This has been the case for years! My parents rarely missed a game for decades and they haven’t watched consecutive games since the Orlando bubble - zero interest, like “watching a rerun.” Purgatory is worse than being a doormat. Now how do you rebuild Blazermania that Neil has slowly killed off?
Blazermania was dead /tits up, before Neil took over, glad he's gone. We need a GM that can at least attract a free agent and sell the city/organization.
It's not dead, it's just like the trumpet you played in high school band that's been in the closet and needs oiled and some practice scales...
The guy who used to wear a dead raccoon on his head is calling out the team for becoming “stale”? I can’t believe you even follow this clown.
The only way to attract free agents is to offer them far better compensation (we can't) or a better chance at winning in a better environment. We need the best talent evaluation team in the world. We need to find gems other teams miss. Then we'll need Billups to turn into a top flight coach or we'll need to go get that guy. Give Billups a couple more years while you're building. The whole vibe of this thing needs to change. Make big moves now to compete until Dame retires. Make sure we have a ton of draft picks lined up by then.
No different than companies thinking they can keep doing the same thing year over year because "it's worked in the past". Allen and Kolde are completely out of touch with the fanbase and I don't expect them to ever be. Better hope they hire someone who has a better pulse on the team than Olshit.
i gotta say, recently the games have just been boring to me. especially the detroit game. it used to not be this way for me. i used to cancel plans cause there was a Blazer game on. if i had leage, i would record the game and get pissed if anyone told me about it. now im just like "meh". maybe its the expectation of the same thing over and over again. shoot 3's, no D, turn the ball over. then the opposite. then the opposite of that. etc... 3's are cool and all (i guess), but the crowd wants to see dunks. oops. fast breaks. stuff like that. itll make it exciting again.
I think you are on to something. The league, in general, has become boring as hell because of the amount of 3's. It's not just the Blazers, 60-80 3 point shots per game (combined) is no longer fun. I will say though that the last homestand was fun to watch. Especially the Denver game.
Blazermania has been in it's death bed for a long long time, well before Olshey was hired. As much as Damian is the superstar the fans never had before (*maybe* Drexler), there just isn't the connection anymore. Hasn't been for a long ass time.
Portland fans support a winner. Once a team is not winning they disappear. Turn the team around and the crowds will show up again.
Blazermania will never die but it will wane from time to time. You give people the same exact product and outcome for the better part of a decade and it becomes old and stale. People need a reason to get hyped up and this franchise hasn't given it to them. Yes they will support a winner more than a loser, but I think the fanbase is one of the better ones, even when times get rough.
Last week I watch the Blazers lose to Sac, but what blew me away was how much more excited and that area was a compared to Moda. For a losing franchise they have loyal fans with patience.
In early-middle school, I remember it was un-cool to like the Blazers because they had become so stale. In later-high school, they were cool again (they were talented and badass, with Sheed, Sabonis, Pippen). They'll be back, FAMS!
I remember back in the late 80's (before the 89-90 season), being a Blazer fan was like being in a ghost town. Then the next year, fans came out of the wood works and broke both ankles jumping back on the bandwagon.
My dad is the same way this season--normally he's texting me during every game and this year he's been silent. Part of the reason is Dish doesn't have root sports so he can't watch the games. And he's too technology illiterate to stream the games haha. I asked if he was going to switch tv providers and he was like "Eh...maybe if the Blazers start doing better but I have zero interest in this team right now".