I heard a comment on the 95.5 this morning that had me thinking. Do you agree with this statement? Blazermania lives and dies with Greg Oden We have a bunch of great guys on the team but w/o Oden, we are not a title contender. The team is the talk of the town because of Greg. A team built around Brandon and LaMarcus (with a hobbly Greg Oden) we could be a team like the Dallas Mavericks of a few years ago - solid but always bounced out before the finals. There is a ton of pressure on Greg, it's unfortunate, but he was the #1 overall pick. The pressure comes with that territory.
Never, Blazermania was alive last year with out Greg on the court. Blazermania it is a state of mind not a single player. Greg can add to it or take away but it is not the house that Greg built. Blazermania belongs to Portland and all Blazerfans. It did not die when ever Walton went down or opened his mouth to say something stupid. It is alive and well right now in Portland.
Maybe so. But you have to admit Blazermania was nowhere to be found before Greg Oden arrived. He alone is what revived Blazermania. Brandon and LaMarcus brought excitement back to the franchise, but they did not bring out the masses of fans like Greg has.
It's only because all of the hype and media attention. A lot of excitement comes from having the #1 pick. It also brings a lot of expectations. People were saying dynasty before we even made the playoffs. It's an unfair situation, but Greg is going to have to deal with it. Blazermania isn't Greg Oden. He's a big part of it, but do you think that the Rose Garden isn't going to be nuts tomorrow night? I'll be there to witness the Mania.
I don't know about you, and no disrespect to my man Greg, but there was Blazermania flowin' throughout this town and across the country last December during our win streak!
I look at Blazermania as a kind of cumulative effect. Getting the number 1 pick certainly shook some of the dust off of the old timey feelings, but people got pretty excited last year without Greg Oden in the lineup and I think most people, regardless of what happens with Greg are now back. This is a team worth rooting for!