I was born a few years before the blazers won the championship, so as a tiny tike I felt the excitement of blazer mania, but was pretty oblivious to what it was exactly. In the late 70's early 80's the Portland Police used to had out blazer cards, so I'd always run up to cops to ask if they had any blazer cards whenever they visited the Tamarack Apartments where I lived on N. Alaska Street. Years later when I was about 13 years old my uncle got "blazer cable" so I started watching games at his house, and have been watching the blazers ever since. As a teenager I used to check the NBA box scores every day and got to know the league pretty well. These days I get most of my blazer info from visiting this board almost every day.
You kinda proved my point. Going through the JailBlazers and the Roy & Oden saga shows that it's most definitely not.
I've been a Blazer fan since the first day the tickets went on sale in 1970. Before that I was a fan of our high school team that went to State and placed third, should have been second, Park Rose beat Stan Love's Eugene team for the championship but we lost by less of a margin to Parkrose than Eugene. Then I became a rabid fan of the OSU Beavers, first it was Slats Gill and then it was Paul Valenti, finally it was Ralph Miller. I also used to watch professional basketball (NBA) bach when I first entered high school. Never played the sport but I do love it. Although I'm pretty much wheel chair bound and often am too sick to attend games, I've still got my tickets and go as often as I can. I used to be able to watch the first half of a basketball game and have a pretty good idea who would win even if that team was behind. I've now lost that edge. Don't know why but I suspect it's an age related issue. God, I love basketball and thanks for asking. This was kind of a pressure release.
My wife and I used to go to games during the Jail Blazer era when the seats were less than half full. I'm a die hard fan. In fact, the Sears battery can't take it while I can.
I was released from the Army nearly ten years earlier. Fairly fresh back from combat, no fun, no fun at all. My age? Same as Jack Benny, 39 and holding. Thanks for asking.
TELL MY WIFE AND MY IN-LAWS AND MY PSYCHIATRIST AND MY PRIEST AND SLY, HOBBES AND HOMERLOVESKOOKAID. They need to hear it from someone other than me. I hate it in the morning when my wife wakes up and says, "Oh, it's you again."
Here's something. When I was younger, before my throat cancer, I used to yell literally louder than anyone else in the Rose Garden and often. Once, when I had a seat in Row A behind the Blazer coach, Nate actually turned around to see who that character was that was yelling so loud "DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE."
I was in the first grade the year blazers came into being. Courtside seats were 8 bucks. My first game I saw was against the Lakers.There were concession stands near the locker room and dad took me and my brother there right before half. As we were walking out the half had ended and I almost ran into Wilt Chamberlin's kneecap as he was going to the locker room. I knew right then I wanted to play. Life don't work out the way you want I was about 4'9" until my sophomore year where my growth spurt happened and I went to a NBA center status of 5'6". I could never make the team in High school but I was always the last guy cut. I am not much of a stat guy either, I follow a team and some players but my life drives me in other directions now.
While reading this I thought you were going to say something in the mornings about waking up with Sly, Hobbes, and Homer.
Hey welcome to the site!!! Ive been a fan ever since i can remember as a young child having my grandfather take me to games. Ive moved all over the country but never latched on to sny other team but Seattle back in the day. My favorite player of all time is Gary Payton l, so in highschool, when both had great teams i kinda supported both teams and was torn when they played each other.
Yeah, that's where I learned to swim. Close to where the Portland Sports Arena, and Sandy Barr's Flea Market was.
I completely disagree. The JailBlazers, while embarrassing, won The Oden, Roy, Aldridge Blazers had hope. Mediocrity is purgatory in the NBA.
Not much too it. Grew up in the Portland metro area as a kid. Being anything other than a Blazer fan wasn't much of an option. Can't say basketball is my favorite sport though. Which is why I never much go into the statistical/analytical side of the game much. I was more into baseball and soccer growing up. Now I just pay attention to basketball more because it's what's popular. And since it's what my friends want to watch when they come over, that's fine. But if they wanted to watch snooker tournaments, I could get hyped about that too. Sports are just sports, as far as I am concerned.