A Blazermaniac Manifesto
by T$ 225 on Feb 4, 2009 9:27 PM PST
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Let my start by stressing that the collective mindset of Blazer fans has regained a tremendous amount of positivity in recent years. There is no arguing that the improvements made over the checkered crew of the recent past has done wonders to restore the confidence and interest of the fan base. Yet, we still hear grumblings. Denizens of BE subtly and not-so-subtly grouse about the shortcomings of the organization, because despite the improvements made in on-court personnel, the team continues to demonstrate an ignorance to the preferences of its customers and a complicit acquiescence of the status quo. Thus, I submit the following for review to the wizards behind the curtain at One Center Court.
This is not intended to be an Abe Simpson letter-to-the-editor bitchfest. This is not a condemnation of the intentions of the organization. This is a proposal. A scrutiny of the way things are in an attempt to make it better. I will not pretend to understand the sticky intricacies of the business, or somehow pretend that this isn't a business first and foremost. Therefore, I will attempt to stay out of cable network negotiations or the assessment of player/coach performance. I will, however, try to present things from a fan's perspective. And if you think I'm just disappointed that I wasn't picked to join the Blazer's "fan advisory committee", then you are absolutely spot-on.
1) Promotional Giveaways
A recent posting by Shenanigans revealed the catharsis that too many others have had: the free t-shirts are not even remotely Blazer related. They are 3 dollar scraps of white cotton with Toyota, Subway, and Wells Fargo logos – nothing more. Plus they are XL, so they wouldn't fit on hardly anybody even if they did want to wear them. Attention team personnel: these are going straight into the car wash rag bucket. Let me break everyone in on the news, though: it isn't just the t-shirts. Every giveaway at the Rose Garden is undesirable crap. I could go on for hours here, but let me share some personal favorites (again, not simply trying to bitch, but want to point out what's wrong):
The SUV blimp that floats around the inside of the arena, dropping envelopes? I've seen people literally knock over their neighbors for these things. You know what's in them? I've heard first hand that these are dregs of the old Entertainment books: 10% off coupons, buy one get the second half off coupons, etc.
I was in my seat earlier this season when the camera crew came walking up the steps and planted themselves at the end of the aisle. You know what that means! Somebody won something! Time to get excited! As it turns out, it was the woman in the seat right next to me that was the big winner. You know what she won? An O Phone, like Greg Oden has on the billboards, and two months of service. Pretty cool, right? Then she discovered that it only works with Cricket, and she doesn't want Cricket phone service (hardly anybody does!). And even if she did, the cost of opting out of her current contract cost more than the two months of service. So, you know what she really won? She got to star in a Cricket publicity stunt at the Rose Garden. The gift was of no value to her whatsoever.
Last season, the camera crew did the same thing, walking up the stairs and looming over my row. Everyone in the row was getting pretty pumped until we discovered that they were giving each of us a copy of the new "Now That's What I Call Music" CD. Here we are in Portland, Oregon – the adopted home of indie, and they're giving us "Now That's What I Call Music."
The Alaska Airlines First Class seats are kinda cool, but do they really have to wait until the second quarter to let somebody know that they get to move down?
The on-court contests are entertaining enough, I guess, but after watching somebody shoot 12 free throws, how can they just give him $20? I know for a fact that just to put a "Happy Birthday" message on the big screen costs $50. I can only imagine what an on-court marketing ploy costs a sponsor. Could they not afford to push the prize money into the triple digits? I don't expect a half court shot for $1M every game, but $20 just feels insulting.
Coming into this season, fans had two giveaways that they would ultimately reap any enjoyment out of: the bobbleheads, and the free chalupas (largely because its fun to root for the team to get to 100). Now, we just have the chalupas. The only positive aspect of most of the other in-game giveaways is that they are free for the fans, and cheap for the sponsors. Marketing team, I'm not going to do your job for you, but I can think of lots of things that would accomplish both of these and wouldn't be so disappointing for a fan to receive (and so quickly thrown away). I have the following suggestions, and encourage commenters to add their own:
- Instead of the crappy coupons, drop envelopes from the blimp with Blazer-themed fortunes or horoscopes. No living person wouldn't get a kick from a picture of Jarryd Bayless in a big hat dealing tarot cards. Its not possible. Sponsors can stamp their logo on the back of the cards.
- If sponsors aren't going to offer anything more than $20 or so, I'm inclined to say that they shouldn't offer any money at all. Make it a challenge of a person's fanhood, or manhood, or something. Personally, if I were offered the chance to go down onto court, I'm accepting the offer no matter what. A few bucks adds nothing to my willingness to participate, and it won't get me to try harder in the contest. If you challenge my Blazer fanhood, however, I will dominate.
- What happened to the giveaways for the first X,000 fans? I accept that the team is selling out pretty much every game this season and that they don't need bobbleheads in order to attract fans. However, when there's bobbleheads I am at the arena early and excited, and spending money on dinner at Schonely's place. It is just a great thing to look forward to. I find myself wondering if I'm just asking for charity, but then I remember what I found when I did a Google search for "NBA giveaways". Does everybody else realize how frequently other teams give things out? Blazers, consider doing something. The Pistons gave away umbrellas to Wednesday night's game. If any team is handing out rain related accessories, how is it not Portland? It is embarrassing!
- If sponsors can put their logo on a t-shirt, they can also put a pinwheel on there, too. Simple as that.
2) The Volume
Maybe I'm having a "if it's too loud, you're too old" moment... but I'm only 27. Do we really need music (I'm not talking about cheers, but music) playing during half court sets? Does every timeout really need to be filled with enough noise that in order to talk to the person next to me I have to yell in their ear? Does the jumbotron really need to take command of ALL cheering activity? For example, at the Phoenix game, the chants (for Roy) of "MVP" were repeatedly crushed by the next message pumping through the loudspeaker, but this happens at every game. Please, Blazers, just turn it down a little bit. Yes, sometimes we will discover that the arena is quiet, but a big part of the fan experience can be found in contrasts (thank you William Blake). We have wins and losses. We lead and we trail. We (the fans) are sometimes loud and sometimes quiet. Nobody can keep it loud all the time, so when we try to maintain pretense I think it detracts from the moments when the noise is real and our own.
3) The Jr. Blazer Dancers
The concept of the Jr. Blazer Dancers confuses me. The more, *ahem, mature NBA Dance teams obviously don't contribute to the game, but people have come to accept them as a part of the fan experience since they are barely clothed and in the top 1% of hotness. The Jr. Dancers are thankfully neither of these. I don't think many regular folks would normally give the sequin-clad 10 year olds a second glance. However, the juxtaposition of the dancing 10 year olds with those gyrating sex symbols (the varsity Blazer Dancers) personally makes me feel very awkward. Let me explain:
Men are naturally inclined and then conditioned to gawk at the Blazer Dancers when they come out onto the court. It's like Pavlov's bell. The music comes on, the dance troop runs out, and I start salivating. When the JR. Blazer Dancers come out, the same music starts playing, the same dance formations take shape, basically ringing Pavlov's bell. Then I look at the court and see that it is the 10 year olds. Let's be frank, here: everybody has heard (or uttered) remarks about how they are the ultimate pedophile's dream.
