FanPost

Let's Turn the Page On a Really Bad Season

All of the KP/Allen mumbo jumbo happening right now actually doesn't come as a surprise to me at all. This season has, for all its exciting moments, been mostly a huge bummer. We went into training camp feeling like the Team of Destiny, ready to take on the West's elite, only to have our hopes shattered, injury by injury, bad break by bad break.

The only Blazer games that I saw live this year (I live in New Jersey) were the stinkbomb vs. Memphis when I was visiting my parents, and the stinkbomb vs. the Knicks when they came through MSG. The whole season has carried an air of disappointment, of what-could-have-been. Like most of you, my stomach turned when news of the Oden injury broke. Likewise for Przybilla shortly afterwards. And when, months later, the guy slipped in the shower ... I'd laugh if only to keep from crying.

The Penn/Pritchard scenario, which overshadowed our disappointing playoff ouster, was the icing on the cake. Blazer fans are, rightfully, mourning right now. What we have lost is the surefire youthful optimism that comes with being a team on the rise. Now, we have to face the difficult reality of playing with the big boys. And with all of the injuries, inconsistency and frustration that packed itself into this season, we have been reminded of what those challenges really are. In a nutshell, this season has kind of just plan stunk.

But there is hope, fellow Blazer fans! The beauty of fervent sports fandom is that, no matter what (unless you're a Sonics fan) there is always next season. This year was an unequivocal bust, and it's important that we take the summer to mourn the loss of what was once a promising opportunity. But the future is still ahead of us. We still have a young, talented group of players learning how to play winning basketball. We still have the richest owner in the NBA, a passionate fan of the game who always wants to win.

So take your time to grieve -- vent your anger at the PR nightmare that this has become, voice your fear that we took the wrong guy in the Oden/Durant draft, fantasize about trading for Chris Paul, whatever works. But come September, let's all be ready to start a fresh new season with these troops, chinks in their armor and all.