Flashbacks through time are awesome. Recently, I came across four long-stored Blazers special sections that The Oregonian produced during the Rip City peak window of 1990-1992.
- 1990 Finals Review: 6/5/1990
- 20 Year Annivesary Souvenir Edition: 6/21/1990
- 1990-1991 Season Review: 6/6/1991
- 1992 NBA Finals Preview and Beginner's Guide to the 1992 NBA Finals: 6/3/1992
Featured in the sections are a lot of what you might expect: scene-setting analysis from Dwight Jaynes, blow-by-blow accounts from Kerry Eggers, some iconic images from a team of talented photographers, and some bittersweet reflections on the two seasons that ended with defeat in the NBA Finals.
But there was also a lot that I wasn't expecting (my memory isn't perfect). By-lined, head-shotted columns from Rick Adelman discussing his thoughts about the Finals losses? Page after page of advertisements from corporate sponsors (many of them now defunct) congratulating "our Blazers" for their playoff success? Danny Ainge seemingly always at an emotional apex? Headbands as Memorial Coliseum fashion statement? An article loudly declaring, as if for the first time, "What players eat affects their performance"?
A lot has changed in 20 years.
I gruffly digitized portions of these four special sections; you can view the embedded slideshow below.
But I highly recommend clicking this link and selecting the option "show info" in the upper right hand corner. This will show you who photographed/wrote what, when, and the original caption.
I hope you enjoy.
-- Ben (benjamin.golliver@gmail.com)