Your Portland Trail Blazers are pulling out all the stops this season to celebrate their 50th anniversary. The folks in the front office have a new court for the boys to play on, featuring their sweet celebratory logo at the center. There are a handful of “Decade Nights” planned, like tomorrow’s ’70s Night, which coincides with the team’s matchup against the Sixers (the same team the ’Zers played in their inaugural home game). There’s commemorative posters and jerseys. There’s even Blazers-themed wine for you to sip while you watch the away games. Or gulp down straight from the bottle before heading to the Moda Center. You do you.
But for this longtime Trail Blazers fan, the most exciting golden anniversary treat that the team is bestowing upon the world is Blazers Greatest Hits—50th Collection, a limited-edition vinyl album collecting all the songs recorded about and by the team during its illustrious history.
That’s right, kids, there was a time when professional sports organizations made music to celebrate their greatness. The Blazers were no exception. Back in ’77, when the team won its one and only NBA championship, they had “BlazerMania” to commemorate their playoff run. When they made it to the Finals again in 1992 (losing in six games to the Bulls), they kicked off their next season with “Bust a Bucket,” a masterpiece performed by rocker Dan Reed and featuring backup vocals from Jerome Kersey, Kevin Duckworth, Terry Porter, and Buck Williams. And as recently as 2000, following their appearance in the Western Conference Finals, Damon Stoudamire and Bonzi Wells helped record “Can I Get A Headband?” Classics all.
This compilation also boasts a bit of new music in the form of a remix of the “Blazers Theme Song,” that jaunty tune that kicks off every radio broadcast, as conceived by self-proclaimed Blazers fanatics Portugal. The Man. Too, the record is packaged in a nice hardcover book-type sleeve with some nice photos of the team through the years and a sweet poster.
It’s a whole mess of silly fun with a good cause in its heart. The net proceeds from sales of the record will all go to the Trail Blazers Foundation. The limited-edition records will be available for purchase at tomorrow night’s Blazers/Sixers game and, starting Tuesday, at the Rip City Clothing Co.
Now if you’ll excuse me I have to dunk it, slam it, and jam it (translation: eat another jelly donut at my desk).
“Only $50!”