As I slept on last night's game and woke up again, I realized something. There was a tingling going on inside me which had nothing to do with the Tabasco-infused artichoke dip I ate before bedtime. It was a feeling I hadn't felt in this same way in a long time. It was...pride.
Now I hesistate to say this for fear of jinxing the team (and maybe I am). It's WAAAAY too early for anything resembling satisfaction. March will be a pivotal month as far as playoff seeding. April will be tough all around. The Blazers haven't really done anything yet. But throw me a bone. My team's been in the cellar for five years. We've had some good wins in that time. Heck, we've had good wins aplenty this year. We've had wins that made me happy, wins that made me excited, even wins that made my jaw drop in disbelief. But last night's win was the first in forever that made me really proud of this team...that kind of proud that makes you tingle inside and breathe a little deeper and walk around with a knowing half-smile on your face.
The Blazers needed the bounce-back win and they got it. They needed to show themselves, the league, and the world that they are a threat to take a playoff slot. They did that. What's more they didn't fool around. They were merciless and pounded the opponent into submission, not letting up until San Antonio had tapped out, doing it with defense of all things. This was a really, really good win. It needs to be said again the morning after. Well done.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)