Look Blazers, this is just weird. Your target demographic is not interested in watching 10 year olds shake their stuff, and they get more than enough of it when they go to their kids' talent shows. In fact, you're only making them uncomfortable. My question then (since it is not evident to me), is why are they out there? They do not contribute to the game, and do not even remotely serve the same (saliva inducing) function as the regular Blazer Dancers. If they out there for their own benefit, as a chance to perform, then maybe we need to find something else for them to perform.
4) Blaze the Trail Cat
Blaze was born in 2002, when antipathy towards the team was approaching its utter zenith. The Blazers needed an ambassador to the community, and since the players at the time were utter failures at this, the front office invented an anthropomorphic cat. The current roster consists of human beings who are not utter failures as ambassadors. The logical conclusion is that we no longer need Blaze.
But before we release him back into the wild, let's examine whether he provides a meaningful improvement in the fan experience. My fabricated mental history of mascots is largely influenced by when Homer Simpson (sorry if I include too many Simpson references – I can't help it) starts to goof around at a minor league baseball game and basically makes himself a spectacle to such an extent that he becomes a second attraction. Mascots for baseball make sense, because there's a LOT of down time, and breaks in the action are frequently boring. At the other end of the spectrum, soccer teams rarely have them and for the opposite reason: there's almost no down time (even if the action, itself, if considered boring). Basketball is somewhere in the middle, in terms of breaks, and lots of professional teams have a mascot – I get that.
However, I have yet to find somebody who has an adequate understanding of why the Blazers have this particular mascot. We’ve covered this before, I know. He is a totally forgettable character with no discernable connection to the city or the team's theme. Portland has no mountain lions (and they aren't really a component of our cultural identity). The name of the team is the Trailblazers, not the Cats… nobody gets it. I could look past it if Blaze were something more unique (think Sasquatch or Moose), but Cats comprise half the mascots in the sporting world. Did they just get a used costume for free or something? Every time he steps out on the court, fans around me keep asking two questions: "Is he going to miss all of his trampoline dunks again?" and "Why do we have a cat?"
On the plus side, the mascot provides photo opportunities for kids, sprays silly string on opposing fans, and gives the person inside the outfit a dream job/hobby. I vote to keep a mascot, just not this one. Unless we can bring Channing off the bench in this role, I propose a Raccoon. Portland has plenty of Raccoons (I know this first hand, as I just evicted four from my attic), they have a reputation for being mischievous, and are cute. Case closed.
5) Jersey Retirements
The most recent retirement (Bobby Gross) brought a great deal of scrutiny and incredulity, so it is a matter that the team has evidently not figured out a way to address on its own to the fans' satisfaction. Everybody has fondness for the Blazers who've had their jerseys retired, but the fact of the matter is that at the rate we're going, we're going to run out of numbers. Literally. I feel like a Greenpeace representative talking about the health of the oceans. "At the current rate of poaching, Blazer jerseys will be extinct by 2065."
This is another topic we’ve covered on BE, but let me tie it all together. The Blazers have been around less than 40 years, have won one championship and have retired 11 jerseys. ELEVEN. (And I had to look this up on wikipedia, since I couldn't even remember who all was included) The Sonics had a similar history and retired 6. I hate to make this comparison, but the L*kers have been in existence for more than 60 years, have won 14 titles and have only retired 7. The Heat, by the way, have only retired 2 (#13 for Dan Marino and #23 for Michael Jordan… which I still can’t believe).
The solution to preserve our natural jersey resources is to establish some kind of designation of honor that doesn't include retiring their jersey. Call it a Ring of Honor. A Circle of Trust. Whatever you want. I would personally like to propose "The Trail of Legends", and for every honoree selected, a giant wagon wheel is engraved and raised up to the rafters. Afterwards, if there is OVERWHELMING support for a player's number to be retired, then we can proceed down that path.
…
So there. That is the thrust of my manifesto. Know that I love going to see the Blazers in person, and am being the utmost sincere. I would also like your feedback. If it turns out there's a great deal of support for the tenants outlined above, or proposals for additional mandates, I would like to incorporate your input and submit this to the Blazer's office and whoever is chairing that "fan advisory committee." Perhaps it can be elevated from Manifesto to Jerry Maguire Mission Statement.
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Comments
Haven't even read the whole thing, but I had to scroll down and rec for this:
[in reference to the free give-away T-Shirts:]
Attention team personnel: these are going straight into the car wash rag bucket.
Want more aggressiveness? Try less Baylesslessness.
i think a lot of the criticisms you make are valid. i often leave the rose garden with a throbbing headache.
a lot of the things that turn you off might be seen as exciting or fun by those who only attend occasionally, or children/teens.
it’s a lot of competing interests they have to deal with, not least of which are the sponsors.
at the end of the day i judge the experience on the two factors that matter: how loud is the crowd and how full is the arena? right now we are considered the loudest arena in the league and they’ve sold out every home game this season. so you can see why they would be resistant to changing that.
About the experience
i judge the experience on the two factors that matter: how loud is the crowd and how full is the arena?
Of the above listed gripes about the RG experience, they are all ultimately irrelevant when it comes to your two criterion. I would say that the night of the week, the opponent and how well the team is doing are all factors determining the noise level of the crowd and putting butts in seats.
I have to side with T$. It wouldn’t take much to up the experience.
What this really gets to is this:
How sophisticated is the Blazers’ home crowd? Do they need lowest-common-denominator type things going on during the breaks in games?
I think it would be great if the Blazers could do things during the breaks that appeal to the Blazers’ sophisticated crowd. The people who watch the Blazers generally know what’s going on. Let’s be a little more sophisticated in the break-time entertainment, to appeal to a brighter audience.
Let’s not engage in dumb stuff during the down time – and for sure, let’s support the fans’ ideas (like the MVP chant) rather than trying to drown them out because you had something else stupid in mind, eg, playing Tom Petty’s Running Down A Dream at hyper-volume for the 999th time this decade). – Elgin
Since when do we need to ponder to froth? - jscot
or at least
maybe the 4th-quarter could be decreed “dumb-down free”… then they are maybe catering to both audiences?
Rome was talking about this today....
DJs at NBA games are stuck in the 80s. No more YMCA over the PA! No more Cindy Lauper! No more Kool and the Gang! No more Who let the Dogs Out!
This is a man’s game. How about some man’s music. This isn’t about family. This about destroying your opponent and the music that it takes to bring out the killer instinct in our players. Jarrryd could use some Bob to calm down a little but some DMX would do LMA some good.
My biggest agreement is regarding the Junior Blazer Dancers
I do not want to be awkardly staring at little girls in public, but I am not given a choice. Please no more, thanks.
