blazers 2 years ago after making the team in training camp.

Mostly I think it is just that Rudy is a fun player to watch and does things that nobody else on the team can do.

I know that for myself, I heard about him from the Blazers when they got him from phoenix. That was in 2007 I think. Ever since then he has been in the back of everyones mind. I know that between then and the time he came to the team I slowly started checking out his stats in games, people started posting links to info and video about him. When the Olympics came around we were already psyched, and the blazer brass had alread talked him up ( and down, to temper expectations) and he was a big focus. The Olympics sealed it. Oh, also that awsome rudy highlight video on youtube to the song “smooth criminal”. I am still really amazed that rudy has not been a let down after all the excitement and that he has born the weight of the nba well on those slender bones.

a lot while I was in Spain — I was very impressed with the quality of the ACB, and he was just destroying the league last year. I figured he was eventually going to be good, even very good. But no way was I expecting this much, this soon.

Reasons for his preferred status among Blazers fans: for starters, he’s European, which means that he was kind of exotic and intriguing before he got here. Second, he’s a walking highlight reel — nobody’s thrown down sweeter alley-oops or drained more big threes this year than Rudy. Third, he hasn’t done anything stupid to earn the fans’ enmity yet. If the Rudy love-fest is still going strong after he turns the ball over running a crucial fast break against the Nuggets, then we’ll know that it’s true love. :)

For me, it’s simple. It’s because he plays hard always and is team-first. That’s what people like to see, and that’s what he does.

He will always stand up for his friends and teammates. He has a heart of gold and he sewems very compassionate. No macho posturing. And his game is pure finesse. My favorite players are guys like Tayshaun Prince who get the job done with intelligence and finesse rather than strength and force.

i get excited. I just wish he had gotten more minutes in the final game. It felt like he only played in the 2nd and 4th quarters

to fully embrace and hold in high regard prospects who we draft that are kept overseas (Freeland, Petteri, Sabonis to name just a few). In this particular instance, our General Manager Kevin Pritchard (or KP) was really working his mojo when he essentially bought the rights to Rudy for chump change ($3 million). It was considered an outright robbery on our end, and Blazers fans were quite enthused.

Somewhere along the lines the decision was made for Rudolfo to stay overseas, so he signed with his now-former team. At this point there was an uncertainty to the situation and when he could come over, what with buyouts and contracts now involved. Once he started playing in the ACB, he was tearing it up. Usually all we hear are good things about the players from foreign medias, who no doubt are going to talk positively of their local stars and favorites. As we hear the great reviews of Blazer prospects and see the poor play of some actually on the team, a ground swelling of “what if” takes over and the grass roots “bring player x over” begins.

There was a huge initial feeling of ecstacy when we drafted him… then some doubt as many wondered if he could adjust to the NBA game. He still generated lots of buzz. The gold medal match cemented him as one worthy of much adoration. Most doubts flew out the window once we witnessed the lashing he delivered, especially since he came off the bench.

Rudy is one of the players who was able to reach cult like status around here. He was a legend before he even stepped foot in Portland.

Because he is white.

Both of these things, coupled with the fact that he has a high BBIQ, make him a great player to watch. He also brings another level of creativity and vision to the court only Sergio could match. (I think it’s the Euro style play)

Plus, both our native languages are Spanish.

Resistance was futile.

Rudy isn’t perfect, but his strenths are better than I thought they would be. He isn’t my favorite, but he is my fourth or fifth favorite now.

Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy! Ru-dy!

The ladies would go wild.

like to feed him a few good meals, though. He appears to be unassuming and grounded and that is a plus. Last, but not least, he can play very good and watchable basketball.

Can see that Rudy is something special and a class act guy,whats not to like?

Besides being really talented, he seems to be a genuine person with a humble attitude, and someone who the fans can connect with. There is so much arrogance with many professional athletes, his meekness really stands out. The fact he gave up more money in Europe, was an awesome testament to where his heart and mind are at. There is more to life than $$$, and it’s refreshing to see someone like Rudy approach things the way he does. It’s hard to not root for a guy like that.

I started getting excited about Rudy when Amlmart kept on translating and posting links for us to read and follow up on. I even recall staying up at the wee hours of the morning just to watch Rudy play. I’ll never forget Rudy playing only 8 minutes one game bc he scored 20 effing points and the team was up so much he got to sit the rest of the game. It was unreal.

I’m glad he’s on the team but I can see his weaknesses. Such as weakness. Such as not driving. Such as sometimes a little late in transition. Such as cheating a bit and missing assignments

but I’m glad he’s on the team

It was a lot of hype. A lot of amazing you tube videos, and an extra year of waiting. I suppose with Greg being out, it gave us another thing to feel good about. Once he played one game at the Garden it was on! Even though I met him at the airport way before that!

~Zach

Why not embrace Rudy? He’s a good player, great pick, plays with energy and an almost theatric flair. That all adds up to fan favorite. If what you are really asking is why is Rudy so popular when we have other players that are probably actually better at their respective positions? Well people have a tendency to gravitate towards the new, and Rudy is our new sensation. Plus often it’s the style of play, Kersey was one of my absolute favorite Blazers. Looking at the starting 5 he played with, was Kersey the best Blazer on the floor in terms of all-around talent? I’d have to say no. But Kersey was my favorite for what he got out of his talent and abilities and how hard he played. I think it’s the same thing now with Rudy. He plays hard, fans always like that.

Rudy is extremely fun to watch. He is a genuine person, and a good teammate. He is unselfish with the ball, and is the type of player who can do everything. To have someone like that on our team is amazing and he complements the team well, especially the second unit. He understands he is not the “star” of our team, but is the first one to try to energize the crowd when we need it (and they need it). He is also very, very, very handsome. That’s just a bonus though.

Gotta love his game and his style. He is a total player and so easy on the eyes!
For Rudy, the team comes first and I love that about his game! Passionate player and
supportive teammate. Perfect with the fans. Met him at the airport and he is a class act. What’s not to like? Go Rudy! Go Blazers!

He’s a great combination of creativity, BBIQ, motor, hustle… everything you want to see in a basketball player. One of the funnest guys in the league to watch. Impossible not to root for the guy.