The Sentimental Blazers Fan

I don’t have a favorite NFL team.

My MLB allegiances are split between the Atlanta Braves and the Seattle Mariners.

But when you’re talking NBA – there’s no question. I, like so many other Oregonians, am a Blazer believer.

I’ve been a fan of the Trail Blazers for as long as I can remember and that will continue.

I stayed true through the dark years when the marketing office was giving away free tickets for filling up your gas tank. Heck, when a group of my friends and I saw Portland play Utah in 2005 – when the teams were fighting for the worst record in the league – we were able to move as close to the court as we wanted to get an up-close look at Portland’s 7-3 Korean sensation 승진하 [Ha Seung-Jin].

And I like them now.

But Blazer fans and management need to realize there’s a clear and distinct line between fandom and a team’s best interest.

Portland fans – for all their loyalty – are way too sentimental.

That’s a tough thing to do in the era of free agency, when players come and go at will, wherever the dollar takes them. You can have favorite players and favorite teams, but the players are not likely to stick around their teams for long.

While talking with most fans and reading Internet message boards, it’s easy to notice an unwillingness to depart with so-called fan favorites in the effort of improving the Portland Trail Blazers team.

The problem with this is the Trail Blazers are a likeable group: Nearly everyone on the roster can be considered a fan favorite.

This is detrimental to the rebuilding process that’s becoming more and more evident the Blazers need.

Brandon Roy – for all he’s done for the franchise – needs waived or amnestied to free up cap space. Is that the nice thing to do for the guy? No. Is it the way to improve the team? Yes.

When trade talks came up last year, there were talks of the Blazers making a play for Chris Paul. One of the pieces the Blazers would have had to part with was Nic Batum. No fan wanted that.

Batum is great. You can stick him on the other team’s best player and he’ll shut him down. He’ll also get the crowd on its feet with a few 3s each game as well as some powerful dunks in transition. And he’s not afraid to talk a little trash [Ask Pau Gasol].

But getting rid of Batum for the sake of bringing in Paul would be in the best interest of the franchise. Paul is an elite point guard in a league driven by point guard play. Batum is a good swingman with potential to be a defensive stopper. Players like Batum are more common than elite PGs.

When the Blazers got Gerald Wallace, fans were upset because the Vanilla Gorilla Joel Przybilla was traded away, along with Dante Cunningham and Sean Marks. Again, the team was upgraded, but fans were hurt.

It’s good to like the players on the team. I much prefer that to the old strategy of stockpiling talent with questionable character – everyone does.

But as fans, we’ve got to remember we want the team to succeed. After all, they’re the only team in this state that can bring home a major professional title — and that would be more fun than rooting on any individual player.