"I love the Spurs!" -Hitler
by TheTinfoil on Feb 4, 2009 10:07 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
From what I have heard
Coratian, you fit that bill pretty well yourself.
Good thing I am across the country!
I couldn't agree more
JR Dancers got to go
Dunk
by Billy Ray Bates on Feb 5, 2009 8:47 AM PST up reply actions
what do blazers dancers/JR dancers have to do with basketball, period?
2/3 of the crowd consist of women and children. Why do wives, dates and children have to watch gyrating women meant for strip clubs ruin a perfectly great form of down home competitive sport?
I’m new to the site, but had to chime in on how uncomfortable even the regular Blazer dancers make me feel when at a game with the family.
+1 meeleeon to #3 and #5
… but 1, 2, and 4 are more of a lukewarm “yeah, that’d be cool” thing for me.
I'd love to see a U of O night
I don’t go to school there, never did. But Autzen is insane. Filling the Rose Garden with those maniacs could be fun. Turn off the speaker, show only replays on the jumbotron, and just let the kids go to town.
If you’ve ever been to a hockey game lately, there’s a huge contrast. Not many time outs or stoppages, so not many reasons to need to keep the crowd involved. They have contests and random gifts, but it’s amazingly simple “San Jose calls a time out. Hey, guy in Row 23, seat J, here’s $50!”
No kidding!
Plus, I’ve been to multiple OSU nights at the Garden. It just doesn’t seem right.
Jerryd Bayless has two emotions: Kill and Win.
"I want to put points on your face."
-Rudy to Pau Gasol
NorrisHopper30: "someone injure pubert jones"
by rockingharder on Feb 4, 2009 11:42 PM PST up reply actions
and bring back the orginal blazer openning song for tellie.
oh and ya rec’ed
"I like whatever metric makes a Blazer look better." jonestr
I gotta differ with this
I was so tired of the same old trumpet fanfare.
I prefer the Curtis Salgado version of the theme song, but I am so glad that they have ANYTHING DIFFERENT. The idea of getting local musicians to do the theme song in their own styles was brilliant. I suspect Mr. Isaac was the driving force behind this. I hope they get an entirely new crop for next season. What would the Decemberists do with that theme song, I wonder? – Elgin
Since when do we need to ponder to froth? - jscot
yeah
i love the localized versions of the theme song too. even the ones whose genre isn’t amongst my favorites add something unique and interesting to it.
Ugh
The whole “local bands playing the Blazers theme” thing is just annoying. Look, I love Portland and I’m all for supporting local talent, but not when they’re butchering the theme song. I also understand that it’s not a great song to begin with, but it’s a theme song so you can’t expect much from it. Play the local bands music during timeouts or whatever, but leave the theme alone. Oh, and don’t make me listen to them during intros. Play something that gets me excited for the game, not something that makes me want to turn down the volume. (I’m 23 btw, so this also isn’t a case of “if it’s too loud you’re too old”)
Jr Blazer Dancers are a fine idea. As long as I don’t have to look at them. It’s just really creepy and awkward. REALLY creepy and awkward. If the Blazers Dancers want to have a program for kids, I’m all for it. Any way we can get youths involved in anything, it’s terrific. But again, I’m 23 and I don’t want to watch 4th and 5th graders dance around like some of the girls I know do when they’ve had a little too much to drink (jaeger). And by that I mean like whores.
I want Greg Oden to tuck me in at night and tell me stories about the old times
I like them also
There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man — with human flesh.
Paul Muad'Dib - Dune (Frank Herbert)
My Translation: My Dad is a dude just like me, and my sons are dudes like me also. I love that.
Season Tix: Section 315, with my sons
The RG Caters to the fan who doesn't attend a lot of games
Seems like they feel they need to create an experience instead of letting the natural events of a game dictate a fans opinion of the arena, which I think still occurs regardless of their lack of really “getting it”. The Blazers fans are incredibly intelligent and outspoken, this site proves that, and I think the RG reflects that, as most of the die hard fans are very open and willing to deal with the novice fan, and in a lot of cases help them out.
Jr Blazers Dancers are good, It’s a really good program for young girls, and it brings in families. My Sister participated for 2 years so I am probably biased, but I have no problem with it, and I disagree, I dont hear the music and a bell goes off and I start gawking, some may, but I dont, and i hope its not the majority that do. Like I said, I think Portland fans are a bit smarter than that. It’s entertaining, but hardly gawk worthy. These young girls work really hard, and I hate to believe people anywhere see it for anything other than a fun way to involve some dedicated girls in a positive atmosphere.
I doubt Blaze will be around much longer if we keep winning, Blazers don’t need a mascot and I think Larry Miller will realize this.
"There is one way that cutting off trade with a partner could help you," Wolfers explains. "And that's if you're an idiot. If you used to trade a lot with one partner, and they always got the better of you because you don't know what you're doing, then you're right, you would be better off not trading with them any more."
by Outlaw is Rejector on Feb 4, 2009 11:09 PM PST reply actions
Re: Junior Dancers
I’m glad it’s fun for the girls, but half their moves remind me of a strip club! How about less Jon Benet makeup and a style of dancing that’s not so “exotic”?
You know what I hate
“Cheerleader Music”. That weird chopped up, frenetic Attention Deficit Disorder cut-n-paste pop beats. Just play a song and dance to it. It’s okay if it’s a rap song, that’s not the problem, but this kind of stuff is just awful. Nobody likes it. I do not get it.
"It all depends on where his growth will come and we think his growth will come within us" -- Kevin Pritchard on Jerryd Bayless
smarter fans
i hope that one day the tv broadcasts will offer more to the intelligent viewer rather than the casual fan. i wish the snapper was still around. he broke down the game really well.
The most hated Blazer is like the least hottest supermodel - Sabonis4Ever
by Philthyanimal on Feb 4, 2009 11:30 PM PST up reply actions
Amen
i miss the snapper also. He definitely knew his stuff, as well as everyone else involved in the broadcast back then (from what i remember). The mikes arent bad now, neither are wheels or antonio, but the 2 guys in the studio sound like theyre missing parts of their brains. They both stutter a lot and never sound like they know what theyre talking about. it gets so annoying. im sure there is some college broadcasting major that could speak much clearer and with more insight than those 2 guys.
TV
How about just one replay that actually matters…time and time again I find myself waiting to look at (the ghost foul or foot out of bounds) but instead we get a nice shot of Channing picking his nose or something. Please Blazer broadcasting get a good producer! And on a side note from another post dump the lame local band versions of the theme!
That's what your Tivo is for.
Just run it back yourself.
Yeah...
I haven’t been to a game in a few years, but I remember that not being weirded-out by young girls dancing came naturally to me. I also did not have to remind myself not to seem attracted to them, because I wasn’t. At all. They’re little girls dancing. Most times I wasn’t even really paying attention. I don’t see where some people are coming from, but I won’t judge. By all means, creep on y’all.
