Blazers Make S.I.'s "Most Hated" List

by Dave on Jul 28, 2010 10:33 AM PDT in News

And now for something completely different...

Sports Illustrated has created a list of the 25 Most Hated Sports Teams of all time. The 2000-2001 Trail Blazers come in at #21. Richard Deitsch opines:

With their incessant bickering and boorish behavior, the Trail Blazers, long cherished in Portland, alienated their customers and disgusted the rest of the league's fans. The biggest lightning rod, of course, was forward Rasheed Wallace...who set an NBA record with 41 technical fouls, threw a towel in the face of teammate Arvydas Sabonis and had to be restrained by teammates from charging coach Mike Dunleavy in the locker room. The Oregonian described the Blazers as "tanking it in the playoffs [in a first-round sweep to the Lakers] amid a cloud of tantrums and technicals." The frightening aspect of this "Jail Blazers" era is that there are multiple teams from which to choose and moments to pinpoint. To wit: The following season, in December 2001, swingman Bonzi Wells told SI about being booed: "We're not really going to worry about what the hell [the fans] think about us. They really don't matter to us. They can boo us every day but they are still going to ask for our autographs if they see us on the street. That's why they are fans and we are NBA players."

Well, at least Portland got mentioned in the same breaths as the Yankees, Cowboys, Duke, The "U", and Man U. That's something!

--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)

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BLAZERS #1 in my book!

If what I just commented turns out to be wrong, please delete from all memory.

by NBAstard on Jul 28, 2010 10:35 AM PDT reply actions

Where is Bonzi Wells these days?

Arby’s?

Geriatric Dunk Squad!
1/4/10 - Juwan Howard dunks on Chris Kaman.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTkOqDgLb6s
3/7/10 - Andre Miller Tomahawk jams on the Denver Nuggets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-JVgm7F1QA
4/12/10 - Marcus Camby drops 30 and 13 on OKC to cement 50 wins. http://www.nba.com/blazers/media/camby_chant_041310.mp3

by Eat Politicians on Jul 28, 2010 10:37 AM PDT reply actions

Last I saw Bonzi was

playing ball in Puerto Rico for the Capitanes de Arecibo, he pretty screwed his own career, after Portland he just slowly faded away, its too bad because he was a good basketball player and could have been the piece to a championship team.

by r.johnsonmill on Jul 28, 2010 11:12 AM PDT up reply actions

Didn't he turn down a pretty reasonable offer

from Houston, holding out for something better that never came?

by superfly05 on Jul 28, 2010 1:14 PM PDT up reply actions

No way, not in my house. Try McDonalds!

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Jul 28, 2010 11:30 AM PDT up reply actions

Are we the 21st most hated?

Or the 21st most enveyed? That Jealosy looks terrible on you S.I.

by trailblazer420 on Jul 28, 2010 10:43 AM PDT via mobile reply actions

No love for the Lakers on the list?

by Escrote on Jul 28, 2010 10:48 AM PDT reply actions

My thoughts as well

Way too many l@ker homers on the pole.

by blazinagain on Jul 28, 2010 10:59 AM PDT up reply actions

Yeah, really pathetic.

If I had been on that poll, the Lakers would have been #1 most hated. Easily.

I need to find out about these things in advance…

by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Jul 28, 2010 12:54 PM PDT up reply actions

As a guy from Seattle, I can vouch for the fact most people outside of Portland and Boston don't view ...

the Los Angeles Lakers in the same negative light they do teams such as the New York Yankees, Dallas Cowboys, et cetera. Heck, it’d be like if I were to take a homeristic view of a Seattleite and claim disdain for all things relating to the Pittsburgh Steealers.

by AK1984 on Jul 28, 2010 6:13 PM PDT up reply actions

Well

As most “lists” become, the whole thing is just a fluff piece. Right, we are Blazers fans, I think we know “The Jail Blazers” were generally not the most popular gang, either locally or nationally. But I do see it as an encapusilated time frame. We’ve moved on, The Franchise moved on…I think to be TRULY hated you need to be dislikeable and succesful, and fortunately or unfortunately those Blazers were never succesful enough to really cement the national hate against them. For most of the nation? The Jail Blazers became a buzz phrase and a joke, and not really a focal point for hatred. Had we won a championship….then we would of been hated.

"Mother Nature started this fight, I think it's about time we ended it!"

by Krang on Jul 28, 2010 10:55 AM PDT reply actions

Typical superficial national trivia perspective.

Yeah Rasheed and Bonzi were jerks, like that is the WHOLE team.
The national media naturally focuses on the dramatic, even if trivial – whatever gets attention.
The inside fans, who put a lot more time in with the everyday details naturally have a more complete perspective. And, of course, this is true of all teams, and indeed, all cities/states/cultural groups and so on. It is disappointing the amount of news “bandwidth” that is clogged with superficial, trivial fluff, while really significant stories/issues go ignored. It gets a bit tiring being treated like a moron by the “superior intellects” who think that is all the masses can handle or want.
Back to sports, the winners ultimately get the attention, we be needin’ to do some.
Stay well Greg.

"You be realistic," Oden said. "I’m going to stay happy. All right?"

by Berkeley on Jul 28, 2010 11:05 AM PDT reply actions

I think it was more the local media...

the national media was just running with what the local guys were reporting.

by Escrote on Jul 28, 2010 11:29 AM PDT up reply actions

They corroborated their story with facts

From 2001. WTF? Guys, those facts are so not accurate for 2010.

by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Jul 28, 2010 12:55 PM PDT up reply actions

The teams were each based on specific years.

It wasn’t based on a team as an entire organization. It was based on team for one particular season (hence the reason the 1919 “Black Sox” were on the list). Thus, it was specifically the 2001 Blazers, not the entire Blazers organization.

by danhutz on Jul 28, 2010 4:36 PM PDT up reply actions

Oh. Missed that part of the story.

by OBrienSchofieldismyHero on Jul 28, 2010 8:42 PM PDT up reply actions

Boo hoo?

"Ain't nothin' in this world for free."

by Arby on Jul 28, 2010 11:32 AM PDT up reply actions

We be BAD

#52

by CatMan2 on Jul 28, 2010 11:30 AM PDT reply actions

Maybe splitting hairs...

But being disgusted by a team’s behavior seems different than hating that team. That team did lead to the NBA working to change it’s image with fans. Glad we moved on from those guys.

PTB Liberation Day - 2/10/04

by tssbro on Jul 28, 2010 11:32 AM PDT via mobile reply actions

This list is just like, "Mars.com 2nd Annual America's Manliest Cities"

http://www.mars.com/global/news-and-media/press-releases/news-releases.aspx?SiteId=94&Id=2087

Are you kidding, we are ahead of the 2010 Miami He@t.

SI is getting as bad as ESPN.

by alexnikozach on Jul 28, 2010 11:33 AM PDT reply actions

We're all sissies in P-Town

It is true.

If what I just commented turns out to be wrong, please delete from all memory.

by NBAstard on Jul 29, 2010 9:22 AM PDT up reply actions

Lists like this reek of lazy journalism

it reminds me of the “clip show” episode that tv programs used to do back in the day

"We are building a fighting force of extraordinary magnitude. We forge our tradition in the spirit of our ancestors. You have our gratitude." - Rich Cho

by Sexual Tyrannosaurus on Jul 28, 2010 12:30 PM PDT reply actions

Those were the good old days

That team was so much fun to watch. I remember being ever so angry at the refs for giving Sheed techs and my friend playing blackjack with Bonzi the night before a playoff game. That was a team that was interesting.

by tominhawaii on Jul 28, 2010 1:28 PM PDT reply actions