Rip City is in pain right now. There are many strained voices and sore legs from months of protests. Some winning by their beloved Blazers could be healing.
Dear Blazers,
In the 1980s, Detroit was a downtrodden city that struggled economically and fought with murder and drugs. The population was decreasing rapidly and crime was horrendous.
Despite the city’s decline, its professional basketball team, the Detroit Pistons, performed well and won back-to-back NBA championships in 1989 and 1990.
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The former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick said the Pistons’ success during the 1980s was a “tremendous spiritual lift” for the city as reported by the New York Times.
A “spiritual lift” is precisely what the city of Portland needs now.
For 53 days and counting, Portland has had protests. The demonstrations have ranged from peaceful to violent and have been marked by vandalism, arrests, allegations of police brutality and arson according to CNN.
In early July, President Trump sent federal troops out to Portland. In response to criticism for sending out armed forces, he recently tweeted “We are trying to help Portland not hurt it.”
Your city is hurting right now. Winning a championship could help calm tensions and alleviate pain.
No, it will not bring justice to Breonna Taylor or George Floyd.
No, it will not solve police brutality or systematic racism in the United States.
It can, however, raise the platform of the city to help bring more awareness to its issues and the issues for which its people are fighting now.
As I’m sure many of you Portland Trail Blazers know, Portland is notorious for its protests. In the 1990s, President H. W. Bush dubbed the city as “Little Beirut” because of all its unrest.
The unrest continues and winning could help do something about it.
The infamous South African anti-apartheid revolutionary Nelson Mandela talked about the influence of sports in 2000.
"“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where there is only despair.”"
Be that hope for Portland.
Portland Trail Blazers legend Bill Walton often talks about the magic of the 1977 Blazers championship and how great the morale in the city was because of it.
Blazers guard Johnny Davis who played on the 1977 championship team said that after winning “everyone loved everyone” and “it brought the city together”.
Love, unity and sprinkle of some recent inspirational words from your leader Damian Lillard should be the motivation you all need to get it done and help abate some of the suffering in your beloved Rip City.
Warmest regards,
A devoted fan.