Day One Chills...

Extraordinary? No.
Intense? No.
Thrilling? No, that's not it.
Electric? No, that's not it either.

Sitting here two and a half hours removed from the end of game one of the Trailblazers '10-'11 win against the Phoenix Suns, I simply don't know what to say.

Tonight felt different.

Admittedly I got to the arena significantly late, as in "right before introductions" late (Parking in Portland blows!!!). Flying solo on this fall night, I was on my own agenda. I rushed through the Garden doors, and didn't even have time to take my annual stop to smell "the roses". Grabbed whatever souvenir they were bombing at my stomach. No circling around the concourse to enjoy the festivities. Paced frantically through the crowd to find an escalator up to...where else? The Nosebleed!!! Sec. 311 Row F Seat 3. Everything seemed to be going 100 mph. Never really stopped. Sat down, but quickly was brought back up to my feet by the emerging color guard. Lights dimmed, our nation's colors flourished, and in entered a man Blazer fans know all too well: Mike Phillips. With his glowing saxaphone in-hand, and a silent sold out crowd of 20,630, He began to belt our National Anthem. Suddenly everything slowed, and that 100 mph seemed like 5.

My Blazers hat over my heart, my eyes marveled at the court, and my ears humbled by those miraculous notes, I was moved.

When our announcer told everyone to finish the sentence: "This is..." And the arena of 20,630 bellowed "OUR HOUSE!!!" , I was anxious.

When they dropped those white sheets from the scoreboard, and displayed a Blazers highlight reel to Eminem's "I'm Not Afraid", I was speechless.

But thinking about it all now, more than anything else it simply gave me chills.

These moments seem so basic to most who are reading this, but to those who have actually experienced it, you know exactly what I'm talking about. The game, itself, was the same way. These new-look Blazers have a style like we've never seen. They are absolutely thriving off of energy. They don't seem to be the silent, strategic, "waiting to strike" kind of team. Granted it's game one, but to me they looked like the starving aggressors. They were fearless. Tonight they carried themselves with immense enthusiasm and focus. They're officially the "go-getters". They get it now. They understand they're responsibility and the weight that they all now carry in Portland. This atmosphere tonight was like a fever, extremely contagious. It's intangible.

The indescribable excitement of tonight brings me back to those chills. What I didn't previously explain in the beginning, was why exactly I was late tonight. While this may seem entirely irrelevent to you at this given time, it's actually the later cause of those chills I mentioned. You see, I actually arrived at the Rose Garden at about 6:50p; 10 minutes before tipoff. Before then, I had been in class most of the day. After that, I came home and cooked some quick top ramen. After that, I sped down to the gym. After that, I took a shower at home and had to stop by the bank for cash before I finally got downtown to the game. Okay? Cool? Maybe. But not to me.

By the time I got to the arena, I didn't even really care that I was actually at the arena. When I walked in, it just seemed like something else I had to do today. As you start to get busier and busier in your everyday routines, this becomes more common. And it's okay, because we know that as long as we get done what we need to get done, then what we know about what we did is doesn't matter, right? ...Why? See, I can't speak for all of you, but personally, a Blazer game is one of the last places I have left that I can go to and won't have to worry about anything else whatsoever. It was a wake up call to be rushing through the garden like that, running totally late, just hasseling to find my seat, to suddenly being overwhelmed with chills from the atmosphere of everything around me. Tonight I was reminded of why I love Blazer games, and why I go to Blazer games, and hopefuly why you go to Blazer games. Because for an hour and a half, we can forget the job, the homework, the sickness, the relationships, the money, the gym, or whatever you may have going on in your life to simply be fulfilled with chills from something amazing.

...I'll never be late again.