"I've always said, they have the best home court in the NBA ... they still have the best fans, in my opinion, in the NBA," – Charles Barkley’s comments regarding fans of the Portland Trail Blazers. Sir Charles was right. The Trail Blazers have great fans, but Charles must not have factored loyalty into his assumption.
The Rose Garden is one of the loudest arenas in all of basketball, yet even the noise of 20,000 plus cannot drown out the shouts of displeasure with Brandon Roy. When questioned about his performance by the Oregonian’s John Canzano, Roy said the he “ heard a guy at the Rose Garden the other night, yelling that I needed to get off the floor.” In the same article Canzano posted a quote from one disgruntled Blazers fan that read, “If Roy died right now the Blazers would be better off. I'm starting to think that's what it might take to get him out of here."
Really? There is no way imaginable that makes the Blazers better without the Roy Wonder. The man is still finding his footing with a team that feels unfamiliar to him. While recovering from double knee surgery he watched his team change before his very eyes. The torched was passed to LaMarcus Aldridge and the Blazers added a tremendous talent in Gerald Wallace. Where Roy left as the team’s number one threat, he came back as the number three or four. Not only did he have to get his game back, which is hard enough by itself, he had to do it on a team trying to forge a new identity and that would be hard for any talent to do. Yet, try hard as he may, all he can hear is fans are calling for his head.
Why? Has he not satisfied them enough? Roy came in his rookie year with high expectations. He was to be the savior of this great franchise. With the world on his back he single-handedly carried Portland into a new era. With a smooth crossover and twine tickling shot the Jail Blazers were laid to rest and Rip City was reborn. Long live the king!
Then came the 2010-2011 season. Roy watched much of the season from the sidelines waiting for his chance to rule his kingdom again. When he finally stepped on the court he was a mere shadow of his old self. Gone was his signature jump shot. Gone were his late game heroics. Gone was his poise, and the fans were not happy. All Roy could do was watch his kingdom crumble while his people did nothing to help him. Clutch shot after clutch shot, buzzer beater after buzzer beater, confetti falling from the rafters every night, all forgotten. Fans became irritated that he didn’t produce on a nightly basis and thus the legend of Brandon Roy ceased to exist.
Roy may have lost a step. This is evident in the fact that he doesn’t attack the rim as hard anymore, he lacks lift on his jump shot, and he got beat by the first step of a 38 year old Jason Kidd, but in the end Brandon Roy is still Brandon Roy. He is the man who saved your city, and for this he should be applauded. If not for him we could be watching the Oklahoma City Blazers for Gods sake. So come on Portland, give credit where credit is due. Your king needs you now more than ever. Lift him up, help him ascend back to his throne. Perhaps with the right support he can bring home a Championship. To do so he needs you to save him, much like he saved you.
