Well well said Nate. Thanks for sharing this prospective. As an incredibly passionate Blazer fan it's disappointing to have the organization engage in a divisive position that puts a serious wedge in between your fandom.
Isn't standing up for same sex marriage kind of over now? Not very hip. Maybe the Blazers could stand up for polygamy now. That would be on the cutting edge.
If it is all about making money, why hasn't any other NBA franchise done it? Why haven't other professional sports franchises done this . . . some other sports franchise has to be interested in making money, right?
Those are politics, but they are politics that the Blazers are directly involved in. Zoning, urban planning, taxes, are all directly impactful to the Blazers' business plan/model. I'm talking about divisive political issues like gay marriage, abortion, the death penalty, etc. There is an obvious difference between the two.
Is it? Do they report sports news or take political positions? In any event, Blazers go into territory not yet crossed by any other NBA franchise. I understand your position and it can be polarizing, but I'm glad that a professional sports teams in Ptd have come out aggressively on this topic. Maybe the Blazers should change their names to the Pioneers. "By changing nothing, nothing changes." ~Tony Robbins
Know your market. I would wager that Portland is one of the communities most open to gay marriage in the country. Charlotte isn't going to take this step. I think it is clear that the franchise did this for PR and/or monetary gain - why else would they have come out on this topic? It may have been forced by the team-du-jour Timbers doing it first and the Blazers not wanting to be at this gala while that gets announced. I'm in favor of gay marriage, but agree with those arguing that the Blazers should focus on basketball. I compare this to when the Portland city council passed a resolution against the Iraq War - it's PR but meaningless in terms of accomplishing anything.
It's interesting that some feel it's all about money while others feel this could potentially hurt the fan base size. I'm sure the Blazer organization went through the same analysis, and with no definite answer (hasn't been done before) decided what the hell, let's do it. Now they just need to start playing like a professional basketball team.
People also do what they want to, regardless of the laws. Doesn't make the people wrong. Like jaywalking or smoking dope. The 10th amendment reserves all things not enumerated to the States, then the people.
There are probably other communities open to this idea. (Golden State comes to mind) Maybe by the Blazers doing this, other teams will consider and do it, which to me would be a great thing. I'm not sure why the Blazers came out on this topic but following suit to the Timbers probably factored into it. If the Blazers(and Timbers) can use whatever influence they have to further this issue along, I'm all for it . . . but understand why others don't like it.
But that's really not the point, and I think that's why I'm so frustrated right now. I get it, you're excited because the Blazers came out in favor of an issue that you are strongly in favor of. I am in favor of it as well. How would you feel if the Blazers came out in favor of an issue that you did NOT agree with? BNM said he'd be upset if the Blazers came out against gay marriage. So did Crand, so why can't you guys see the other side of the fence?
Maybe I missed it, but where do you guys think all this new money is gonna be coming from? Sent from my banana using Tapatalk 4