Make the music with your mouth Prz
Salaam.
UNLESS...
They really are wearing tons of makeup and dancing in a very suggestive manner. If they’re just dancing, that’s cool. If they’re trying to turn on the crowd that’s not cool. But they weren’t doing either last time I was at a game. That’s all I meant.
Make the music with your mouth Prz
Salaam.
You don't understand
Last game I went to, it was fully nude 8 year olds, which is bad enough, but they also danced suggestively to music that glamorized pre-marital relations.
I looked around to see if anyone else was preturbed by it, but people around me were singing along to the song, so I guess it was a hit at the time.
Still, a hit or not, such adult music shouldn’t be played in front of naked 8 year olds.
If I wanted to hear such claptrap, I’d go to the Urban section in Walmart.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on Feb 5, 2009 4:25 AM PST up reply actions 2 recs
I agree, the problem with them isn't the potential enjoyment of pedophiles
That can be extended to anything if it involves kids, and we shouldn’t dirty up something that the kids enjoy doing with our own fears and worries and hidden dark secrets.
THE REAL REASON TO NOT LIKE THE JR. BLAZER DANCERS is that they are awful, boring, uninteresting, and the only people who care about them are the kids themselves and the parents of the kids. And I hate the parents, so I don’t want them to enjoy anything, ever.
It’s easily the worst form of entertainment, and I should know— both of my sisters were in dance teams growing up and I had to go watch them compete. It is mind blowingly stupidly boring.
It is fun for those families, but they can go play Monopoly and have fun, instead of monopolizing my entertainment dollar with crappily choreographed and executed dancing.
Mortimer
by Mortimer on Feb 5, 2009 4:33 AM PST up reply actions 3 recs
That last line was good
It is fun for those families, but they can go play Monopoly and have fun, instead of monopolizing my entertainment dollar with crappily choreographed and executed dancing.
someone should sig steal it.
Want more aggressiveness? Try less Baylesslessness.
LOL
i love it as well.
The most hated Blazer is like the least hottest supermodel - Sabonis4Ever
by Philthyanimal on Feb 5, 2009 8:19 PM PST up reply actions
You go, Morty -- as usual!!!
The cilantro in your tapioca pudding since 2007.™
by timbo on Feb 5, 2009 5:39 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Couldn't agree more on the crappy promotions, loud music, and junior dancers!
This stuff seriously keeps me from going to more games. Also, get rid of the $@*#^$# thunder sticks!!!
I like the thundersticks :)
I collect them. Great for parties and fighting with in the moonbounce.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
lol
thats a good use for them.
The most hated Blazer is like the least hottest supermodel - Sabonis4Ever
by Philthyanimal on Feb 5, 2009 7:37 PM PST up reply actions
Kids get the joy of using them as swords, though
Without the, you know, risk of dismembering anybody.
The only one I agree with is the
Bobby Gross jersey retirement.
As for the rest of them, who cares, it adds to the atmosphere, lighten up!
I don't normally do this, but I felt compelled to tell you something. You have an absolutely breath-taking... heiney. I mean, that thing's good. I wanna be friends with it
My $.02
1) Promos: Yeah. We have far too many, and they are crappy. I realize that it isn’t as extreme as your story, but I have twice caught an envelope from the blimp. Once, it was a coupon for a crappy rap CD. I like rap, but they were featuring this artist in the RG that night for some reason, and he was absolutely horrible. I gave it to the 13-year-old kid next to me who seemed disappointed that he didn’t grab it. The other was two tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters. Which, of course, would have been really cool if the seats weren’t in the buttcrack of the third level.
2) Sound: I’m 23 and I leave the games with headaches. I want to be able to talk to the person next to me at timeouts. Is that so much to ask?
3) Junior Blazer Dancers: Ick.
4) Blaze the Trail Cat: I don’t remember who it was on here, but someone had the idea of introducing a mascot trio to take Blaze’s place: a dunking Lewis & Clark and a sexy Sacagawea. Um, yes please? They could be ambassadors to the community, teaching kids about Oregon history while representing the Trail Blazers. Can’t ask for more than that.
5) Honor Rasheed Wallace!
Jerryd Bayless has two emotions: Kill and Win.
"I want to put points on your face."
-Rudy to Pau Gasol
NorrisHopper30: "someone injure pubert jones"
by rockingharder on Feb 4, 2009 11:48 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
+1
For Lewis and Clark, and Sacajawea. If she looks like the animated Disney Sacajawea, that would be quite awesome. – Elgin
Since when do we need to ponder to froth? - jscot
junior dancers are weird
its just a bunch of kids that their parents pay to get them in a expensive dance studio. i think its weird but i dont really care for the regular blazer dancers much.
obviously they dont need bobble heads to get people to come to the games anymore. im obviously disappointed because i love my blazer bobble head collection but ill live.
i feel like the tshirts and blimp flights are pointless to begin with. people standing for tshirts, blimp flights, or a free basketball dont care if its crappy.
i dont go def from the crappy music, i go def from thousands of people on their feet for the blazers.
kids love blaze and thats all i care about. ive seen kids out of their mind happy if they get to high five blaze and i think thats what its for more than anything.
I care if it's crappy
after my shirt, i stopped standing. I now will check the stats on my iphone and attempt to read up on BE.
As for Blaze, yeah, he’s for the kids, but he could be more. again, I point to the jazz Mascot. he’s what a mascot SHOULD be.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
TOO MANY RETIRED NUMBERS!!!!!
It makes us look silly as fans to have had the limited success that we’ve had and have more jerseys retired than the vast majority of the NBA. It makes us look like an obsessed crazy ex girlfriend hanging onto the past. I propose that we “unretire” some of these numbers (bobby gross, larry steele, lloyd neal, dave twardzik etc) and honor them in some other way if absolutely necessary. I mean come on now, you don’t see the Bulls retiring Bill Cartwright, Stacey King, Horace Grant, BJ Armstrong, Tony Kukoc, Jon Paxson, Steve Kerr and Luc Longley just because they were there for the glory days. Seriously you jackasses, you’re “embarrassing” us and pointing out our “bare asses.”
I'm not embarassed and don't think it's a big deal
I can care less what fans think of me or what they think about the Blazers. I’m comfortable with who I am and my favorite team.
I think they should retire every number possible so that the current players have to wear fractions.
It's not offensive until someone reads it.
How much less
can you care? We want details.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
I care about stuff that matters
Taking care of my dog, cat, and wife. I care about the environment and a couple of other issues, just not what fans think of me because my favorite team has a banner retiring fetish.
It's not offensive until someone reads it.
Sounds like you actually
can’t care less than you do.
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
I care about getting banned from BE
I also cared enough to change my name because people kept comparing me to the Larry Flynt of BE. I’d actually prefer that other fans hate me and my team because they win so much.
It's not offensive until someone reads it.
What, you got banned before?
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
Nope
I walk the line. I just don’t have a life beyond here.
It's not offensive until someone reads it.
