Dear Bobcats fans: Here in Portland, we feel your pain. We really do.

by occassia on Feb 26, 2011 3:59 PM EST

Dear Bobcats fans:

Here in Portland, we feel your pain. We really do.

We're sending you Joel Przybilla. The Thrilla. He's been a Blazer about as long as Gerald's been a Bobcat and, although we can see the logic of the trade, it's still torn a little piece of our collective heart out. Joel is a true professional, and a presence --on the court, in the locker room, and around town. He possesses experience and deep skills not necessarily revealed by stats. And nobody messes with him. Nobody.

And we're sending you our young gun, Dante Cunningham, with great reluctance. He's an East coast guy who rebuilds vintage muscle cars --you'll like him. We call him Inferno and, believe me, he catches fire. You won't find a tougher or more determined competitor; he's had a great season so far, and his best seasons still lie ahead of him.

And we're sending you our Kiwi, Sean Marks, for much of this season the only healthy center on the team. Ouch. Sean has been a godsend as a reserve, giving great value in his comparatively modest minutes. We didn't really get a chance to know him well, but he's one of the friendliest big guys you'll ever meet, and well-liked by the rest of the team.

That's something else we're sending you: real team players. There's not much room on our roster for prima donnas. If you're a Trail Blazer, you play well with others. You have a can-do attitude, and you learn to step up, over and over again, in the face of adversity. You're getting three guys who have all of that going for them --and now, going for you.

We're sending you men in whom we've invested a lot of love and pride. That won't change. When they show up in the Rose Garden wearing somebody else's jersey, they'll still be warmly welcomed. Once a Blazer always a Blazer.

And we'll take good care of Gerald, we promise. We'll welcome him warmly, and invest love and pride in him, too. He's joining a really great group of guys and will find, not just teammates, but lifelong friends in our locker room.

In Portland, we sell out the arena for every game, and are loud, devoted, occasionally insane fans. This year the Blazers have a good shot at the playoffs in the very competitive Western conference, and we're excited that Gerald can be an integral part of that effort.

We don't have history with him, or know him as you all do --not yet. But we do know Gerald is tough and versatile and holds nothing back on the court. Perfect. He'll fit right in.

Just hope he doesn't mind a little rain.

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Blazer fans are truly Class A people.

You guys have a great organization, respectable players, and respectable fans. The city of Charlotte could learn a lot about being basketball fans from Portland. Thanks for the post!

Advocating the correct nickname for Tyrus Thomas be: Tyrusauras.
Devout follower of the Franimal and the Basaviour.
Blindly Optimistic follower of The Iowa Hawkeyes, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Hurricanes, and the Charlotte Bobcats.
"CAM WARD SAYS NO!"

by HAWKEYESBABY on Feb 26, 2011 4:16 PM EST reply actions

I was about to write something similar...

Thank you Hawkeyes…This was something that didn’t have to be written from the Portland base, but they did it anyway.
Reading something like what occassia wrote may remind the Bobcats fans what it means….what it means to be a fan of an NBA team. We were right there when the Charlotte Horents were our team. Crappy ownership spoiled that. We got a new team in the Bobcats, and crappy ownership tarnised the team. Michael Jordan is doing his all to right the ship. So far, so good. Hopefully his 5 year plan has us as great as our “Hornets” fanbase was, and as great as your Trailblazers family is now

Best wishes…and a note to Gerald Wallace…I saw you on that bench last night…smile my friend. You are in a great situation, with a hungry team, surrounded by fans that will embrace you as much as we did. The biggest difference is when you look into the stands, it will be packed every night. Packed with fans screaming for YOU. You won’t see an arena 3/4 full of jerseys rooting for the team you’re playing against. Bask in it, make the most of it, win a ring with it, and your Bobcat fans will always remember you, and root for you. I, for one, appreciare all that you did with us, and I am proud for the way yor game grew while you were here. You were our first All Star. You came a long way, and you have further to go. Your journey isn’t over. Keep enjoying the ride!

Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...

by andrewlail76 on Feb 26, 2011 4:50 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

He was grouchy cause he saw how short our remaining players are lol

KFBR392

by Sabonis4Ever on Mar 1, 2011 2:16 PM EST up reply actions

Difference between "most" Bobcats fans and Blazer fans...

…is that Blazer fans truely are devoted to their team, and stick with them thru the good and bad times, no matter what. The note above from occassia says it all. They had an educated opinion on each player that they sent us…even down to Sean Marks. They are smart NBA fans who love their team, and I agree Hawkeye, the city of Charlotte could learn something from Blazer fans.

by jgbball on Feb 26, 2011 10:38 PM EST up reply actions

Agree

While Portland supports a player like Sean Marks, the posters here continue to call for the heads of various players every time they have an off game (Boris, JAX, Dominic), etc. Let’s call a moratorium on this now that the trade deadline has passed. Support our Bobcats and ALL our players for the rest of the season and save the negative personalized trash talk for the off-season.

by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 27, 2011 1:33 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

As I stated Before.

