More back handed.... compliments but i like the way this guy works lol Q: Did your book tour include a stop at the Rose Garden for Pistons-Blazers last week? I hope you checked out the way the Garden treats Greg Oden. Every time he does something basic, the place explodes like he dunked from half court. They are just willing themselves to think he will be good. -- David G., Portland Yes, I did. And the best way to describe the crowd's support for Oden: It's like watching 15,000 parents rooting for their kid, only all 15,000 parents fathered the same kid. If he ever explodes for 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks in a game, you'll have to carry each deliriously passed-out Portland fan out of the Rose Garden individually like they were victims of smoke inhalation in a burning house. (The funny thing is, everyone in Portland is nodding right now. And yes, I know he's had a couple of inspired games this season. You don't need to e-mail me the stat lines. No, really. Save us both the time. Let's not put too much pressure on him. Baby steps.) I also was startled by Portland fans arguably (see, there it is!) liking Rudy Fernandez as much as, and maybe even a smidge more than, the great Brandon Roy. Two other things shocked me. First, that's the whitest NBA experience you can have that doesn't involve the words "Salt," "Lake" and City." They didn't play hip-hop either before the game or during the game, each team seemed to have more African-Americans than the entire crowd and the pregame video right before the introduction of Portland's starting lineup was a local grunge band singing "Ballroom Blitz." And second, during a second-quarter timeout, my buddy House and I ran into the concourse to grab beers and noticed there was NOBODY else in line for anything. We felt like Will Smith in "I Am Legend." There was no sign of human life other than the workers. Everyone else stays in their seats. At halftime, those same people pour into the concourse like it's halftime of a football game. I've never seen anything like it. I don't know whether the Blazers have the most loyal, passionate, dutiful fans in the NBA, but at the very least, we can say nobody else tops them. Here's what I took away from my Rose Garden experience: Portland loves the Blazers the same way a single mother would love her only child. The city's revulsion toward the "Jail Blazers" makes a lot more sense to me now. The team and the city are intertwined, and if one side isn't holding up that bargain, it's even more painful than usual. Anyway, I couldn't be happier that I got a taste of it. Great NBA city.
Still sounds like backhanded compliments to me. This right here is a dig on Oden for sure - "I know he's had a couple of inspired games this season. You don't need to e-mail me the stat lines. No, really. Save us both the time." And this part . . . "If he ever explodes for 30 points, 20 rebounds and eight blocks in a game, you'll have to carry each deliriously passed-out Portland fan out of the Rose Garden individually like they were victims of smoke inhalation in a burning house." is interesting to me. Greg is going to have games like that - maybe this year. What's he going to say if/when Greg starts banging out "inspired games" on a regular basis? Will he admit he was wrong? He's gone so far the other way in his evaluation of Oden . . . it would require a level of humility that is almost unheard of from a sports writer. You know he wants Oden to fail so bad, or it makes him look like a total idiot. Well, I should say MORE of an idiot than he already looks like.
He's a crummy analyst and a spotty comedic writer, but Simmons every once in a comes up with the perfect analogy. You can just feel the arena take a collective gasp every time Oden gets the ball in the post.
Several lines in there are dubious compliments at best, but the ending seems genuinely positive, at least. It's true that we Blazer fans can get a bit (ahem) "emotionally invested" in our team.
I think Portland and Oregon in general is white due to the terms providing for their statehood. Oregon joined the union on the eve of the Civil War in 1859. Oregon joined as a free-state, but the "compromise" was that minorities were not allowed to live in Oregon and this was actually in the Oregon constitution when it was admitted. I am not sure when this law changed to permit all races to live in Oregon. Sad but true history.
Now that's funny. I will say that the crowd is willing themselves to think Oden will be great; he's already good.
There is a very good, 1991 documentary on the history of Racism in Oregon. It is quite eye-opening. It is called Local Color. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.http://shop.opb.org/product/show/47187
I haven't been to games, not living in Oregon, but from TV, the crowd seems loudest when Rudy hits a three.
lol, i swear some people are more interested in chalupas then winning the game...if the game is close, and we're about to score 100, i could give a fuck about chalupas lol i want the win
I am not a racist. I am un-patriotic. Get your facts right! Remember, I'm a mail-order groom! I have no doubts I am going to be among the first with the back against the wall, when the revolution happens. C'est la vie.
Yeah, but they sing the lyrics of the Mexican National Anthem to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner a la Borat.
