I remember my first moment as a trailblazer thinker and the beginning of my penchant for optimism regarding the team. I was sitting in a pick up truck waiting for my dad to get out of a bi-mart or something and I turned the radio from NPR (always on) to sports talk radio. The were debating about Steve Johnson and some other big the blazers had at the time. Anyhow, the argument was that you can't have two centers on the floor at once and that one should be traded for a younger prospect. And, even though the younger prospect won't help as much this year it would be better for the next season as said propect develops into a better player.

Over the next 20 years (!) I have always had a dual appreciation for the blazers. The first is the team actually on the court. The early 90's team seemed bigger and faster than almost every team outside of detroit or chicago. The Late 90's team had the most talent. The Roy team had the most promise. The second parallel appreciation was thinking about the next season. For example, Batum has been a solid player but next season he could be even better. Chris Johnson is stick skinny now but man put him in the weight room--give him 20 pounds of muscle and next season he can be even better. When Zach Randolph was beginning to log substantial minutes behind Rasheed I remember thinking wow this guy next season is going to be a beast. It seems like every year there is someone who has that potential and it is fun to think about. Especially during the winter.

Are you a fan who appreciates the now or the future?