Weekend Discussion: The Other Side of the Coin

Worst for me is the inferiority complex that comes with rooting for the Blazers. We’re not taken very seriously outside of our market, and deep down that hurts.
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The best part is the junk drawer.

Of course I do remember the championship year and even years before.

The best part for me is that Portland and Oregon have a team. The minor league baseball and hockey were not so bad. I went to plenty of games and we cared that we won. But having a major league team is huge. Harry Glickman will always be my hero. In the early years we went to games knowing we would probably lose but get to see stars perform. Real bone fide stars only seen by travel out-of-state or occasionally on TV. We still cheered our lungs out but then, when the team learned to win (having the right confluence in 1976 was the catalyst) the town grew up around them. It has been wonderful and all the more precious when we can see our sister team the Supersonics, snatched so cruelly from Seattle.

The worst is that the games are no longer possible for me. We went to most home games for every year from 1973-1997. As some of you know I am disabled and cannot travel out of central Oregon so TV and Internet are my eyes and ears. That worst sure got better with Blazersedge. You folks are so amazing – not just Dave and Ben, who are rock stars, but the rest of you here as well.

Best: The fact that it’s not a super well-known team. You see people all over the country wearing Lakers/Celtics/Cleveland/San Antonio jerseys and hats, and it’s like seeing Yankees and Red Sox hats…those teams are such well-known “brand names” that you don’t know whether somebody is wearing their stuff because they’re a fan or just because it’s trendy. The Blazers are obscure enough that you know that if you see somebody rocking a jersey or a hat in public, they’re a real fan and you can go up and start a conversation.

Worst: basketball season is almost entirely during the schoolyear, so I can only go to games when I’m home for winter or spring break, and this year that’s not a very thrilling selection of teams.

Greg Oden posted a Facebook update saying he was going to attend the Ultimate Fighting Challenge something-something. I responded saying “STAY OUT of the ring,” or some such witty junk.
Then I got curious what other people were writing to Oldman Oden.
Lots and lots of “Take me wit youuuuuuuuu!!!!111”-type begging.
Which leads me to point 1:
Fans usually want something.
Mostly, they want you to succeed because, well, we’ve sunk some part of outselves into this person/team.
But on some level, more overt with some than others, they WANT something personal. They want to glom onto whatever fame or fortune that person has. They want insider treatment. They want a freebie.
Point 2: Other people posting on Greg’s page said something to the tune of: “Get back to practice; don’t be a Bust!” (Correct use of the semicolon is mine, not the posters’, many of whom seemed to have a very tentative grasp of the written language to begin with.)
This is awful, and I caught myself wondering why on Earth this person would go out of their way to write something so stupid, so embarrassing, so … mean.
To me, this is like the most selfish act out there. Greg, and most other pro-athletes are real people. They get up each morning, put on their shorts one leg at a time, and do the best they can. I’d like to follow some of these posters around for a day and chuck rocks at their glass houses.
Point 3: I’m not immune! I’ve used fandom connections/influence to get into concerts for free, or with good seats. I’ve hogged celebrities time with stupid inane talk, with hopes of getting closer to their limelight. It’s human nature I think. but really, like most things, we’ve got to be nice about it, yes?

/rant

Best is hearing from the international fans. I love finding out why they have chosen the Blazers. Their reasons have nothing to do with being a knee-jerk fan; they’re not rooting for the team because it’s popular or following a superstar because of a marketing campaign. If they want to watch a game it’s at odd hours, often on a sketchy internet connection. They sometimes have to work hard to search out (and decipher) Blazers stories. Plus, they often see basketball from a different angle than many American fans, and give us insights into guys like Rudy.

Worst is the rush of anger I feel when I talk to people who STILL think of the team as Jailblazers. It’s not so bad when I’m talking to someone who lives halfway across the country, but there are plenty of people in Portland who can’t let go of that outdated stereotype of Blazer = thug.

Best thing: The way this team is ingrained in the city of Portland. Walk around town and you’ll meet about 500,000 different types of people. Many of them disagree with about everything you stand for. They may have different political ideas. They may believe in a different diety or dieties. They may have different morals. They may think your outfit is just hideous. But if you mention the Trail Blazers, be it a little or a lot, they have that connection to the team. On some level, they understand how you feel about the team because, on some level, they feel the same way too.

