I know the Clyde days were great, but really, with your history, so you see any better time to be a fan? I dont. Not really.
In some ways yes, in other ways, no. Even though I didn't live here at the time of the championship season, I was a Blazers fan and rooting for them to beat the 76ers. Walton was my favorite player when he was in college. So, the Blazers became my adopted team when they drafted him. So, no time better than the time they won it all - especially since they were big underdogs against both the Lakers and the 76ers. That 76ers team was like a combination of the NBA and ABA all star teams - and our little TEAM of relative unknowns came back from down 0-2 to beat them and win it all. Wish I could have been here for the parade, but I was a high school kid in Indiana back then.
When we first moved here, back in 1989, my ex-wife's employer was a major corporate sponsor. So we got to go to a lot of games back then. It was a mix of last row (regular employee tix) and front row (her boss' season tickets). We saw 40 games the first two seasons we lived here and the Blazers won every one. That was those great Clyde/Terry/Buck/Duck and Jerome teams. Her boss' tix also came with VIP parking, which meant we parked near the players back then, and well as a pregame buffet where we got to sit down and eat with members of the organization, the players' wives and girlfriends and members of the media. That made those teams feel like one big family.
My biggest disappointment was the collapse in Game 7 of the 2000 WCF. Even though we went to the finals in 1990 and 1992, it was that 2000 team that came closest to winning it all of any Blazers team since 1977. Up 15 on the mighty Lakers with just over a quarter to go, if we could have held on, we would have easily beaten the Pacers and won it all. I grew up a Cubs fan and was in 2nd grade when they had a 9 game lead on the Mets in August of 1969, only to blow it and see the upstart Mets overtake them and win the World Series. So, I got used to disappointment as a sports fan at an early age. I got into a fist fight with a classmate the day the Cubs were mathematically eliminated by the Mets. He proudly proclaimed he was now officially a Mets fan. I wanted to explain to him that's not how being a fan works, but instead, I just tried to beat the shit out of him - fucking traitor. My passion for my team has always run deep. My reaction to the Game 7 collapse was not anger, it was stunned disbelief. I could not actually believe what I was seeing. Finally, with 2:41 left, once it was clear it was over, I shut off the TV and went for a walk. I was absolutely numb and didn't want my young children to see me so depressed and disappointed.
That said, I am more optimistic about this team than any we've had had in a long, long time. As great as that 2000 team was, other than Sabas and BGrant, they felt like a bunch of mercenaries that were bought and paid for. Of course, I cheered my fool head off for them, but they did not have the one big family feel of the early 90s team. This current team has that family feel again. They are a bunch of young guys who WANT to be here. Of course, a lot of them got paid this summer, but they all wanted to come back, and I'm glad Paul Allen opened his checkbook and brought them back to build on the success of last season. Really looking forward to this season and hope we collectively stick our thumb in the eyes of all in the national media who are overlooking this team. The Jazz have always been a hated rival, but I have never wanted to beat them as badly as I do this year. I hope the players feel the same way.
BNM
