YES, a brand new Trail Blazers season is upon us! Our long, dark summer of off-season discontent has ended and now it’s time to bring on the basketball.
I’m aware that there are many folks in this city who don’t care much about the Trail Blazers—including some who read the Mercury. I get that. Allow me to posit, though, that if you live in Portland, whether you know it or not, your life is affected by the ebb and flow of this ragtag team in the northwestern corner of the NBA. You’ve no doubt noticed the flags draped in windows, the black and red caps, the bumper stickers, the jerseys worn by kids and even grown men, who frankly look silly. These are your denizens of Rip City, and they dwell amongst you. These people LOVE the Trail Blazers, and their mood each morning is affected by what happened on the court the night before.
If the Blazers win, it’s a good day, and smiles will be more pervasive; the annoyances of life will slide by just a bit easier. Perhaps you won’t have to fight quite so hard to merge onto I-5 on the way to work. Perhaps your veggie pizza will be made with a bit of extra love. Come springtime, you can actually feel it in the air: If the Blazers are in the playoffs, this whole city is happier, a little prouder. And man, if the Blazers ever make it back into the NBA finals, all of our collective boats will rise in a tide of joy and euphoria which shall envelop the entire city and beyond.
So it’s totally fine if you don’t give a shit about the Trail Blazers—but here’s 10 very good reasons why many of us believe you should.
1. Damian Lillard
You’ve heard of this guy, right? He’s our point guard and team leader. He’s a legitimate superstar now. And he’s a Portland guy! I mean, he didn’t grow up here. He’s from Oakland, but he seems to genuinely like it here. He just signed a long-term contract and has made it clear he’s going to stick around for a while. This is a big deal because, while we all might think Portland is great and the hippest place on earth, it’s long been considered a backwater for NBA big shots. We’re a “small market” where it rains throughout the season. We’re not LA, NY, Chicago, or Miami—the traditional destination for guys who have their own sneaker line. Having a superstar here in his prime is awesome, and Dame is a special superstar. He’s exciting to watch, flinging himself onto the floor with graceful abandon, launching ridiculously long shots and draining them with ease. He’s the undisputed best rapper in the NBA and has been known to attend local hip-hop shows to support the local scene. Lillard went to Weber State University in Utah and stayed for four years, while most NBA players leave their schools after one or two to collect a payday. On top of that, he overcame everyone’s expectations to be named Rookie of the Year in 2013. Last year, after being snubbed by the All-Star team in favor of an aging Kobe Bryant, Lillard torched the league with two 50-point games in two weeks, and then wrote a song about it. He’s outspoken in the realm of social justice (unlike some of his sponsorship-hungry peers), and was singlehandedly responsible for the most exciting 0.9 seconds of basketball in the last 20 years. Look up “Game 6 vs. Houston” on YouTube if you’d like to know more about that.