I can't ever recall anything you have said being close to bannable
That word sounds like banana. I’m gonna go eat a banana.
Karma
I see
So people were comparing you to TiH?
Just because some young kid was trying to be like you, and people noticed, you killed and reincarnated yourself?
When I rule the world, everyone will know how to use Excel.
Re: the music volume
I’m not so sure its really the volume of the music thats so bad, but the song selection… still, its not as bad as, say, New Orleans playing this horrible ditty before, during and after every play. Woo ooo… ooo who…. ooo ooo… woo ooo
"Every time a trade proposal goes up on Blazers Edge, a big man on the Blazers takes a long distance jump shot."--- Who else?
There should be no music playing while the ball is in play. Period.
by Norsktroll on Feb 5, 2009 8:38 AM PST up reply actions 14 recs
but let the fans do that on their own
I dont need freaking directions on the scoreboard on when to and when not to make noise
I'm afraid Chiekh Samb's kids are going to be born ducking
by GreatOden'sRaven on Feb 5, 2009 3:02 PM PST up reply actions
I just don’t get the whole thing.
The league (NFL) is looking at the Seahawks for allegedly pumping in crowd noise.
But you can pump in anything you want at an NBA game – go figure.
GO
THE TEACHER ......come into my classroom "THE PAINT" for some tutelage.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The rancor reflected in that remark I won't dignify with comment. But I'll address your general attitude of hopeless negativism." – Everett "O Brother, where art Thou?"
i completely agree with the NO thing
its possibly the worst idea ever. it actually makes me mad enough to hit mute.
Also its only CP not the other players
I'm afraid Chiekh Samb's kids are going to be born ducking
by GreatOden'sRaven on Feb 5, 2009 3:03 PM PST up reply actions
Joan Benoit Ramsey
Thats what I keep thinking everytime they bounce onto the floor with all that make up they wear.
IMO they are down right creepy.
Please some one make them go away!
Good Post T$!
The Oden Era, Day 594
I dunno, Heymoe
I think she’d look nice with a little lipstick and eyeliner.
by MiledAnimal on Feb 5, 2009 3:48 PM PST up reply actions 2 recs
I saw her on a run this summer In eugene. I waved; she waved back.... It was magic.
Also, best typo in the history of Blazersedge. If you don’t get it, figure it out.
Funny stuff.
I heart taxes.
Oh Man!
Its been 10 minutes and I am still laughing at myself. Was my subconscious taking over trying to erase thoughts of tiny litle dancing girls wearing too much make up?
Is she the perfect block to these nightmares?
Way, way to funny MiledAnimal.
The Oden Era, Day 594
I've complained about the PA before
It gets so loud you can’t hear the fans, sometimes it’s cool, other times you do wish it was quieter, I think who ever the sound engineers are, they could be a little bit more in sync with the crowd, if the crowd is on their feat, cheering and clapping loudly, don’t blast whatever prerecorded montage music video (which most of them are horrible, that skanky band covering ballroom blitz, the KG Gatorade commercial rip off, C’Mon! DMKPDX could pull a better montage out of his trailcat) before the game quite so loud, it actual discourages fans from participating because they can even hear themselves clap.
The Jr. Dancers: see mortimer for that one.
Promotions: Why give away stuff to fans the will buy so much crap on their own (i’m sure this season there have been more blazer jerseys sold than any other besides kobe)?
Blazer Dancers in general: What happened to cheerleaders? Get rid of the blazer dancers and give the stunt team more time, they are more like actual cheerleaders.
Nice Manifesto.
Don't Redeactivate Shavlik Randolph
pretty cool and I agree
but to be fair.. the one time I caught a falling envelope.. I got a redeemable coupon for a Blazer cap that.. besides the fordlogo on the side.. is the best Blazer cap I’ve got..
"Slum dunk? You just go to the rim, and crush.. crush the ball in the rim."
- Nic Batum
Jr Dancers
this was a gripe I had last year. This year I just shrug.
My thoughts on these girls are:
1.) Last year they WERE skimpy and they WERE grinding in ways that young girls shouldn’t. I felt VERY dirty watching and simply stopped.
2.) this year they’re more conservative in what they wear and their dances are less of the grinding meant to provoke sexuality.
3.) Those young girls out there, regardless of how you feel, are probably pretty darn exited to be a part of something like that and I suspect it means the world to them. With the changes I’ve seen this year, I feel like telling people to let them dance. Last year was a different story.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
That's encouraging
I haven’t seen the junior dancers yet this year and I’m glad to know they’ve toned it down. Sounds like the Blazers heard the complaints and took them seriously.
I don't care
if it means the world to them. I paid for those seats, and they bore me. If it meant the world to me would you let me dance around in speedos on the court (I’m a 190 pound male). I think not.
As long as I could laugh at you
"It's not who jumps the highest -- it's who wants it the most" Buck Williams
"and if EVERYONE confronted with a tough, disgusting situation pulled out, I don't think I would have been born." Mortimer
by Fund A Mental on Feb 6, 2009 10:07 AM PST up reply actions
and maybe throw things
"It's not who jumps the highest -- it's who wants it the most" Buck Williams
"and if EVERYONE confronted with a tough, disgusting situation pulled out, I don't think I would have been born." Mortimer
by Fund A Mental on Feb 6, 2009 10:07 AM PST up reply actions
They have
toned it down this year, thankfully. They actually look like kids now from the 300 section.
There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man — with human flesh.
Paul Muad'Dib - Dune (Frank Herbert)
My Translation: My Dad is a dude just like me, and my sons are dudes like me also. I love that.
Season Tix: Section 315, with my sons
All the other items
Ear plugs help.
I agree with just about every other thing you’ve mentioned. The Jazz Mascott knows how to work the crowd. if blaze were ever to do that, then I’d say go for it, but he doesn’t and is as such worthless.
I’ve often complained about how the prompts drown out real fans chanting. They work to their own pace instead of with the crowd and enchancing the crowd. Also, the Jazz games I’ve been to still out pace any noise the blazers have made all the games I’ve been to there. Again, the mascot works the audience. Blaze doesn’t.
I’ve stopped complaining because I’ve become rather disgusted by, in my mind, the poor game enhancements by the blazers. It’s like they really don’t get it and don’t know how to make people feel excited or keep them excited. it leads to people sitting around me eating and enjoying their television in the privacy of the rose garden instead of jumping and cheering in the last quarter or even the last five minutes.
The goal is not to be better, the goal is to be the best.
I agree with everything except...
The thing about volume. We need to be loud, and sometimes the fans in the 200 level (not talking about B-edgers, I know we are loud) need a little motivation.
Does every timeout really need to be filled with enough noise that in order to talk to the person next to me I have to yell in their ear?
Yes it does.
For the most part I like the noise/music coming from the arena. I do agree that when the fans are ramped up and taking care of buisness the sound people should back off a little bit. I am mostly talking about when we started chanting Garnet sucks during the Boston game. As far as the MVP chant goes I suggest all Blazer fans follow my one simple life rule: “If L*ker fans do it, then don’t do it.” It has kept me from developing a drug habbit and going to jail, so I suggest we not chant MVP.
