"The Portland JailBlazers Have Let Down The Entire City Of Portland Oregon, And Now They Want To Sell The Team"

To adaquetely understand the collosal effect that the demise of the TrailBlazers has had on the community, one must first have a glimpse into why the city of Portland was so fond of the Blazers.The Portland Trail Blazers joined the NBA in 1970 posting 29 wins during their first season.  They had six consecutive losing seasons before finally surpasing the 50% mark in 1976-77 season. Not only did the Blazers achieve a winning record that year, they reached the apex of professional basketball by beating the Philadelphia 76'ers and winning the championship.

Fueled by talents such as Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas, the Trailblazers provided Portland with a unforgetable sports epic that fine summer.

I can easily remember my eagerness as a child to rip into a brand new bag of Franz white bread to retrieve the latest Blazers trading card.  And who can forget those cool Dairy Queen glasses with Clyde Drexler and Terry Porter?

While I was a bit young during the championship of 1977, I will never forget the feeling the city felt during the 'Rip City' era of the 90's.  It seemed that there was a vendor on every single major intersection in the city selling 'Rip City' t shirts, hats, and other Blazer affiliated apparell.  One could not travel more than a block without seeing some evidence of a Trailblazers fan.

Television, radio, newspapers, word on the street, it was all about the Blazers.  Banners, flags, and bumper stickers were proudly displayed everywhere you looked. I fondly recollect winning free nosebleed tickets to a Trailblazer game in 7th grade when I won an award in my English class. My parents were not really fans, but I sure was and I could not wait to see Clyde the Glide in action.

My dad came with me to the game, and it was a great time for us. He knew nothing of basketball, but had a great time despite his lack of knowledge for the game.  It was one of those strange few bonding moments I actually had with my dad as a kid.

The Blazers won and all was well. We left the collesium smiling.

From 1976 to 2003 the Trailblazers made it into the playoffs every year with the exception of 1982.  A consecutive 21 years making it into the playoffs is a remarkable accomplishment, and the city had definitely become accustomed to seeing them last beyond the regular season.

Even during the sub par years, the Trailblazers were always good for at least a first round playoff appearance. Beyond being just statistical winners on the court, the Blazers had a community image that the public was very proud of.

Sponsors had no doubt that including Blazer players within their promotions was great PR. Routinely you would see players plugging all types of local business through radio or television. It really was a 'feel good' hometown team we had here.

So what happened to Blazermania?

Why are the beloved Trailblazers now the laughing stock of the NBA?  Can their newly coined nickname 'Jailblazers' have any validity to it?What was once a treasured jewel in our city has certainly let us down in more ways than one.  The history of the Blazers has really evolved into a very sad, sad, sad story.  It's one that I feel horrible telling, as I would love to see them return to the days of old.

Sadly talks from management about cleaning up the image of the Blazers has been nothing but lip service. Time after time the Blazers management has excercised choices so poor and so blatanly bad for the community, it is almost unbelievable.

It's very puzzling to understand how men with so much money have some of the most weak minded people working for them. This is really obvious stuff people. Most decent fans are not going to support a cast of criminals, sex offenders, drug abusers, and shady characters.

Somehow though, the Blazers continue to give contracts to guys who's pasts are shady at best. In fact, anyone concerned about the image of their company would never in their right mind employ people like the Blazers do.

The JailBlazers have a systemic problem of employing less than admirable characters, and the worst part of it all is that they overpay the guys. To try and repair their image, the Blazers will try to air 'new commercials' depicting their players in feel good situations, hoping that you will fall for the acting job.

Can Paul Allen really be this blind?

There is no way, what the hell is going on?  Does he need some huge tax breaks and loves seeing the Blazers being flushed into the Willamette River?

I'm puzzled as the rest of you, which is the reason I decided to get down to the heart of the matter. My intention is not to get you to hate the Blazers. It is my utmost concern to return this team back to the community oriented team that we all can feel proud of.  A product that makes us proud to take our children to see.

Unfortunately this is out of my hands, and the only way I can make my voice heard is by not purchasing tickets and writing articles like this exposing the injustices that are going on in this town. While the Blazers may be Paul Allen's team, they belong to all of us.

Without the fans, the Blazers would be washing cars for a living or pumping gas. It is the consumer that drives these guys, so you have to give it to em where it hurts and yes that means not patronizing a team that willingly hires Jailblazers.. It is our jobs to demand a quality team from the Blazers.

Not a group of Jailblazers.

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