A summary of today’s water cooler talk statewide: “How ‘bout dem Blazers, eh? Not bad. Not bad.”
Sitting at my desk at work today, my ears were still ringing and my computer fan sounded vaguely like the roar of last night’s crowd. My hands are a tad bit rough from all the nail-biting, clapping and high-fiveing. My throat is a smidge sore and dry. And I still have a small case of the jitters – I feel like I drank 42 cups of coffee last night. These are the after effects of a non-stop 3 hour adrenaline rush or, as I like to call it, a Blazer Hangover. I had one after the last Blazers/Lakers game and the last Blazers/Nuggets game. It’s not a bad feeling, per se. It feels a heck of a lot better than a Blazer loss does.
Last night’s game was, hands down, the best game I’ve ever been to. I would describe the mood before the game as cautiously optimistic. The crowd was totally behind their team, but not in the rabid sort of way they started out on Saturday. The nervous anticipation made the fans hungry, however, as the concession lines were long and slow moving. At the start of the game I was a little surprised by the number of empty seats, but as it turns out people were just waiting for their food. Everybody quieted down for a moment of silence for Les Sarnoff, but it could also have been because their mouths were full. (I kid, I love Les and he will be missed.)
About three minutes into the game it was clear that the Blazers we all know and love were back. There was never a moment to just sit back and take it all in, though. The score was uncomfortably close the entire game. During game breaks we had the usual entertainment, but I don’t think anyone really noticed. Did that lady get her appliance of choice from Standard? What was all that business at the half with the dudes on the trampolines? Did Rudy just call Sergio “Pee Wee Herman”? Who knows? Timeouts are for trying to get your heart rate back under healthy levels.
The same crowd that I took to task in my last post for leaving early spent the last four minutes of the game on their feet and cheering their asses off, and the final minute of the game lasted about ten minutes. When the game was over and a Blazer win secured, the fans filed out of the arena looking like they had just completed a 10K; dazed, sweaty and relieved. The playoffs are not for the fainthearted.
We’ll be doing it all again next Tuesday. The tone of the next home game will, of course, be set by the games played in Houston over the weekend. Anything is possible with this team, which adds to the suspense of it all.
One thing is for certain, I need a nap. And I may need to see someone about some of the game superstitions and rituals I’m starting to accumulate, but that is a post for another day.
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