Other than that I agree with your post: the promotional prizes suck, everytime the Jr dancers come out I crack a pedophile joke, and I would like Blaze to get tweeked a bit.
Great Job, Stay loud Portland
This is what Lucas would do. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0aPkIE2qK0
by 123_G.O._RipCity on Feb 5, 2009 10:14 AM PST reply actions
GREAT post
I’ve been thinking a lot of these things for a long time but never compiled it into cohesive written format, so thanks for that!! I really hope that this thread (or a summary thereof) finds its way to the front office in some fashion.
My thoughts:
1) Promotional Giveaways:
Agree completely. I was pumped up to collect my Brandon and Lamarcus bobbleheads last year, and was really looking forward to adding Greg and Rudy ones to my shelf this year. I’m really bummed that with all of the cash that I forked over for quarter-season tickets that they’re not going to even give me ONE. Also, the bobbleheads that I have seen this year are being given away by/through Wells Fargo and they have a freaking gigantic WELLS FARGO logo at the base of the bobblehead that is more prominent than LMA’s name. I understand the need for sponsors but you’ve GOT to be able to find a way to be more subtle than that. I wouldn’t even put one of those on my shelf—I will not be your unwitting corporate shill! I’m a Blazers fan, not a walking billboard!
Similarly, even though I have a Wells Fargo credit card, I refuse to participate in the stupid contest where everyone is supposed to hold up their Wells Fargo card and one “lucky fan” will win $50 or something. I’m not going to turn myself into your damned advertisement just for a 1-in-20,000 chance to win a measly $50. That would barely pay for my ticket to get in to the game, much less however many $8 beers I have shelled out for. If you expect me to be a sellout for you, then, as the OP said, you’d better at least come at me with 3 figures… sigh.
2) The Volume:
OP stated this so perfectly—there is a beauty about being part of a sports crowd and really feeling the ebb and flow of emotions that goes on throughout the game. Especially as the season winds down and during the playoffs. And I think the players (on both teams) would be able to feel that vibe as well, and be affected by it. It could really increase our sense of impact as the “12th man”. But instead it just feels like you are stuck inside of a video game or something.
3) The Jr. Blazer Dancers:
Agreed—creepy—they need to go. I’m not saying that there is anything particular about their act that is horribly inappropriate, necessarily, but it’s just as the OP said—the juxtaposition to the “regular” Blazer Dancers—for whom sexuality is OBVIOUSLY an intentionally marketed part of their appeal—is just wrong. I understand what some others are saying here about how much this means to those girls, but I think you need to figure some other talent that they can display that doesn’t so closely mimic the adult dancers. Why don’t we get 10 girls who are interested in athletics to play a quick half-court game of basketball? (or set up temporary, lower baskets for them?) Or bring in the junior roller-derby girls for a quick bout like they do at halftime of the roller derby games? Or if we have to stick with a “dancing” theme (which seems like a sexist stereotype to force on these young girls), then at least have it be ballet or something where it doesn’t just look like they are being groomed to be future sex symbols?
4) Blaze the Trail Cat
Meh, don’t really care one way or the other. I agree that a cat makes no sense, but on the other hand I do like some of the sketches that they do in combination with the other team’s mascots, etc.
5) Jersey Retirements
Totally agree, but I haven’t been a Portlander for long enough to feel like I deserve to chime in here. I do like the idea of retiring 0-99 so that they have to wear three-digit numbers or fractions.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————
Here are a couple of my own to add on:
6) Drum line: I have read at least a few posts on BE about these guys and how annoying and loud people find them. I have to partially disagree there—I think they are cool, I think they have a pretty distinctive “Portland” feel to them, and almost every college basketball team is able to pull this off and actually add to the atmosphere rather than harm it. The difference? The college teams realize that DRUM LINES DO NOT NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF THE PA SYSTEM. Drums are LOUD. Combine that with the acoustics of playing inside of a giant dome and we can hear them just fine without the PA. When they put them on the PA, it is way too loud, plus you get this really uncomfortably weird doppler effect so there is a delay between the notes that are coming out of the PA and the ones coming out of the drums. Then it just sounds like noise and there isn’t even any rhythm to it. So I say: keep bringing the drum line now and again, but NEVER put them on the PA. They don’t need it!
7) Those M^#F*&#NG flashy scrolling advertisements that are constantly moving around the video board that rings the perimeter of the upper level seats. I’ve missed at least 3 or 4 great basketball moments at games this year because I’m watching what’s happening on the court and then all of a sudden some bright flashing light catches my eye at the perimeter of my vision. I reflexively look over without even having a chance to think about it, and instead of seeing some amazing thunderous Oden dunk my attention is focused on a 5-dollar-footlong ad. That is simply UNJUST. I hate sponsors and detest being treated as a constant target of advertising rather than a person, a fan, or, heaven forbid, a paying customer, but I understand to a degree the necessary evil that goes along with corporate sponsorships. But for heaven’s sake, can’t we at the very least agree that that ring-board video thingy should only be used for advertisements during timeouts and between quarters? Or that all of the images it shows must be static images, and not wacky flashing lights, while the game is going on? It irks me to no end that the powers that be (and I’m really talking all professional and even I-A college sports here—not just the Blazers) feel that it is OK to charge me $50 or even $100 for a ticket to watch a sporting event, and then devote so much time, energy, and money into consciously attempting to take my attention away from said sporting event so that they can try to hawk me a sandwich or a checking account. Grrr!
8) Chalupas. Sorry, folks, I know a lot of people like the whole Chalupa thing but I think it just encourages poor sportsmanship and takes away from the game. Like the night when LeBron got booed in Cleveland for dribbling out the clock with 99 points and a ten point lead. That’s just not right. Anyway, it’s not like most of us will even go use those coupons… and those that do, I bet you end up spending a lot more cash buying other stuff at Taco Bell while you are there, so they are really making money off of you, as opposed to “giving” you 89 cents or whatever.
—————————————————————-
OK, sorry for the ranting… overall I still really have a great time at Blazers games. I just think (and agree with the OP) that it would be a whole lot better if it could be more of a basketball experience rather than a pop-culture-entertainment-extravaganza, and that the Blazers front office could improve things a ton with very minimal effort.
by c'est bon on Feb 5, 2009 10:18 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Chalupas are much more than 89 cents
And I always use them.
And I order a water with it. nothing else.
And they are good.
And free.
And you can easily get 5 of them if you are sneaky.
#5
I love the Chalupas
They are cheap, but free food is always a bonus!
There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man — with human flesh.
Paul Muad'Dib - Dune (Frank Herbert)
My Translation: My Dad is a dude just like me, and my sons are dudes like me also. I love that.
