[Moozh]

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all of us were in hibernation and refused to spend money during the Jailblazer era.

[/ QUOTE ] naw, you guys just didn't watch em cause they weren't good. Admit it. My buddy is as diehard a blazers fan as you will find and he never missed a game during this period.

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I just want to chime in on this point. I grew up in Eugene watching the Blazers play every night as a kid (Porter, Drexler, Kersey, Buck, Duckworth, Uncle Cliffy, etc). Remember, the Blazers are the only major professional team in the state of Oregon. I went off to college around the time Whitsit took over and I religiously followed the team (every game either on tv or gamecast) during the ill fated 2000 season.

Then things just blew up in our face and the team became a disgrace. I still loved the Blazer franchise, but it became impossible to support some of the players. Our once pround tradition had become an embarassment. So while I still followed the progress, I stopped caring about the results as much. Instead, I just started hoping that some day we could have a team I could cheer for again.

Now we do have that team and I couldn't be happier. I can laugh when I see the word Jailblazers, and smile when I watch guys like Roy and LMA. Oden was a blessing above all that, a guy anyone can root for. Even now, I'm still glad we drafted him over Durant. Win or lose, Oden will represent Portland throughout his career with class.

With Oden out, we still have a bright future as a franchise. And honestly, I could care less whether we win or lose right now, I'm just happy I have a team again. You can be damn sure I'll be watching every game for the next years to come. It has nothing to do with wins and losses.