Those damned Blazers
Man, I almost made it.
As you may have learned through my Blogue, I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the Blazers. On the one hand, I look at the Blazer Blog (over on the right) every day to see what's going on with the team. On the other, I spend a fair amount of time ridiculing the members of the team when they do something asenine (and, really, when aren't the Blazers in the news for some new buffoonery?)
I had actually begun to steel myself and was making a determined effort not to care at all how the Blazers did this year. Another year of avoiding games on TV, boycotting games at the Rose Garden, and making sure my glances at the Blazers section of the SnOregonian were covert so noone would be any wiser to my deeply-hidden feelings of allegiance.
Of course, that bastard Paul Allen interfered with my season of discontent.
As we all know, the NBA pre-season is useless. It is short, it means nothing toward the season, all accumulated stats are shelved once the pre-season is over -- it's a dress rehearsal for the real thing.
But that didn't matter to me tonight.
Last week, the Blazer Blog noted that the Blazers were giving away free pre-season tickets through their website (no link for you, because you need to avoid the evil addiction). Being the sucker that I am for all things free (much the same as I am for all things liquid), I clicked, tabbed, typed, etcetera all the live-long day and found that I was to be rewarded with two free tickets to the October 27th game against Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors.
Which, by the way, I still haven't received. Again, Paul Allen has stymied me.
But, at the end, I was able to invite a friend to share in my good fortune. And so it was that JLowe signed up for some tickets for tonight's game against Dale Davis and the Golden State Warriors. And, as luck would have it, he actually received his.
So, despite our mutual disdain for the Blazers of the 21st Century, we both went, convinced that tonight's effort would determine our future fandom.
What did we learn tonight?
The Blazers are not the team we loved as high schoolers. They aren't even a shadow of what they were. Their play was sloppy, their heart was lacking, and their concessions too-high priced.
Will I go see another game this season? Not likely (unless, of course, it's free). In watching tonight's game, I was able to see that my problems with the Blazers were also evident in the Warriors. The team played a version of basketball I don't enjoy. No teamwork. No cohesion. No view of the bigger picture. Just five individuals, trying to get their's, not recognizing the concept of team.
Even the future of our team is corrupted. I have great hopes for Sebastian Telfair. He is obviously a whiz at passing -- even tonight, he showed glimmers of his future promise. But he's being corrupted by Zach, by Darius, by the influences of ego. And so, tonight, he jacked up four ill-advised 3-pointers which (though I wished the best for him) didn't go in. And that didn't get him passing more, it just made him more determined to score, to the detriment of the group.
The NBA, I see, is no longer about teams. Sometimes you see teams play, but the rules seem to encourage individuals to excel. The same Michael Jordan that revitalized the league by how he could dominate a game single-handedly has destroyed it by making everyone want to be like him. In being like Mike, players are being selfish. Michael Jordan, as I remember, had an ability to elevate himself above whatever opponent he faced, but the secret was that he fed his team. You could put most anyone on that team, because Michael would make them better as he played. He would bring opponents to him, then dish the ball away. When opponents shifted back away, he would sting them. They could never get on balance, because he wouldn't let them.
Really, though, what do I know? I wrestled in high school. Basketball is as foreign to me as French.
But I remember watching the Blazers of the 80's and early 90's, with Clyde and Buck and Terry and Jerome and Duckworth. And you don't think of individuals there (except Clyde, who was the closest thing P-town's ever had to a MJ). No, generally, you think of how great a team those guys were. And I miss it.
So, while I will continue to watch the Blazers and the NBA afar, I think I'm slipping the bond they had over me. The whole game is ruined. I'm waiting for the next basketball Messiah to make the game compelling again.
Where are you, Jesus Shuttlesworth?
Oh, yeah, in Seattle. Never mind.
Catch ya later.
As you may have learned through my Blogue, I have sort of a love-hate relationship with the Blazers. On the one hand, I look at the Blazer Blog (over on the right) every day to see what's going on with the team. On the other, I spend a fair amount of time ridiculing the members of the team when they do something asenine (and, really, when aren't the Blazers in the news for some new buffoonery?)
I had actually begun to steel myself and was making a determined effort not to care at all how the Blazers did this year. Another year of avoiding games on TV, boycotting games at the Rose Garden, and making sure my glances at the Blazers section of the SnOregonian were covert so noone would be any wiser to my deeply-hidden feelings of allegiance.
Of course, that bastard Paul Allen interfered with my season of discontent.
As we all know, the NBA pre-season is useless. It is short, it means nothing toward the season, all accumulated stats are shelved once the pre-season is over -- it's a dress rehearsal for the real thing.
But that didn't matter to me tonight.
Last week, the Blazer Blog noted that the Blazers were giving away free pre-season tickets through their website (no link for you, because you need to avoid the evil addiction). Being the sucker that I am for all things free (much the same as I am for all things liquid), I clicked, tabbed, typed, etcetera all the live-long day and found that I was to be rewarded with two free tickets to the October 27th game against Vince Carter and the Toronto Raptors.
Which, by the way, I still haven't received. Again, Paul Allen has stymied me.
But, at the end, I was able to invite a friend to share in my good fortune. And so it was that JLowe signed up for some tickets for tonight's game against Dale Davis and the Golden State Warriors. And, as luck would have it, he actually received his.
So, despite our mutual disdain for the Blazers of the 21st Century, we both went, convinced that tonight's effort would determine our future fandom.
What did we learn tonight?
The Blazers are not the team we loved as high schoolers. They aren't even a shadow of what they were. Their play was sloppy, their heart was lacking, and their concessions too-high priced.
Will I go see another game this season? Not likely (unless, of course, it's free). In watching tonight's game, I was able to see that my problems with the Blazers were also evident in the Warriors. The team played a version of basketball I don't enjoy. No teamwork. No cohesion. No view of the bigger picture. Just five individuals, trying to get their's, not recognizing the concept of team.
Even the future of our team is corrupted. I have great hopes for Sebastian Telfair. He is obviously a whiz at passing -- even tonight, he showed glimmers of his future promise. But he's being corrupted by Zach, by Darius, by the influences of ego. And so, tonight, he jacked up four ill-advised 3-pointers which (though I wished the best for him) didn't go in. And that didn't get him passing more, it just made him more determined to score, to the detriment of the group.
The NBA, I see, is no longer about teams. Sometimes you see teams play, but the rules seem to encourage individuals to excel. The same Michael Jordan that revitalized the league by how he could dominate a game single-handedly has destroyed it by making everyone want to be like him. In being like Mike, players are being selfish. Michael Jordan, as I remember, had an ability to elevate himself above whatever opponent he faced, but the secret was that he fed his team. You could put most anyone on that team, because Michael would make them better as he played. He would bring opponents to him, then dish the ball away. When opponents shifted back away, he would sting them. They could never get on balance, because he wouldn't let them.
Really, though, what do I know? I wrestled in high school. Basketball is as foreign to me as French.
But I remember watching the Blazers of the 80's and early 90's, with Clyde and Buck and Terry and Jerome and Duckworth. And you don't think of individuals there (except Clyde, who was the closest thing P-town's ever had to a MJ). No, generally, you think of how great a team those guys were. And I miss it.
So, while I will continue to watch the Blazers and the NBA afar, I think I'm slipping the bond they had over me. The whole game is ruined. I'm waiting for the next basketball Messiah to make the game compelling again.
Where are you, Jesus Shuttlesworth?
Oh, yeah, in Seattle. Never mind.
Catch ya later.
posted by Rusty at 12:26 AM
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