I pose an honest question to Blazer fans.....

It’s mostly their arrogant, belittling, fairweather fans who think Kobe is better than Jordan.

I was 9 at the time, and we were celebrating the return of my cousin from a missionary trip to Africa, and my family and I were eating at a buffet.

they waiters (I use that loosely, I mean, it was a buffet) were watching the game in the kitchen, and kept coming in to tell us how the game was going. we were just beginning to eat, "hey, the Blazers are up by 15’

“12 point lead”

“down to 8”

“Its a 3 point game”

I was getting some macaroni and cheese, the waiter notices me and tells the Blazers are loosing.

ugh

There are many instances of suspected manipulation by the league to keep the big market teams such as the L@kers coming back to the finals every year. There are several teams in the East that qualify but only LA is big market in the West. The years that the finals have not featured LAL, NY, Chicago or Boston have been stinkers for TV ratings so there is economic sense in favoring LAL if they do.

Tell me if having 17 of the first 21 games at home to start the season is not favoring them?

Tell me if allowing the LAL to talk Magic Johnson into leaving school a year early (back then at least 3 years was near universal) when they had the 1st pick is not favoring them?

Whether there is actual manipulation I do not know. But the apprearance of manipulation is a common theme down through the years. Both NY and LAL have tremendous advantage in revenue stream. Should the league adopt revenue sharing and a hard cap, ala the NFL, the opportunity for other teams would be more equal. As it is there are teams such as Memphis who give All-Star players to LAL for chump change because they cannot afford them. That is not the fault of LAL. It is the fault of a commissioner who sees himself as a revenue builder rather than an arbiter of fairness.

And Yes, the arrogance of fans is sad. Those same fans have likely have never been to a live L@kers game but somehow see themselves as superior to other fans because they have chosen so wisely a proven winner. That arrogance is rubbing it in at every opportunity from the national chat boards to the flaunting of gear in an opposing city (not including the actual games played with LAL there).

Finally the central fact that to win a championship in Portland we have to beat the L@kets. Other teams come and go but this team is always a potential roadblock. Just some thoughts to respond to your question. I personally do not hate anybody. But I get the most satisfaction over beating LAL.

I’m not so sure about your friend, though. I hope he doesn’t plan on becoming a dentist at U of P. They don’t have a school of dentistry.

But seriously, isn’t there a team you hate? There is one such team in Portland, and they are called the Lakers.

The Lakers are sorta like the Catholic Church and the Blazers are a half-wack new age religious cult and there’s a lot of self-assurance verging on arrogance on the one hand vs. insecurity and group-think on the other…

I’ve always said that once the Laker fans start returning the Blazer fans’ hate, all will be right with the universe.

A lot of Oregonians tend to dislike California, and Los Angeles in particular.

      team name in Blazermania circles.
Reason for hatred !

1. Arrogance
2. Buying Free Agents for BIG $$$ (ie. like the Yankees)
3. The city is the armpit of the West Coast.
4. Smog
5. Hollywood elite know nothings
6. Refs give them all the calls (ie, NBA league conspiracy)
7. Blobe the rapist
8. The ZENminor & his stupid Throne
9. The current team is THUGGish. (Low Odom & Ariza in past years)
10. 2000 WCF & the ref calls – Favoritism
11. Hated “Blowtime”
12. Lew’s stupid googles
13. Did I already list “Arrogance” ?
14. Little punks moving to Southern Oregon that know nothing about
      the game, wearing that pathetic gear.
15. The Jerseys.
16. They didn’t stay in Minneapolis.
17. Yellow & COINCAST both _ _ _ _ !
18. Jamaal Wilkes UGLY shot !
19. “Tragic” Johnson
20. Just the fact that I had to list reasons. Most Blazermaniacs don’t even
       want to acknowledge that they exist. Please GO AWAY !!

RICK "ZACHING" FOX!!!!!!!!!!!!

Every time a report of fraud games by refs come up, the Lakers by far have the most games in their favor. You dont really see any of these instances go against the Lakers. They are all huge championship stryle games. Some of those are at the expense of the Blazers.

