By Jeff Trousdale
Portland Trailblazers' fans seem to be everywhere these days. Take a walk in a mall, go downtown, or visit the bars and chances are you will see at least a few people adorned with the red and black Blazer's pinwheel.
A number of UP students come from Oregon and have always supported the Blazers as their team. But UP is also made up of students from out of state, from far away places like Washington, California and even Colorado.
For these the lonely foreigners, the NBA season drags on as a time when they can do nothing in the way of supporting their hometown team except check the box scores and maybe, just maybe, get tickets when their team comes to play in Portland. If that sounds like you, then I would ask this question; why not give the Blazers some of your support too?
I'm not asking you to give up on your hometown team, because that is something that I could never do either. I'm simply suggesting that you give the Blazers a shot as well, and here are 10 reasons why you should do so.
1. They actually sign autographs. Before the recent game against the Timberwolves, Brandon Roy was talking with Randy Foye, the player for whom Roy was traded for when he was drafted. A number of fans saw them and interrupted their conversation for autographs. While some players might have been pissed off or refused, Roy was very cool about it, and graciously signed for everyone that asked.
2. They're all nice. Ben Golliver, co-writer for the best Blazers website out there, Blazersedge.com, said that every player he has talked to has been affable and polite towards him.
"When I first came, I thought they'd be a bunch of cocky assholes who drove really ridiculous cars, but I was wrong," Golliver said. "They do drive ridiculous cars, but everyone of them is really nice."
3. They play the right way. Sure they are young, and they may make some mistakes here and there, but according to rookie guard Jerryd Bayless, their youth serves them in other ways as well.
"We're easy to root for because we are young and we play hard every game."
4. Rudy Fernandez may be the sexiest man in the NBA. Come on ladies, he's from Spain, he has perfectly groomed facial hair, his jump shot is beyond reproach and he's a millionaire. What more could you ask for?
5. The Blazer Dancers. After seeing them up close and talking with some of them for the first time, I can tell you one thing; this is the most intelligent dance squad in all of professional sports. Seriously, all I was thinking was "check out the intellect on her ... smoking."
6. They are only going to get better; this is the second youngest team in the NBA, and already many hail them as the next potential dynasty team in the NBA.
Jump on the bandwagon while you still live in Portland, otherwise people will just call you a front-runner.
7. Brandon Roy, Lamarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden; Boston's big three is too far away, San Antonio's big three is too boring and no one else's big three has a seven-foot tall center with a dog named Charles Barkley McLovin.
8. Kevin Pritchard; if this guy isn't the NBA executive of the year it will be proof that Osama Bin Laden is still on the loose and he is in charge of the voting for the award. If you're not a Blazer's fan it's likely that the team you are a fan of has been Pritch-Slapped at some point in the last few years.
9. They're involved in the community; Channing Frye is a spokesperson for the Oregon chapter of the MS society, Oden has a charity called Oregon Mentors and Steve Blake runs a local basketball camp for kids. Those are just a few examples from a team that's comprised of genuinely caring guys.
10. Who else are you going to root for? Half of you are from Washington, which means you no longer have an NBA team, and probably won't be getting one anytime soon. All you Hawaii natives have never had a professional team in any sport, and for you Coloradans, I guess if I liked excessive neck tattoos, sucker punches and bloated contracts, I'd be a fan too.
?Jeff Trousdale is a staff writer for The Beacon. He can be contacted at ?trousdale11@up.edu
