FanPost

Taking Back the Neighborhood...

First things first... I've never created a Fanpost and may never again but I owe the BE community at least one attempt.

This post is an attempt to present a different philosophy of fandom not an effort to impose my views. It is an alternate take on things and I fully understand that it may not be your take on things.

I choose to judge the team I love, and have loved since its inception, in ways that some people do not understand. In this winning is everything world character is as important to me as PER. Loyalty and Hardwork are equal or greater than assists/turnover ratio or +/-. I choose to not judge Nate for his decisions because I do not know all the factors that go into making them. I refuse to call out Brandon Roy as selfish or inflexible because he was my hero last year and I have seen nothing in his actions or his words to change that. I absolutely will not bash Steve Blake because, despite the flaws that have been sited here ad naseum he is a quality individual who takes the floor every night and gives 100% of himself. He is well spoken and positive when interviewed and by golly he will take no guff from any opponent, no matter the size. In short he's a great teammate and somebody I can be proud to pull for. Guys like Steve were few and far between not that long ago on the Blazers and I take it personal when people take shots at him.

When I discovered this site I had already been to the infamous O-live for a few months and was awe struck at the intelligence and respect shown here. After lurking for a short time I started to comment and interact with some very good basketball minds and writers like jscot and Storyteller... minds that seem to be less and less prevalent here as this new age of posters has arrived. A new group of people seem to have taken over BE. A group that finds only fault in the team. A group that says things like, "Steve Blake is Dead to Me" and "I hate the way Roy is playing". This new breed has an apparent need to say negative things I find disrespectful, not to mention without merit, about the very building blocks that brought us from the dark days of Bonzi Wells and Rueben Patterson to the light of an open window of opportunity.

I'll get off my soap box now and leave you with these questions... Is there room for fans like myself on this site? Is this great community headed down the common road O-Live has chosen?.. or can the old and the new find a way to co-exist here by sharing and respecting opinions without the repetitive and ugly bashing that now seems to penetrate every Fanpost and Comment section?

(I would like to also apologize for any anger or disrespect I have shown other posters on BE... My passion for the Blazers admittedly gets the best of me at times)