波特兰越野开拓者，生根洗衣服

Time to open the Blazer's Edge Mailbag once again!

Dave,

我们都知道“体育是一项生意”。在某种程度上，我们都知道我们“为洗衣服生根” - 我们不是球员的球迷，我们是他们穿着这个特殊赛季的制服的球迷。我们的忠诚也很大程度上是任意的。如果几十年前，我的父母在波特兰以外的一个城市找到了工作，那么我就不会成为开拓者的球迷。

And yet, I've never questioned why I root for the Blazers... until this year.

是的,所有这些新的人年轻,才华横溢。They were good bargains, and this is seemingly a smart rebuild. But... I have ZERO attachment to any of them. The team is now comprised of a random collection of players whose names I couldn't match to their faces. And I'm supposed to root for them? I'm supposed to care about their success and development just because they wear the pinwheel? And, chances are, 3/5 of them won't be wearing the pinwheel 3 years from now. So why bother?

我不知道发生了什么，但是这种特殊的重建使我感到烦恼。一生成为顽固的一生之后，我遇到了生存危机。也许是因为我真的很喜欢去年球队的球员。现在，好像他们在百事可乐罐上拍了可乐标签一样，我只是期望与之相伴。

你是谁,也许,最even-keeled super-fan in the world. I'm curious as to how you navigate your passionate support with that nibbling rational knowledge that "This is all a product that I'm being sold."

Thanks!

Tom

What an incredible question. Wow. Let's take it in parts.

"Rooting for laundry" is an interesting concept. I agree that we all do it. The old adage is that fans root for teams, media people root for players. Fans want their team to win; media folks know who's a nice guy and who's not. The perceptions differ.

然而，格言被夸大了。自从Blazermania的开始以来，波特兰球迷以个人为荣。他们想知道谁穿着制服。他们想关心，谈论团队合作，慈善机构以及好人。越狱时代的“反协会”与场上的表现无关，与球员以粉丝可以或不会与之相关的方式行事的一切关系。

对温暖和模糊的根深蒂固的渴望波特兰开拓者粉丝让您的中段特别哀叹。你是对的。您将在2015-16赛季中度过一半，试图与数字统一的面孔相匹配。开拓者也知道这一点。这就是为什么他们的免费后机构新闻发布会集中Damian Lillardrather than other free agents or trade acquisitions. They sold him as the face of the franchise, the head of the posse, the relatable guy with equal fondness for Portland and his family.

好消息是，在这个社交媒体淹没时代，您将很快了解Lillard的新队友。您将学习名字和故事。这些制服将填写。专营权将确保它。

坏消息是，这种重建并不是所有这些球员作为开拓者。在接下来的几年中，您将不得不学习更多新名称。也许更多。开拓者队可能直到2019年或以后才真正被定居像去年这样的阵容……如果这种化身确实定居。

Given that, I can understand where a long-term, diehard fan would be experiencing angst. Dial it back to '77 and Portland had a championship dynasty in the making, only to devolve into a world of Petur Gudmundssons and T.R. Dunns after Bill Walton's foot gave out. As that mess got sortedKiki Vandewegheand Jim Paxson gave way to the famous Clyde Drexler teams. The Otis Thorpe/Chris Dudley era followed before Bob Whittsitt signed and traded for entire rosters full of players who needed no introduction. When that didn't work out the Jailblazers took hold, followed by the 2006 Renaissance. When injuries scuttled that too, claimingBrandon RoyandGreg Oden, another rebuild progressed. Things went better than expected for a couple years, bringing hope of stability, only to have the floor collapse under the franchise this summer. Now they're in recycle mode, sporting a roster more fragmented and speculative than any since 2005 (with no Oden/Roy/拉马库斯·奥尔德里奇（Lamarcus Aldridge）triumvirate in the offing to redeem them this time).

I spell this out because some folks will respond to your struggle with derision, accusing you of not being a fan because you have these feelings. I find it hard to imagine a Blazers fan whohasn'twrestled with these feelings in one form or another. I can understand why the prospect of another rebuild seems as attractive as eating antifreeze-soaked cucumbers. I can understand why no amount of talk about promises and plans will cure that.

您以此结束了问题：

我很好奇您如何通过那种嘲笑的理性知识来浏览自己的热情支持，即“这都是我要出售的产品。”

NBA篮球和波特兰开拓者都是品牌，旨在出售给您。全世界在那个真理上铺了几层衣服，以增加神秘和合法性，但它仍然是过程的核心。我想我首先意识到人们开始暗示克莱德·德雷克斯勒（Clyde Drexler）可能不是最勤奋的练习者或充分利用他的能力。我反对它，因为那不符合他投射的超过寿命的超级巨星。同时，我已经足够老了，足以意识到这是真的。对Los Angeles Lakers在2000年代初，联盟迫切争取另一个Bulls- 像王朝一样，击倒了我最后的童心般的遗迹。我无法确定做了多少工作，但是显然，对联盟国家知名度有益的是比纯篮球更重要。

The situation has multiplied a hundredfold now, as each player is becoming their own brand. Calling Damian Lillard a basketball player doesn't begin to cover it. He's being marketed everywhere...he knows that he's product and he's savvy enough to take full advantage of it. LaMarcus Aldridge was never as adept at it, but we saw that reputation determines truth as the stories about him in Portland changed from glowing (while he was here) to bitter and disparaging (after his departure). The only real truth is that there isn't one. Truth isn't the foundation...selling product is.

Even so, we happily choose to be marketed to every day. It not only drives our public lives, it improves them. People rail against internet ads and rightly so, but frankly one of the neatest revolutions in the past decade has been targeted ads catering to personal taste. I want to know when a product I've watched for a long time goes on sale. I want to know everything Newegg.com is doing. It's marketing but I enjoy it.

我也很喜欢NBA产品，即使我知道它正在向我销售，并且可能受到该营销的影响。只要比赛令人兴奋，所有30支球队都有公平的机会参加比赛，还有什么还需要什么？我不希望看到英雄。关于悲惨失败的故事可能与胜利胜利的故事一样有趣。只要您不够愚蠢，可以将整个世界的观点置于他们的观点上，那么营销谎言就可以像真相一样有趣。

If I order a vacuum cleaner off of Amazon and they send me a toothbrush, I've got a legit complaint. If I get the vacuum I ordered and it's not quite as powerful and life-changing of an experience as I anticipated, that's a learning experience. The vacuum still sucks up dirt, right?

The Blazers may also suck this year, but frankly writing about the upcoming season is going to be far more interesting than writing about the old core would have been had they returned. The ways in which the organization is attempting to sell the rebuild are fascinating, as has been the media response. This all centers around product, but it's a good story, if not a good product. What more can you ask?

If Trail Blazers history has taught us anything, it's that a new dawn inevitably breaks after the dark night. Not only is that still worth holding on for, if you play your cards right negotiating the night can be plenty of fun.

我们只有一个bit更多的空间，所以让我们介绍这个单一的奇迹。

Dave.

毫无疑问，“ Deez Nuts”在对唐纳德·特朗普和希拉里·克林顿的总统意见民意调查中获得了合法的投票。如果他获得提名，谁是他的竞选伴侣？

J

I'll throw this open for the comment section, but my vote goes to Datass Do.

Send your mailbag questions to blazersub@gmail.com. We're always happy to get them.

--Dave blazersub@gmail.com /@davedeckard/@Blazersedge