Sports fan born, sports fan bred
Last night I went to my first NBA basketball game and cheered on the hometown Portland Trailblazers. I think I was always destined to live in Portland. Growing up in Southern California everyone is automatically a Lakers fan and with all those great teams who wouldn't be? For as long as I can remember I've been a Blazers fan. I remember plopping down one day with this strange magazine called "Sports Illustrated" and reading about this guy named Clyde the Glide and automatically took a liking to him because we shared the same birth date. Thus a Blazers fan was born. It's funny to think that I've lived in Oregon for the better part of 13 years now, been a avid fan following them from the great early 90s teams and the suffering of Jail Blazers to the exciting young team we have now. My parents and friends will tell you that I bleed the Red and Black as much as any die hard native Oregonian though I'm transplanted from the glitzy Los Angeles Laker region.
One of the best moments at the game last night actually happened just before the game started. The lights went down and this girl stepped out to sing the national anthem. You could tell that she was very nervous - who wouldn't be - and was trying to compose herself but mid way through the song she paused. Instead of the jeers and snickering you hear, the entire Rose Garden started cheering for her loudly. And when she finished I thought the rafters were going to come off the roof. Say what you will about our old teams and all the problems with them, Blazer fans are classy. It could have easily turned ugly but instead everyone recognized the effort and rewarded it the only way fans can.
I think that for all the ugliness that can get sports fans wrapped up, there are many moments of pure compassion where even a cynic would be surprised. Too often I think we hear of the stories like the Jail Blazers or Terrell Owens and we miss out on stories about Pat Tillman or the softball players who carried an opponent around the bases after she hit a homerun but injured her knee. Sports being the megamillion dollar industry it is should do more to clean up it's image and focus more on the classy and less on the selfish. As a coach, I've got to remember to do my part and lead by both example and through rewarding or acknowledging when one of my athletes does do the right thing.
One of the best moments at the game last night actually happened just before the game started. The lights went down and this girl stepped out to sing the national anthem. You could tell that she was very nervous - who wouldn't be - and was trying to compose herself but mid way through the song she paused. Instead of the jeers and snickering you hear, the entire Rose Garden started cheering for her loudly. And when she finished I thought the rafters were going to come off the roof. Say what you will about our old teams and all the problems with them, Blazer fans are classy. It could have easily turned ugly but instead everyone recognized the effort and rewarded it the only way fans can.
I think that for all the ugliness that can get sports fans wrapped up, there are many moments of pure compassion where even a cynic would be surprised. Too often I think we hear of the stories like the Jail Blazers or Terrell Owens and we miss out on stories about Pat Tillman or the softball players who carried an opponent around the bases after she hit a homerun but injured her knee. Sports being the megamillion dollar industry it is should do more to clean up it's image and focus more on the classy and less on the selfish. As a coach, I've got to remember to do my part and lead by both example and through rewarding or acknowledging when one of my athletes does do the right thing.
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