Showcasing the strength of Rip City pride
By Dayton Brown
The City of Roses has the best fans on planet earth you’ve never heard about. Let’s fix that.
Since winning the NBA Championship just seven years into their franchise, the Trail Blazers have had nothing but constant and diehard support from the city of Portland.
That support only grew and expanded outside of the City of Roses.
With the Blazers being the only professional sports franchise of the four major U.S. sports, it’s not surprising that most fan energy seeps into the pinwheel.
Huge and passionate fan bases come with individually amazing fans. Due to Portland being a small market in the NBA world, those fans aren’t highlighted often.
Players who have come through the Blazer organization will tell you they feel the passion. Even players who haven’t been part of the team know of the fan base.
When Gerald Wallace was interviewed after being traded to Portland from Charlotte, he made sure to mention how often he heard about the immaculate support Blazer fans give to their team.
I had the great honor of interviewing four Blazer superfans. Getting to know the most prominent fans in an otherwise lowly covered base nationally made me appreciate what we have here in Portland even more.
The personalities in Rip City are bigger than life, and I’m so glad I was able to dig deeper with the best of them.