The Blazers have a long history of really awful public relations campaigns. My favorite was the year they shot a series with Blazers bursting into people’s houses to dunk from chandelliers and so forth. Probably would’ve gone over better if the Blazer players featured didn’t have rap sheets. (Though I think there was a Derek Anderson ad, and as far as I know, he’s a straight-up kinda guy.) The spots proved incredibly insensitive to the racial politics of the day as well: Tall, muscular black man forces his way into the home of a middle-aged white woman…so he can scream and pretend to dunk from her light fixture? How that got off the advertising agency drawing board, I’ll never know.
So anyway, I was tuned into Blazer-Spurs game last night for a bit because the 8th playoff spot is something of a horse race, and I find the Blazers a lot less objectionable now that Rasheed Wallace and Bonzi Wells are abusing officials in a different city. I swear to God that the new Blazer community service PSA sounds like the story they’re reading to grade school kids is “Shroom the Doobie.” I’m sure what I’m hearing is colored by the fact that you could arrest about half the team for marijuana possession on any non-game weekend. I just thought it was hysterical, that’s all.
As for the game itself, well, we’re clearly not in San Antonio’s league. If we beat Denver tonight, lose again to the Spurs on Monday, then beat the Lakers, there’s a decent shot that we can make the playoffs and get bounced in the first round. This is what NBA fever has come to in the Rose City.
UPDATE: Erin just reminded me of another of those old Blazer PR ads. Ruben Patternson rings the doorbell of a house and, when the door opens, he rips of his warm-ups so he can start playing hoops. That’s right. A convicted sex offender comes to your door and tears off his pants. Brilliant team marketing.