Some Portlanders are old enought to remember when local athletic superlatives were regular occurrences. Yes, the Trailblazers did win an NBA title back in ‘77, and Portland State football success filled the ol’ Civic Stadium stands under the regimes of Mouse Davis and Pokey Allen in the ‘70's and ‘80's. It’s been a long sports drought since, until the past month.

Now we can look forward to a renaissance to begin this fall with the return of Mouse accompanied by coaching compatriot Jerry Glanville at PSU and a Blazer resurgence with the #1 draft pick. Sadly, our City of Roses blew an ideal opportunity to upgrade its core stadium and welcome major league baseball. Minor league baseball and soccer teams are no substitute for attracting crowds to what is now called PGE Park ( we well remember when major league soccer filled ol’ Civic for the Timbers and attracted World Cup stars as performers).

Our P-town politicians have failed to recognize the value of big time sports spectacles. Mayor Vera Katz played footsie with the weak to stymie a true stadium expansion. Her successor Tom Potter runs and hides from any association with sports progress...and there’s certainly no sports sympathy engendered among current city councilmen. Thank the heavens for a PSU administration that finally embraced athletics as a revenue opportunity rather than an expense.

We note that an out-of-town billionaire nearly destroyed the post-championship Blazers through gross mismangement. Finally, we seem to have a talented young manager in Kevin Pritchard, who, appropriately enough, earned his player chops at that basketball Valhalla, the University of Kansas. Gone are the troubled days of GM’s BobWhitsitt and Steve Patterson...and a majority of the players who earned our team the sobriquet "Jail Blazers." Pritchard and crew seem to understand the original Blazers’ management stance of hiring athleticism and good character in each player package.

Bow down sports fans, to a new era!!

© 2007  Oregon Magazine