Season Tix: Section 315, with my sons
Disagree about Blaze
I have two young children that I have brought to games, and they absolutely LOVE BLAZE. He is essential to the young fan’s experience, because young kids don’t have the attention span to stay interested in a game with all of the breaks in action. Mascots don’t have to make sense, most of the good ones don’t. The Chicken, the Gorilla, the Phanatic, nobody knows or cares what they have to do with the team name. And mountain lions are a least a native species to Oregon. Sure, they’re not in Portland but it’s a freakin’ city, of course there aren’t many wild animals there. What do you want, a guy dressed up as a salmon? A racoon would be far lamer than a mountain lion.
The Blazers organization has many problems. Blaze is NOT one of them.
I loved the Jammin' Salmon
Wouldn’t want the fishy smell though.
You can’t beat the Stanford Tree, that’s a great mascot.
The Portland Beaver has had his ups and downs. There was a time when the Portland Beaver was as good as the San Diego Chicken.
I liked Blazer Bill, the bartender-looking fellow who used to get things going in the 1980s.
Blaze seems a little safe. The Blazers could use something a little weirder (more like Portland). – Elgin
Since when do we need to ponder to froth? - jscot
But he isn't a mountain lion.
He’s a “trailcat”. Whatever that is.
The best thing about Blaze is that he isn’t a raccoon.
Jerryd Bayless has two emotions: Kill and Win.
"I want to put points on your face."
-Rudy to Pau Gasol
NorrisHopper30: "someone injure pubert jones"
by rockingharder on Feb 6, 2009 12:17 AM PST up reply actions
That's just weird about the Heat jersey retirements
Marino – at first I was thinking Maybe. Then – no way! Let the Dolphins retire his number, not the heat.
Jordan – he didn’t even play for the Heat!! What an embarrassment. – Elgin
Since when do we need to ponder to froth? - jscot
Yeah I think I read
that the logic behind retiring Jordan’s number was that RIley did not want any Heat player to ever wear that number because what Jordan did was so special to the game. I mean I guess I can respect that, but I agree that it is definitely a little bizarre.
I was in a section once that was the lucky section or whatever, and they gave us all coupons for a free McDonalds Cheeseburger. AN EXPIRED COUPON!!!!
by 50backflips on Feb 5, 2009 11:12 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Lame
Last time I checked the team was winning, the food was expensive, the arena was loud, the RG is selling out and oh yeah the team is winning. Yes I hate the young Bdancers…..but really what do you come to the game for? Talk smack and watch good basketball? What do promotions have to do with that. Even as a season ticket holder I don’t mind paying the ridiculous $150 a ticket, $9 hot dog combo and $6 drink to watch this team kick ass.
Do you really need an excuse (other than to support this team) to make an appearance at the RG? If you don’t like the venue stay home and watch comast. The activities are corny, but that’s what you’ll find in any arena you go to. It’s called pop culture and unfortunately it’s everywhere.
To ask for the “blazers” to cater to “smart” fans is ridiculous. Sometimes there is just too much negativity on this site. Blazer fans should be the happiest they’ve been in a decade right now. Not complaining.
my rant, thanks
true
we have more to be happy about than disappointed. there’s always room for improvement though so I think it’s worth occasionally discussing what is working and what isn’t. and even in the context of accepting the pop-culture aspect of the games, it’d be nice to be treated more like fans and paying customers sometimes instead of just targets for advertising…
but your point is well taken!
I think..
he’s saying he wants “less”, not “better”, if that makes any sense.
If I understand him correctly, I totally agree (and I think you do, too). We’re all there to watch the Blazers play the game and cheer with a bunch of other fans. All the promotions and tomfoolery just get in the way.
"Well, Travis just showed us that we can go to Travis Outlaw." - Nate McMillan
Last year you could keep using your collectible cup for $3 refills
This year, if you try to bring it back for another game, they confiscate it. $3 refills are day of purchase only. Lame!
"I love the Spurs!" -Hitler
The promotional stuff doesn't bother me too much
Yeah, a lot of it is lame, but that’s price you have to pay for corporate sponsorships. I don’t know the exact economics behind all of this stuff, but I’m betting that without the sponsorships the ticket prices would be higher.
Gotta agree with a lot of these
c’est: I completely agree about the drum-line: It is really awesome, and the mics ruin the effect.
Special Jerseys or even special screen-printed shirts ($15) that say something to the effect of “Huge Blazer fan” that you can’t buy, would definitely make winning those on the court contests awesome. Just something that you can’t get somewhere else (i.e. not money) would make those contest a big deal (by the way those blazer coat things the Blazer dancers were wearing with the stripes across the middle are kind of awesome, and if those were available without the writing on the arm and the sequined pin-wheel I would definitely be buying one). Same thing for the envelopes, if they were coupons you could redeem for apparel (Once again I mean even just a special t-shirt you drop 4 of them a game at $15 bucks a piece is less than a single seat in the lower bowl) people would think that was much cooler, and you people would be much happier about the elbow in the face they just got for trying to grab it.
Once again the beer. Holy mother of god those beers are expensive. That is all.
Very nice list all in all.
From the back of Travis Outlaw's Franz card: Travis leads the team in monstrous thunder dunks, wins awards for post game interviews, and often gets extra points for degree of difficulty.
Rec.
I want on the Fan Advisory Committee as well.
I agree with you entirely.
I’d also add:
The merchandise in general is weak. The clothes are meh… okay. Why isn’t there a super soft, inexpensive long sleeve shirt with a pinwheel? Nothing fancy, just a nice, comfy shirt. I’m also a hat guy. I don’t wear hats everyday, but I love a cap that fits just right. I take care of my hats. Blazers hats suck. They’re ugly, both in color and fit. They wear awkwardly. Most hats have that NASCAR look to them… which is cool if that’s what you want. The hats need a major overhaul.
The music… Ugh. Every single game features the same lame song played too loud at the same juncture of the game. Can’t we be a little creative? Do we really need to hear Ozzie blaring with 4 minutes to go EVERY GAME?
I for one would love to see the crowd be forced to make noise unprompted… like a Euro soccer club. Chants and songs specific to players… man, that would be SWEET.
Chalupas? Really? We’ve got a canned Chalupa chant that kicks in when the Blazers are sitting at 96… REALLY?!? The crowd actually chants over a cheap, nasty, deep fried fast food item… REALLY?!?
"When I die, I want to go peacefully like my Grandfather did, in his sleep -- not screaming, like the passengers in his car"
by you'vegottomakeyourfreethrows on Feb 5, 2009 11:35 AM PST reply actions
haha
timbers games are awesome. Mass-chanting of profanity is fun, cheap beers are fun, and watching soccer is very fun.
From the back of Travis Outlaw's Franz card: Travis leads the team in monstrous thunder dunks, wins awards for post game interviews, and often gets extra points for degree of difficulty.
Can we get the TV and Radio Broadcasts in the form of a headphone jack in every seat in the arena?
#5
Yeah! Then everyone can enjoy Luftman and Holton.
