I know other franchises have gone through horrible stretches, but can you think of any other franchise that has had our luck? Sure, Sacramento stunk forever, and the Clippers suck for 30 year cycles, but neither of those franchises have actually had their shit together for more than a few stretches. But look at our "luck". Drafted LaRue Martin instead of anyone else. Bill Walton was healthy of like, 2/3rds of one season in Portland. Granted, we won a title, but the next year was brutal after game 60. We freaking had Moses Malone. Thompson over Bird (although I don't blame that one on us). Bowie and the coin flip change of heart (fans voted one way, Weinberg chose the other..or so the story goes). Game 6 in 91, game 7 in 2000. Sabas coming out years after the fact (although he was drafted by Atlanta the year before)..and Petro having a great (albeit, short) career in another town. The whole NATION WIDE "Jail Blazer" era (why did that gain such national prominence?) Getting the #1 pick, only to see him miss his rookie year. And then this year. No need to recap it all, but this was supposed to be the year they made the next step. Little did we know, that step was down. And it's like when you are going down the stairs, and you misjudge the last step, and think you're at the bottom when you still have a step to go, and you twist your ankle, drop your drink and food you're carrying downstairs.. It's not hard to be a Bulls fans (6 in 8 years, and arguably the best player in the last 30 years really gives me little empathy). It's not hard to be a Celtics fan (even if you take into account the 20 years between titles..hello, you have 17!) It's not hard to be a Lakers fan (when was the last time that the fans of that god damn franchise ever suffered?) Like I said, I know other fans have suffered (maybe even more), but I'd argue most of those fan bases were not of teams that had been around as long, or ever were supposed to compete as highly as we were/are/should be. It takes a different sort to be a Blazers fan. Any schlep can be a Lakers fan (as evidenced by DaRizz...just kiddin man. Maybe. )
yeah. seems like we ALMOST get there, then go down in a ball of fucking fire. its not fucking fun being a Blazers fan at times, but hey, what can you do, its either this or jump off the interstate. you also forgot: 3 minutes into his first game against the L*kers, he goes down with an injury for a few weeks. FUCK!
Knicks and Sixers get kind of fucked though too....not as bad as we do...but they have that rivalry with Boston and their teams just are kind of strange.
True, but the 76ers have had 3-4 solid superstars in their (recent) history. Dr J, Moses, Barkley and Iverson. And they also had Wilt Chamberlain. The Knicks could have an argument.
Barkley and AI didn't win rings either and they were in the finals... but its painful anytime you get close.
It is hard to be a Bulls fan. The organization sucks, and it was a blip in the grand scheme of things that they were able to put together a string of championships. Instead of building on that dynasty, they've chosen mediocrity and profits over contending. It's quite blatant if you follow the team.
It's been (going on) 33 years since we won our 1 title. So what injury prone center did you draft instead of Jordan, arguably the best player of his generation? Which series did you lose in the conference finals after leading by double digits in the 4th quarter, and have since done jack shit?
We drafted Kirk Hinrich instead of taking a deal on the table to trade the pick and Donyell Marshall to the heat for the pick that was Wade. Do I need to go on? We accumulated cap space for several seasons and then spent it on Ben Wallace.
Exactly. Woe-is-me scenarios and "our franchise is cursed" pity parties are so common as to be cliche. Think about Denver. When were they last in the Finals? When did they last win the championship? Jesus, look at Seattle! The Clippers, Knicks, Minnesota, Golden State, Dallas, Philly, Utah, Phoenix... they've all been in the position Portland has been in in some shape or form. In fact, unless you're a Lakers, Celtics, or Spurs fan, you're in that boat too... "too long" without a championship trophy. "Too many" management mistakes. 20/20 hindsight causing you to lose sleep at night. Nut/Ovary up and either root for a winner, or root for your apparently damned team.
I just want to positively confirm the coin flip story. I remember voting on the toss. At the time the glass palace held 15,666 people ( a number I remember because of the 666......) I swear like 15,000 people voted one way. I remember them announcing that even though the fans voted that way they decided to vote the other way because that is how we got walton. Fans were obviously upset when we lost that one. I think that was as bad or worse than passing on jordan.
I'd rather be a fan of a team like Portland that's flirted with greatness than a team like the Clippers that has flirted with mere relevance. But fuck, man, the Lakers piss me off. How many great players have they had that played relatively injury-free full careers while we get Walton for a year and a half, the final dregs of Sabonis, Pippen and Smith, the ruin of Sam Bowie.....Fuck them.
It's hard to be a fan of this team, but it's either stop watching or keep hoping. I think I prefer the latter to the former. I'm just happy I don't root for the Bills, the Clippers, the Browns, the Lions, the Sonics, the Pirates, the Nets, or any other woebegone, star crossed franchise that has had to endure TRUE misery.
Other teams have had tough times (eg the celtics have had players die) - but they balance it out with good times.
