Slump? Neh. Confused? Mmm possibly. Unfocused? You tell me.Let's go back to the era of "Ready or Not, Here We Come", A.K.A. the "Jail-Blazer Aftermath" era. Slowly, but surely, we began the rebuilding process back to what we knew was true Trailblazer basketball. Tried employing young players like Sebastian Telfair and Zach Randolph to lead this new team. But as the saying goes: "Old habits die hard". Telfair also fell subject to the curse of the "Jail-Blazers", after being charged for bringing a gun onto the team plane. But this is not a history lesson, it's not about Sebastian Telfair, it's not even about the Blazers. It's simply about us.
Since the 2006 draft when Portland recieved Brandon Roy, our future began looking brighter with a new work ethic, new style, and new attitude. We had finally found the man we would build this new team around. The energy and excitement created from this notion of hope, pushed the Blazers back into the hunt for playoffs. As a team now being recognized for their heart and fundamentally-sound basketball, the Trailblazers are no longer a secret.
But more than anything else, this team has created a buzz in the NBA and in the city like no other. During '08-'09 season, 15,000 fans showed up at Pioneer Square to celebrate the Blazers first playoff berth in several years. I was there that day, and I could feel it. This was something special. The team has even asked, no, demanded, that we rise with them. However, today in the midst of an organization disoriented and indecisive, that old buzz is sounding like no more than a bee who just lost it's stinger.
With a new headline for the Blazer's shortcomings showing up in headlines everyday, The city is beginning to forget. Make no mistake about it, we do not look good to the rest of the league right now. Quite frankly, we're being mocked. We don't look like the team who acts in unison on all fronts anymore. My point in these statements is this: Dont forget the mission. Do not forget why or how we got here. We can be as pissed off as long as we want at the decisions being made by team management, but at the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the 16 guys that suit up for us every night. The 16 guys who will play with or without a GM. The 16 guys who will play with or without any assistant coaches. The 16 guys who will play only for you, not the front office. Every night, we count on them to show up for us, so why shouldn't we be showing up for them?
So in this very unclear and unfocused time in the Blazers organization, I ask that you remember not why you care now, but why you started caring in the first place. Stop worrying about how much the management decisions make you question your beliefs in this team, remember why you started believing. Forget the talk, not the team.
And if you ever need a reminder of what the mission is, go outside the Rose Garden before you walk into the game and look across the Rose Quarter. Look up at the at the old woodmill that stands alone in the middle of the city...
Mission: Rise With Them
I loved what you said about remembering why you started believeing in the first place and how fans should forget the talk and not the team. Fans get lost when they focus more on the bad decisions and what the blazers "should" have done instead of remaining loyal in the first place. Its up to the team to get us a championship and i believe every fan should stay commited to them. When Outlaw was traded it hit me hard cause he was a player who i enjoyed watching as well as someone who i respected as a person. He was someone who had been with the blazers for so long and someone id seen play so many games at the rose garden and even though he got traded i will admit i was a little confused but understood the reasoning behind the trade. We needed Marcus Camby to fill that void at center(we were missing both pryzbilla and oden!) But although he was traded and meant a lot to me during his time as a blazer, im going to respect the time he gave and remain loyal to the trail blazers and confident that the trail blazers are making the right moves to get to the goal of winning an NBA championship.
ReplyDelete"Slump? Neh. Confused? Mmm possibly. Unfocused? You tell me."
I think almost every blazer fan is asking those three questions. In my view as a blazer fan, i believe we are not in a slump. We all may be a little confused as to why certain changes have been made but as long as we stay commited to "rise" with them then we can get to that goal of one day bringing a championship back to Portland and as long as we stay focused as fans and dont lose loyalty then we will find ourselves in a position to win it all.