Jerryd Bayless has two emotions: Kill and Win.
"I want to put points on your face."
-Rudy to Pau Gasol
NorrisHopper30: "someone injure pubert jones"
by rockingharder on Feb 6, 2009 12:19 AM PST up reply actions
Let's Grill! Let's Grill! Let's Grill 'Em!
"C'est un autre monde, un autre univers mais c'est magnifique." --Nicolas Batum
by DrCoffee on Feb 5, 2009 1:27 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
that is my favorite video clip
they play at the RG…its not getting as much airtime as it used to tho.
The most hated Blazer is like the least hottest supermodel - Sabonis4Ever
by Philthyanimal on Feb 5, 2009 7:37 PM PST up reply actions
what does walton say in his?
The most hated Blazer is like the least hottest supermodel - Sabonis4Ever
by Philthyanimal on Feb 5, 2009 8:21 PM PST up reply actions
What to do with Blaze:
How cool would it be if Blaze had a small opening in the mouth-area, and he swallowed/breathed fire!! Blandness problem: solved. book it.
Sergio, Rudy, GOOOAAAL!
Let me start by saying I’m also a season ticket holder as are most of the people around where my seats are located. We’ve often voiced some of the same sentiments to each other during the last couple years. Here is a consensus from what I’ve heard during games in the last couple years.
1. Promotional giveaways – bogus crap that no one cares about (except the young kid a couple rows down who caught a t-shirt a few games ago which he was pissed when he looked at it and found it wouldn’t fit, but its more about being on the screen when he gets it than the shirt itself) Since it cost over $100 to attend a game and another $100 to buy drinks and something to eat, $20 doesn’t cut it. Bobbleheads or other team stuff is good, autographed cards; shirts, hats etc would be the best. We’re fans and like stuff like that. I have autographed memorabilia from when I was a kid that I have showcased in my house (even though I’m older than the main stream fan – I’m still a fan) I have a basketballs, cards etc from the glory days of the Blazers. Of course it was easier to get memorabilia then and it didn’t cost you an arm and leg. You just asked for an autograph and the stars were glad to give them, but that’s for another blog.
2. The Volume – way to loud. There’s a NBA rule for volume during the game. Use it during timeouts and breaks in the action also. We like to be loud during the game and be able to talk with those around us during the breaks.
3. The Jr. Blazer Dancers – NO WAY NO HOW. As nice as it might be for these young dancers. There is just something sick about seeing these young girls with all the make-up on moving gyrating like a 21 year old at the club. My wife works with a mother of one of these girls who loves the experience but she’s going to be to old next year to be able to do it any longer. If she’s to old to be a JR Blazer dancer than she’s to young to dance like that. WE DON’T WANT TO SEE IT.
I’m one that doesn’t even pay attention to the regular Blazer dancers. Yea, there hot and can move, but I’d rather see the stunt team or even the Blazer break dancers.
4. Blaze the Trail Cat – doesn’t fit period. If we need a mascot then make it something that fits with our history i.e. Lumberjack, mountain man or a Blazer manic.
5. Jersey retirements – Come on, as much as I enjoyed watching some of them play most were not dominate enough in the league or in the league long enough to have their jersey’s retired. A better choice would be a ring of honor where the top Blazers of all time would have their names etc up during games. Easy enough to do with the board around the middle of the RG where you keeping track of missed free throws and advertising. Just include them in the rotation. I don’t think Walton’s jersey should even be retired considering all the things he said about Portland when he left and he only played a few seasons here. I get the whole championship thing, but …
by Bruise10 on Feb 5, 2009 1:44 PM PST reply actions 1 recs
Agreed
with your points. I also really like the stunt team, they are pretty good.
There is probably no more terrible instance of enlightenment than the one in which you discover your father is a man — with human flesh.
Paul Muad'Dib - Dune (Frank Herbert)
My Translation: My Dad is a dude just like me, and my sons are dudes like me also. I love that.
Season Tix: Section 315, with my sons
Wonderful Post!
I agree with everything. Everything.
However, I wear XL shirts, but they have shot 1 in 5 years in my section.
Jr. Blazer Dancers – heaven help us. I think there’s a special room in Hades for people who have their daughters do this stuff. Just 1 man’s opinion.
Blaze has a stainless steel fridge thanks to one of the fixed "giveaways. " I know this for an absolute fact. Makes you question every giveaway – or it should.
A friend of mine took a group to a game and was handed a signed day of game book that already had Martell’s signature in there to redeem for a free jersey. Good for her, but again, makes you question every giveaway – or it should.
I like Bruise10’s ring of honor, or something else rather than retire so many jerseys that we have to move to 3 digits.
All said, love the Blazers, the direction, the team, the Garden – onward and upward.
The biggest problem I have with attending Blazer games (I attent a lot, I'm a season ticket holder)
STOP CHANTING FOR CHALUPAS. YOU ARE IN PUBLIC, STOP BEGGING.
Also, the Jr. Blazer Dancers need to wear something on their feet. 20 barefoot kids dancing on the sacred basketball court makes me sick.
Karma
36 recs?
Ugliest post I have ever seen on B-edge.
What is the deal with all of you creeps freaking out about the Jr Blazer Dancers? Are you serious?
I heart taxes.
I caught an envelope from a Blimp
And it had a $10 gift card for a really good deli. I forget the name of it but my brother said it was very good. There were no strings attached , like buy on get one, or anything like that. Just 10 dollar card. I thought this was good.
On the other hand, my brother almost got killed over a parachute. This in also a question for the people out there. So this think comes down, a box attached to a parachute. My brother catches the box, but the guy behind him grabbed the chute, the actual fabric, at the same time. As my brother kind of sat in his seat and held on the box the guy behind him pulled on the chute, causing the strings to kind of choke, and dig into the neck and ear, of my bother. After a moment of this everone yelled at the guy to stop, he was just pulling like crazy acting weird to impress the girls he was with. Finally he stopped and as I stood up and turned around the guy and the girls he was with started apologizing profusely. So whatever. In the box was a well fargo shirt. Crap.
I gave my brother the gift card.
So, If one person grabs the box and the other grabs the Chute, what is the proper action? Does the one holding the chute let go? Should a tug of war ensue? What should the social rule be in this situation?
The one thing I hate about the NBA
is the gameday atmosphere. Having been to a bunch of college games (both at Oregon and elsewhere) and a handful of Blazer games (including THAT Denver game last year), there is just far too much going on in the arena during the game. It’s so, so hard to focus on how the game is being played – even I succumb to the pretty colors and the siren song of the P.A. announcer.
Give me a college band and a raucous den for the most hardcore of the fans (students in college, the wild/crazy aspects and BEdger type of guys for the NBA). Turn down the PA, not every possession needs a bumping tune, don’t be afraid to let the RG be a little quiet during possessions…and pretty much everything else listed above.
The on-court product is good, and some things (ball-game beers) will never be cheap. But some things can be tweaked to be improved.
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