Most Laker fans are extremely arrogant/smug and talk crap when their team is the poster child for the fake mafia style NBA. This is especially annoying when Laker fans dont talk crap in good fun, they go at your soul. The combonation of unfair advantage/unacknowledgement by outright malicious fans is a tough one to swallow.

Another reason is Kobe. Many things about Kobe annoy me. He’s been fake since the first time he announced he was going to the NBA in HS. His fake posturing. I am not sayign he is not a great player, but yet another situation where he gets all the calls.

It’s OK though…much like a college team who eventually gets busted for illegal recruiting, the Lakers will have their day. The officiating will eventually get looked at. The Pau situation and the Ron-Ron seeking out the Lakers and magically getting kicked out of the 7 game series twice last year will all come back and bite the abnoxious Laker fans in the ass.

Also whenever you see an article regarding ref fraud, Lakers fans are the staunchest deniers.

To sum up, fake franchise, fake fans, fake players, lots of malicious ish talking.

And when i say little “thing in Denver” i really do mean it. Ruben Patterson was on the Blazers and he had a similar “thing” and i hated him too even though he was a Blazer. Kobe wasn’t ever convicted like Patterson but where there’s smoke there’s fire usually. So more of a reason to hate him.

Shaq too, and Phil Jackson because of coaching the Bulls team that beat the Blazers in the finals then coming to L.A. and doing it again in the WCF… while we had Pippen, who I also hated because he was a Bull back in the day.

I’m full of hate. Especially for Kobe and Shaq.

Portland fans want good players that are also good people, and with Kobe cheating on his wife, if not worse than that, and Shaq bad-mouthing every team he’s been on once he gets traded, leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

  …or you don’t. For some of us this rivalry goes way back before the 2000 WCF.

There are numerous reasons I don’t like The L*kers but if I had to pick one? As long as I can remember it seems they have had talent given or fall into their lap. The League should of investigated the Gasol “trade” and then Artest just decides to leave Houston and play for far less money with The L*kers.

  Couple that with the arrogance, how could I like them?

Understand the arrogance. Again, I’m not from L.A. I’m from a city called Fullerton, right next to Anaheim. There’s no basketball team around us, so obviously we all root for the Lakers. And I’ve been a die hard Laker fan since I was very young.

I understand the battles. 91 WCF and 2000 WCF. I still hate Sabonis, Rasheed and Pippen. HATE THEM! But I still respect them.

But here’s the thing about smaller market fan bases: people in those areas assume that ALL Laker fans are rich, arrogant, drive a BMW, get botox, etc. That’s just not true. THERE REALLY ARE TRUE BBALL FANS! I here it all the time, especially from Sacramento fans. Don’t watch entourage and assume that’s what it’s all like in So Cal. Don’t watch the Hills and think all the girls are like that.

There are good people here, good people who love basketball first and foremost. We’re proud Laker fans. I’m sorry we get good draft picks, or spend money on free agents. I don’t think we get calls our way all the time, but if that’s how you guys feel, I can’t stop you from thinking that way.

But I learned a lot, so thank you.

1) They are the Yankees/ Cowboys/ Dukies of the NBA
2) Californian transplants
3) Sasha’s hair

You don’t see us harboring the same hatred toward the Clippers ( also from LA ), or the Knicks or the 76ers ( both from HUGE cities ). It is a basketball and fan base hatred.

1. The Lakers have stomped some really good Blazer teams that probably would have won the championship had we not lost to LA ( 1991 WCF and 2000 WCF respectively ).

2. Laker fans are EVERYWHERE. I have known so many Laker fans who have never lived in LA, have no family in LA, and don’t ever plan on living there, that don’t follow basketball or even really understand the game, don’t care what any other teams are doing, and don’t have any plans to follow the sport. Yet they proudly wear their Kobe jersey and will tell you your team sucks, your team will always suck, they will never be as good as the Lakers, the Lakers will always be the best team, blah blah blah. I’m not saying all Laker fans are this way, I have a few friends who are true Laker fans, grew up in the area watching Magic and Bird finals, and love the game. But the other type of Laker fan is unbearable to be around when the subject of basket ball comes up.

3. The Lakers have been pretty good to really good to absolutely dominant for the past umpteen years now. Success breed hatred.

4. Kobe is a jerk.

5. Phil Jackson is a jerk.