The last few seasons of Blazers basketball have been downright mercurial. We have seen an immense amount of talent, bad luck, good luck (don't forget that one), and some incredible front office decisions - in both the positive and negative sense of "incredible". We were never spoken of as a true contender, but we were a "dark horse", a "wild card", and we - right up until Brandon Roy hung up his shoes - had something that made me feel like we always were in arm's reach of pulling off something amazing:

We had grit.

I loved hearing that all throughout the 2010-11 season - "despite (fill it in), they play with grit", or "a gritty, determined team". It seemed to be the thing that defined us, one very long year ago.

Looking forward, I wonder what sort of team we'll be described as this next season. Uptempo? Efficient? Defensive? Offensive? Whenever I do, I can't shake the feeling that what I really want to be known as is that wild card, dark horse team out West. We don't have a lot of superstars, but can outplay you on any given night. We want it more than you. We have grit.

So trade for Kyle Lowry. Move up for Thomas Robinson. Heck, get Gerald Wallace back in a uniform. I have been a fan of this team since the Drexler era, and I have never found so much pride in the Blazers as I have in these last few years of hard-earned victories and hard-fought losses. Wherever we go from here, I hope it's with a team that will play with the same heart - the same grit - as the team that I root for every time I waste a morning on this site.

Here's hoping.