Fight or Flight: Your Call Blazer Fans

The Blazers lost to the Nets by two last night.  Yes, that is the same New Jersey Nets that threatened to break the record for fewest wins in a season by the lowly '72-'73 76ers, who finished the year with nine wins.  Granted, this is not the same pathetic Nets as last year, but they had won five games, scoring the second fewest points per game in the league.

Now they have won six games.  Because they played the Blazers.  At home, no less.

This is not a "woe is us" post.  It isn't complaining about the injuries.  It won't bemoan Kevin Durant's ascension.  Because none of that matters.

The Blazers stand at a crossroad, and with their two franchise players riddled with injuries, the path doesn't look good.  Roy can play through the pain and be a shell of his former self.  Oden could see the court again as a Blazer, but how effective can he even be?  Aldridge is the same player he was three years ago.  Bleak, folks, very bleak.  What will happen with the aging trio of Pryzbilla, Camby, and Miller?  So many questions, very few answers and none shed a positive light on the situation.

But the biggest question in my mind right now is off the court.  No matter what happens, these guys will come in each night and play the games.  There is not a shortage of bodies.  We won't pack up and move like the Sonics.  But the wheels are shaky on this team.  Nuts and bolts fall faster than they can repair them.

So will people still be around if the wheels fall off entirely?  That's the question that nags me with each postgame recap I read.  I grew up in an interesting time for the franchise.  We saw bittersweet (far more bitter) success in '99-'00.  The wheels started to fall off there too, similar to today.  By '04-'05, we had the worst record in the league.  Fans disappeared by the bunches.  Part of it was the poor character of the players.  But part of it was the lack of success on the court as well.  Will we live up to the reputation of being one of the best crowds in the league even if things go sour?  Will fans support the players the team puts on the court regardless of the results?

Or will the noise that surrounded the Blazers the past four years disappear faster than it appeared?  The choice is yours, Blazer fans.  I know where I will be and I hope to see you all on the Blazers' sideline too.