Showcasing the strength of Rip City pride

Jake McGrady, aka “Mr. Portland”

You are not a true Trail Blazers fan with a Twitter account until you’ve followed Jake’s alternate persona, Mr. Portland.

When Jake isn’t creating fantastic memes and tweets pertaining to the Trail Blazers, he’s the co-host of Second String Sports.

The podcast, which features a fellow Oregon State graduate alongside Jake, zeroes in and provides any news, takes and (of course) jokes involving Portland. You can listen here.

Mr. Portland has become a staple on NBA Twitter, and he continues to remind us which team has the best fans.

Whether the Blazers are on a roll in the playoffs, or on a terrible losing streak, Jake/Mr. Portland will be there. Either your wounds will be healed with the power of humor, or your confidence in the team will shoot through the roof.

Thanks for being yourself, Jake, and allowing us to interact with the best alternatively personified character in all of Rip City.

What is your first/earliest Blazer-related memory?

I would say my earliest Blazer-related memory would have to be my obsession with young Brandon Roy.

I loved every single about him: his game, his attitude, his calm demeanor. Every Christmas, I would ask for Brandon Roy stuff: shoes, jerseys, posters, figurines, etc.

I remember even trying to imitate his shot when I was playing youth basketball.

What’s your all-time favorite Blazers memory?

Now, as cliché as it is, I would say my all-time favorite basketball memory was the Dame .9 game winner.

[I’m] a sophomore in college at Oregon State, and we were all packed into my friends little one bedroom apartment to watch the game together. I remember how absolutely stressed everyone in that room was leading up to that shot.

[I’m] standing up because I was too nervous to sit down. I damn near couldn’t even watch the play happen.

When Dame hit that shot, we went nuts…like, absolutely insane.

I remember all I could do was scream at the top of my lungs, let out some colorful adult language, and sprint out the apartment at full speed, doing laps around the apartment complex wearing only socks and screaming “RIP CITYYYYYYY.”

What does it mean to be part of Rip City?

For me, being a part of Rip City just means I’m able to connect with all different types of people with completely different interests and personalities, simply because we are passionate about Trail Blazers basketball.

That’s the beauty of fandom here in Portland.

If I’m at a bar and I see someone in a Trail Blazers hat or shirt, I will legitimately start talking to them about the team.

I’ve had some very interesting conversations with complete strangers in some very weird places, solely based on the fact that we were both Rip City fans.

What makes you a unique fan, while also keeping you within the Trail Blazer fan realm?

I would say that I’m a unique fan because I provide a younger perspective, while also sharing the same level of passion for the team as the older diehards.

I may not have been alive for the ’77 championship, but I still live and breathe Rip City basketball every day in my own way.

With my @Mr_Portland account on social media, I have been able to gain a big following of all different types of Trail Blazers fans…from young fans, old fans, new fans, to fans from all different countries.

It’s been pretty amazing to be able to experience and interact/share content with that many different individuals all passionate about the same thing.

How great does it feel to have a popular podcast and an alternate persona revolving around you favorite team?

The feedback that I’ve gotten from the Rip City editions of my “2nd String Sports” podcast has been absolutely incredible. With my following on social media, it’s been amazing to involve Trail Blazers fans each week when recording and releasing a new podcast.

I love getting questions on Twitter and Instagram and being able to address them on the podcast while adding my own sense of humor to it.

There’s no better feeling than releasing a new podcast and being able to interact with so many Blazer fans and discuss their thoughts on the team, the season and anything else that we mentioned while recording.

I remember one little kid messaged me and said that he got sent to detention because he was listening to a Rip City podcast in the back of the classroom through his headphones and kept laughing out loud during quiet time. I respect that.