While we're waiting for Nate McMillan to qualify his statements by saying that Andre Miller has a chance at becoming the Blazers' starting point guard I figured we could talk about moments we've never quite gotten over. Heartbreak is part of sports. Every team has its share of disappointments. Every team's fan base is sure it's had more than anyone else. Most of those heartbreaks we learn to deal with. We bury them deep, forget them entirely, or substitute subsequent happy events for them, figuring they're made up for. But in our heart of hearts all of us have that one sports heartbreak that we're never going to get over. Like your very first "special someone" walking out the door, these moments give you a little twinge even years later when there's no rational reason for them to have effect anymore. Even if redemptive moments come after, part of you will carry this on.
The question at hand is, what's your Blazer moment that you've never gotten over? I suspect many of us will have some in common, but some of them might surprise us.
I can share mine instantly. (And really if you have to think too hard you probably haven't found your moment yet.) I'll never get over losing the '91 Conference Finals. A little bit of me will be empty until the day I die because Clyde and company didn't win it all that year. Losing to Magic Johnson and the L*kers made it that much worse. I was just in shock...empty, frustrated, like the world had turned upside down. I remember the feeling like it was yesterday.
Is that your moment too, or do you have another? Big or small, obvious or subtle, don't be shy. It's your moment, your thing. Share it with us and let us bear it with you. Maybe when the weekend is over we'll engage in some scream therapy, have a group hug, start up a Brandon Roy "MVP" chant, and call it good. Until then, let's hear those heartaches.
--Dave (blazersub@yahoo.com)
P.S. Here's the Sunday challenge. Now that you've unburdened yourself of the Blazer heartache, tap into your overall sports fandom and tackle this: How do you think your worst Blazer heartache compares to heartaches that other teams' fans (any sport) have experienced? Even with your heart still bleeding, can you think of another sports moment that you'd care to experience even less? Or, put another way, can you think of examples of sports heartache that approach your own? Do share.