If you honestly think it doesn't then you are sorely mistaken. Portland ranks 20th in market size but has pulled as high as 3rd in TV rankings just 3 years ago. This year the market share is ranked 24th and dropping like a rock. Last night I opted to play with Dinosaurs with my kid rather than actually pay attention to the game. How many others simply didn't pay attention. Lets take this site for example. How many clicks do you think this site generates on a winning season as opposed to a losing season that never even gets to the playoffs. Should i talk about ticket sales? If there are no viewers commercials don't sell. I actually cannot believe i had to post all of that. You know better. I know you know better. One of the most intelligent posters on this board.
Wow. The three same references to winning culture. I can give you 5 times as many teams that missed. Over and Over again. Not a personal attack on you as I can appreciate the concept and idea. I just will absolutely never back it. This team very likely is in for a very long drought.
I guess my argument for it is this. It’s the player, not the culture. People bring up a losing culture, but I would argue that tanking is the ultimate do what it takes to win attitude. Having the opportunity to draft someone special can turn a franchise and even a city around. Look at our own Damian Lillard
I really like ZCo, but his role is worth it for a team that is close to contention. He would have been a very nice backup center for the Blazers on defense. But, given how questionable he still is on offense, basically, you get the same kind of production from Eubanks when you look at both offense and defense, at a fraction of the price. For this team, he is not the difference between lottery and playoffs.
His issue was health. That was it. He couldn't stay healthy. This has been his first healthy season since 2018-2019. That's a long time to wait for a guy who was still a project.
I honestly don't think what you and I talk about here or how we view the team factors into whether they win games at all. You've got to be talking about something else. Like every single other market, when they're winning they draw more interest & pull better ratings then when they're losing and thats regardless of how rabid or appathetic you and I are as individual fans. Sites like this are more active. Commercial rates go up etc... of course. If a team wins consistently and competes for championships it gets a big boost from bandwagon fans too. STOMP
The ones who are “okay” with it are okay with it because it gives us a better chance of getting a great player to help us WIN. No matter how much you hate losing, I’m sure you’ll be fine with it when Wembenyama leads us to the 2026 Finals. You’d probably buy his jersey. Just guessing.
I'm sorry but he's fucking frightening, like something you would dream up on an acid trip* *Sure the kids will love him though.
Going after the kids demographic makes a lot of sense since that’s the next time they’ll be competitive