Portland Quickly became my second favorite team. I hope you guys win a championship this year or next. Wallace is Deserving of it. We will take Joel on and give him plenty of min. (I like him now that i realized that him demanding a buyout or he was going to retire was just a rumor and miscommunication) and ive been watching Cunningham here latley and im starting to really like him. Marks, not sure if he’ll even suite up or not, and for the picks… well lets just say MJ got better college scouts

I win as if im used to it, and i loose as if i like it for a change.

by Noahzack on Feb 26, 2011 10:36 PM EST reply actions

Let's hope you're right about the scouts

Bobcats Basketball is my only pro sports passion...

by andrewlail76 on Feb 26, 2011 11:10 PM EST up reply actions

Did you know that Charlotte is actually bigger than Portland?

I didn’t…was looking it up..Jason Quick (a reporter) wrote a great article about G Wallace.
Here is the link:
http://www.oregonlive.com/blazers/index.ssf/2011/02/gerald_wallace_new_blazer_know.html

Was thinking…oh no…Gerald Wallace may not like Portland because he likes small towns…
I only moved here in Sept of 05…from Chicago and never think of Portland as being that small. Charlotte is way ahead of Portland in population! Charlotte is listed as number 18 and Portland is number 30! This is from Wikipedia..so may not be correct!

Anyway, Gerald arrived here on a very cold day! This, I am sure is not something he will like. Being from Chicago…I moved here to get out of the cold!!! And Portland is usually not as cold as it was yesterday! I think it was only 25º out yesterday!!!!

I hope your team gets more fans in the seats as it gains success. After all your city has more people than Portland and this arena is packed for every game.
And you guys have the advantage of EST!!! So people are able to be awake when your games are being played!!!
Your team probably has a great chance at a championship in the not too distant future..esp with the new CBA rules which..I think..will help smaller markets. Esp if MJ has anything to say about this…I’ve heard he’s fairly competitive…and I should know..growing up in Chicago!!!

by Natsthecat on Feb 27, 2011 12:02 AM EST reply actions

Crash & the Blazers vs. Hawks tonight!!!

Gerald is expected to start for us tonight. Ooooh! Ooooh!

We struggle against the Hawks but, in addition to the debut of Crash, this will mark the 3rd game back for 3-time All-Star Brandon Roy; and our veteran center, Marcus Camby, is a probable tonight (for his first game back after meniscus surgery). Not to mention the towering presence of two-time POW Lamarcus Aldridge: L_Train comin’ at ya.

Looks like tip-off is at 10:30pm your time, and ESPN is carrying it. If you’re up that late, join us for in-house pre- and post-game shows online, and live chat during the game: http://www.nba.com/blazers/tbtv/index.html#live
(It’s funky, so you may have to refresh the stream from time to time. ;-)

by occassia on Feb 27, 2011 2:43 PM EST reply actions

A follow-up or two. Or several.

1. It sounds as though both Joel and Dante are star-struck. ;-) I’m so glad they’re excited about playing for you guys, even though it makes me a little misty. You couldn’t have two better players in a rebuilding franchise. Joel was an absolute pillar of our own rebuilding effort, a fabulous mentor for young players, and Dante comes to you with an impressive head start.

2. Believe me, there are plenty of complete a———s in the Portland fan-base as well. And an appalling number of Lakers fans show up when they’re in town. I mean, I’m originally from So Cal myself, but WTF? Fisticuffs? Really?

3. One secret of our success is that the Trail Blazers are the only pro team of any sort in the state, and the only NBA team in the entire region. Our closest competitors are the Sacramento Kings, almost 600 miles away, and they are rumored to be moving south. Ours is, literally, the only game in town.

4. I have a theory that another piece of the puzzle is the Blazers’ ability to attract female fans, many of whom are extremely knowledgeable about the game. I don’t know if there’s a connection, but the organization has been quite pioneering in its use of interactive and social media. More than half the current roster are on Twitter (Dante is @DlamarC33) and will occasionally tweet back to sweet young fans. ;-)

by occassia on Feb 27, 2011 3:30 PM EST reply actions

Wow

That was really, really classy. Thank you for the kind words. I don’t comment much on here (even though I read it religiously many times a day), but I felt compelled to say something in regards to this. I look forward to following Gerald on the Blazers now and it’s nice to know he is going to a team that appreciates him!

by Drew Gladden on Feb 27, 2011 4:51 PM EST reply actions

WHATEVER

When we play Portland, it will be for a win not to just shake hands and share lemonade.

by chris in union county on Feb 27, 2011 8:29 PM EST reply actions

really?

No Southern hospitality?

by Natsthecat on Feb 27, 2011 8:46 PM EST up reply actions

He's always that way. Pay him no heed.

by Ft.Mill Bobcat on Feb 27, 2011 8:49 PM EST up reply actions

Jeez, really?

Lemonade was a popular drink and it still is,
I get more props and stunts than Bruce Willis
- Guru, of Gangstarr

by Ben Swanson on Feb 27, 2011 9:45 PM EST up reply actions

for once i agree with you

this love fest is annoying

blazers fans are pretty much telling us to bend over…

regardless of what they say about the players they traded, they got an all-star for two nobodies. Period.

They just traded two pintos for a Mercedes. Why wouldn’t they be the nicest, happiest fan-base on Earth?

I hope Gerald Wallace destroys the Bobcats and laughs in MJ’s face when he tries to shake his hand at the end of the game. But he won’t because he’s too classy.

by adamcawa on Mar 3, 2011 3:21 PM EST up reply actions