Red Sox Nation annoys the daylights out of me. Do you mean traveling to away games or watching in sports bars?

The comfort of my couch and my big TV… no annoying barfly’s or L@ker fans… vastly more control over my environment… honestly, if I can’t be at the Rose Garden, I’d prefer to be at home.

When you say “We should build Blazer Nation”, what exactly do you have in mind?

rather than get together with other Blazer fans. Though we are an internet community, it’s still an anonymous sort of thing and that could make some people wary of meeting. Also, gas prices obviously and with nicer TVs and such, home is more convenient and more comfortable.

I, however, agree with you. I would love it if I knew a place I could go and know I’d run in to more than a few Blazer fans to watch the games with. Me and another friend of mine will sometimes go to the Cheerful Tortoise to watch away games (we’ve already planned for the opener in LA). It has lots of TVs, good food and good beer selection. Plus, last year I was there when the Blazers scored 100 points and everyone got a $5 coupon to use on food on the next visit. (I don’t work for the Tortoise, by the way, I’m just a fan of it.)

But if people need a place to go, The Cheerful Tortoise is a good one. If people discuss this topic more, perhaps we can designate a place to get together every now and then.

Or…convert the ones you have. I push my Blazermania onto all those around me. Friends, family, co-workers, everybody. Either they convert, or they stay the heck away from my house when a game is on. I love watching from home. Maybe I am a cyberfan, but it’s fun to me. I don’t live in Portland (though I’m not far away in Eugene) but I plan to attend no fewer than 7 games this season. The rest I’ll watch tip to buzzer right from home. Everyone of ‘em thanks to comcast sports net. (sorry satellite folks, I really hope they get you that channel soon.) It really is a great time to be a Blazer fan.

So every game is an away game for me. I have a group of die hard Uof O fans here and we get together to watch the games at the local Applebees. But we tried to watch the Blazer games there last year and they didn’t have any of them. Apparently that location could not afford league pass.

P.S. I saw a guy at the college campus rocking a sweet Blazers cap. When I saw that I got so pumped. I asked where he was from and he told me he was from Virginia. He said he just likes the players that we have on the team. Therefore he likes the team. Some warm up the bandwagon.

on Burnside isn’t bad for watching games downtown, the jolly roger on the eastside isn’t bad either. It depends on the environment you want. Everyone knows the buffalo wild wings or on deck sports bars of the world, they’re all pretty much the same (which isn’t necessarily bad) and you can watch 38 different games on 98 screens. But Portland has a lot of cool bars that will be playing blazer games this year and you could make them your home, just start a tradition.

Pick one. Get it going. In April 2010 (After I get back from Japan), I’ll be there. Swear.

but I am not familiar with any sports bars in Portland. I am a technology geek, so I would definitely prefer a place with giant LCD screens and good volume. I’m a full season ticket holder, but I won’t be personally attending every home game, so I’d be interested in hitting a bar for most away games and the few home games I’ll be giving up my seats for.

Perhaps after we gather a bunch of suggestions, we can schedule it at different sports bars for the first several away games, and then after we experience the atmosphere of each, take a poll to see which one is prefered…?

and am not really trying to drive across to watch a game

on SE 30th and hawthorne

There´s not other possibility for me either.

Perhaps Dave or someone else would be interested in this: how about we assemble a Google Map locating every Blazer bar or viewing location, with a phone number or e-mail address where people can RSVP on game days? Certainly the majority of bars and clubs would be in Oregon, but I live way out in Chicago, and I would love to see if anyone wants to hook it up for a nationally televised game—or if someone has League Pass. Sort of a Chicago Blazer Support Group.

There might not be a “Blazer Nation,” but try wearing a Roy jersey out in Chicago, or even Boston and New York. I assure you, real-life Blazer fans will come out of hiding and talk endlessly about the team - and what I love about Blazer fans I’ve met outside of Oregon, they have a refreshing grasp of players’ stats, biographies, the salary cap…this might have something to do with the absence of televised games, I mean, you have to get your Blazer fix somewhere - either that, or you’ll have other fans approach you and ask, “Are you really a Blazer fan?” as if we’re some endangered species. Some of you may remember Bill Simmons’s comment about never having met a Blazer fan. At the Bulls-Blazers game this year in the United Center, I felt like a one man band. I shouted “Go Blazers” over and over again as the final overtime wound down, with Jack shooting free throws and a silenced Chicago crowd slumping out of the building, and Aldridge peered into the crowd like, “Is that guy cheering for us?”