Portland
Trailblazers

Mario and his team had their work cut out for them each night watching over the “Big Show” — the nightly Portland Trailblazers game at the Moda Center here in Portland.

They’d watch over the graphic needs of the Jumbotron, advertising throughout the halls and restaurants, the nightly game guide and all the promotional goodies that the remote control blimp thingie would drop on the crowd, or that Blaze the mascot would shoot out of a t-shirt cannon!

I got to maybe a game a year…and of course I root for the Blazers, but shit…I just love seeing it all up close. And thinking about how improbable each kid’s path to get to that professional spot was, how many people they support with their success, and this: How one ankle crunch can bring it all crashing down in a second.

You are watching the American Dream out there on some level, and I just like watching those athletes and their effortless talent on display. How graceful they are, up and down the court. That’s the stuff I think about when I get to go to a Blazers game.