It's that time of year where I military crawl in front of the couch, reach underneath, and try to suck up every dust bunny with a shop vac without actually having to move the furniture. It's that time of year where I remember that I also need to vacuum the cooling section on the bottom/front of the 'fridge. That thing gets awful fuzzy. AND it's that time of year where I remember Blazer appreciation threads past and present for players long gone, recently jettisoned to crappier teams, or presently accounted for in some sort of new or newly appreciated capacity.

Yes, BEdgers, we are a thankful bunch. Angsty? Maybe. Nervous? I doubt that. Who has time for worry? We've been to the top of the prime top-of-the-mountain viewing area several times in the last couple decades. We know what a good team looks like. We know--all too well--that "scrap" and "getting things done" is how to get things done. We know when "both teams played hard" someone is just dodging questions. So we expect nothing less than honesty, heart and hard work, but we don't expect more than is actually possible. We don't expect Patty to dish seven dimes in limited minutes and we NEVER asked Joel to successfully catch a high lob, switch hands, and lay it home ala Nic Batum (on a good night). No. No, we say. Just go out there. Play hard. We will love you. We are, the most appreciative fans in the world.

So, in this season of discovery of Blazerly affection for new players like Gerald Wallace, as well as the unfortunate discovery of that huge ball of slime-encrusted dog hair nestled under the book case, I would like to tip our hat to US and our penchant for appreciating things. We are great fans and we have a great team to root for. How convenient is that? Go Blazers, and go appreciation threads, past and present!