Worst thing: I guess it’s the title drought. I wasn’t alive in ‘77 (wouldn’t arrive in town for 3 more years). It’s never been a good thing to say that my favorite basketball team hasn’t won a championship in my lifetime. And the years don’t make that statement sound any better. Of course, when you look at the teams I root for (Ducks, Bears, Cubs, Maple Leafs, Blackburn Rovers) it appears that I’m a glutton for punishment. Only two of those teams have won titles in my lifetime, both of them being won before I started following either team. So I guess I’m used to not having my teams win titles, softening the blow on the Blazers a little bit, especially considering their overall success in my lifetime.

You, see, loving the Blazers is like pizza and sex. Even when it’s bad, it’s still pretty good.

Ok, that’s not true. Some pizza is just bad, period.

Best: loving the promise of potential

Worst: loving the promise of potential

The best is I get to be a part of Blazermania. The worst, is that far too many ignorant people still refer to the Jailblazers Era when I travel.

Worst: Being the overlooked small market team remembered more for the jailblazers than a 54 win season.

Best: Everything else….or is that too non specific?

Best: being part of a passionate group of people. When I go to a game I can strike up a conversation wth anyone in the arena at any moment, and not feel awkward about it. We’re all supporting the team 100%!

Worst: all of the times we were so near to the title only to fall short. 90, 91, 92, 99, 2000… All in my memory and I can remember the pain fresh as the day(s) it happened.

The best is much like lee3022 my computer is my ears and now my eyes. I have been a Blazer fan since 1970, but just watched and listened to games. I rooted my lungs out because they were my home state Pro team. Winning it all in 77 got me hooked.

But the best thing is reading here on BE and other Blazer blogs. I am now learning more about basketball, I now have some knowledge of the players although, maybe not completely accurate due to getting my knowledge from emotional
fans. TEE HEE.

My worst is COMCAST. enough said.

hg

 Even “worster”: Comcast frustrations

Worst is having to defend how I chose to support the Blazers and their roster

1) I love gamedays – thinking about the game that morning, reading any Oregonian sports page stuff about the game/Blazers – looking forward to the game during a hard work day – maybe leaving a little early – getting the Blazer gear on – listening to Wheels & JC on the long drive to Portland, meeting my boys, grapping a beer and a bite, riding the max from downtown with all the crazy fans, the walk past the crazy drummers and ticket scalpers outside the RG, smuggling the $8 bottomless empty cup for $3 soda in my sweatshirt past the ticket takers, feeling the emotion in the corridors and elevators, that great feeling when you actually get inside the arena, seeing your section buddies again, the pre-game, the dancers, the blimp, etc….AND THIS IS ALL BEFORE THE GAME!
2) I love watching the team “Rise”. Seeing the quality of each guy, the great natural chemistry that has developed, the budding star power that many of our guys have.
3) I love it when the RG gets LOUD and you can tell it intimidates the other team. The best momments are during a comeback….we are down 6 late, LA hits a fadeaway, Joel gets a rbd – passes to a streaking TO who stuffs, Rudy steals and nails a 3. Phil calls a time-out. THE CROWD GOES APE!
4) I love the Blazers home record against the fakers.
5) I loved “The Streak”. Let’s do it again.
6) The ride back on the max, the long ride home listening to the post game and re-living the highlights.
7) Planning for the next game.

The bad part is what’s left of $40 after going to the snack bars. That and a $10 beer. But – other than that – It’s ALL good!

. . . is a Blazer fan, and that’s great. As a Portland ex-pat living in Minnesota, I’ve met former Portlanders, and they usually are still Blazer nuts, which is fun.

However . . . there was also a vicious Chicago street gang that named itself after the Blazers during the “Jail Blazer” years, adopted their colors and so forth. So wearing Blazer gear in this part of the country can attract the attention of A) fans who go “Roy’s the best” and B) thugs who think you’re a banger from Chi-town . . .

The best part is being one with the fanbase at the RG or in the city. I mean no other city would turn out 10-15k people to see a team that MADE THE PLAYOFFS NOTHING MORE! This city is a much happier place when the Blazers are winning.

The other best thing is that passions may lie dormant during down periods (of which there has been exactly one in my lifetime, you know what it is) but people still care deeply.

The worst is obviously not winning it all. I was born in 1981 and so although the Blazers made the playoffs every year until college (except the year after I was born I think), they have never won it in my lifetime. I just want to win it once honestly, then I’ll be happy.

Best: the small town passion I share at a genetic level with everyone else in Portland rooting for the Trailblazers.

Worst: Being associated with the crybaby numbskulls who chanted “these refs suck” during the playoffs this year, then being ostracized for calling said numbskulls out for being…wait for it….numbskulls.

giggle.

The best thing about being a Blazer fan is the knowledge and passion of most of the fans.

The worst thing is having to live in a city with so many flippin’ L*ker fans!