According to sketchy plans presented Monday morning, each decade of the Blazers' existence (70s, 80s, 90s, Aughts) will be commemorated at the Rose Garden during a different game night this season.
Hopefully this will involve crowd costumes, in-arena music selections, the whole works. Regardless, these nights should be a nice stage to bring back some Blazers greats for a halftime spotlight.
So here's today's discussion question: Which ONE person, living or dead, from each decade MUST be included in the commemorations?
It could be someone you feel was overlooked, your personal favorite player, a team legend, a coach, a member of management, a fan, someone you've run into at the grocery store over the years, someone who went out of their way to sign an autograph, someone who you're just wondering where they ended up, someone who passed away that demands remembrance... you name it. No rules here aside from limiting yourself to only one person from each of the four decades.
Here are mine:
- 1970s: Geoff Petrie -- The franchise's first overall draft pick has been awfully quiet in Portland lately; I would love to hear some of his stories.
- 1980s: Sam Bowie -- Catharsis. I'm ready to move Beyond.
- 1990s: Drazen Petrovic -- RIP (Rest In Peace) City.
- 2000s: Brian Grant -- Recently Grant described hiding his Parkinson's disease during Terry Porter's jersey retirement last December; if he's comfortable doing it, a halftime address to Blazers Nation would be unforgettable. [note: I took some liberties here as Grant played for the Blazers in the late 1990s but has been a community presence, and team advisor, in recent years.]
Enough from me; let's hear from you. Please list your Fantastic Four along with your reasoning. If you get a chance, go through and rec your favorite entries so we can see if there is an emerging consensus.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)