Portlandia

I don't actually like the show, Portlandia, but since I was in Portland this weekend, it seemed like an appropriate post title. Yup.

A few weeks ago, Roland and I decided it was time to figure out which Blazers game to visit this year. With the season ending in April and our respective schedules already quite hectic, we bought tickets for the March 3rd game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The T-Wolves are an exciting, young team with some very talented and entertaining players. Within a few years, they're going to be one of the best in the West as some of the older teams like the Spurs, Lakers, and Mavs drop off in production. The Blazers were supposed to be one of the young up-and-coming teams along with Seattle (I mean Oklahoma City) and perhaps now the Clippers.

In any case, we thought it'd be a fun game to go to. So Friday, I took the train down to Portland, and Roland picked me up at the train station. We went grocery shopping and bought food to cook that night. Wanna guess what we made? Yup, pasta.

It was a fun night of eating, enjoying some drinks, hanging out with his dental school friends, and playing NBA 2K12. Compared to the many years ago when we first started playing NBA video games against each other, the graphics were simply unreal. I can't even explain it. Roland's place is pretty sweet too.

Not surprisingly, I didn't win a single game against him, even playing with the Blazers while he played with the worst teams in the league. The last game last night was closest...I was up by 16 early...and lost by 3. Tuhrrible.

The highlight of the weekend, though, was supposed to be the game itself. It wasn't. In fact, the game was atrocious. The Blazers gave up 40 points in the first quarter...at least we got Chalupas, but I hate losing. So even our post-game Taco Bell run wasn't as satisfying as it should've been (though the joy of junk food is always ephemeral).

Our poor game experience was made better, though, by the chance to meet Blazers legend, Terry Porter. My boss at Intrepid found out I was going to the game, and since TP is a coach for Minnesota (and we outfitted a few of his AAU teams with basketball uniforms), Rob offered me the chance to deliver a few pairs of shorts to TP in person. 

What should've been an easy drop-off turned into a somewhat stressful endeavor as I didn't have a pass/credential to get into the Rose Garden, even though Rob had given security my name. Apparently, they don't keep a list, so we're not sure what happened. In any case, I called my friend, Bjorn, who I thought would know a thing or two about credentials, since he has done work with the Blazers and also has gotten media credentials before.

We ended up waiting for an hour (total) to meet TP and had just missed him pulling into the parking lot by the loading docks (where the players/teams enter) by 60 seconds. Meanwhile, Roland's car accidentally blocked Nic Batum's car as he was getting in. And shortly after moving his car, LaMarcus Aldridge rolled up with his music blaring. Roland said he saw Jamal Crawford pull up too.

As we waited outside the gate looking like some desperate fans (even though I have come to lose much of the awe-factor in meeting quote-unquote famous people since perhaps my first year of college), the Timberwolves team bus pulled up. Shortly after, the security team brought us to command central, where we proceeded to wait another 20-25 minutes.

Standing next to the front door, we watched as Raymond Felton walked through the players' door, wearing a checkered green dress shirt, blue jeans, and green shoes. A few minutes later, Gerald Wallace arrived with his bent down as he was texting on his phone. He looked up just before he walked in and gave us an ever-so-slight head nod. 

Pretty interesting. NBA life does not look as glamorous as I had once imagined when I was an elementary student with dreams of reaching the NBA as a basketball player. We watched as Michael Beasley walked up the ramp with his hoodie on, headphones plugged in his ears, and sporting the general mood of one who would rather be anywhere but going into an NBA arena to play a basketball game.

Finally, though, we got the chance to meet TP as he finished up a media thing and jogged down the hallway. We chatted for about 30 seconds, and he thanked me for getting him the shorts. I joked that Rob would fire me if I didn't get a picture with him, so he said he'd take one because he didn't want me to get fired. Haha.

After that, he ran off, and Roland and I headed home to eat some pre-game snacks and then head back to the Rose Garden via public transportation. Worked out perfectly. We got to the game right on time, and immediately, the Blazers were in a hole. They played catch up the rest of the game, and by the third quarter, it was clear we weren't going to win.

All in all, it was a good trip though, and I had fun catching up with Roland. I hadn't seen him since before I left for Germany in 2010, so it was good to hang out and just kick it over the weekend. I made it back to Seattle this morning and promptly had three hours of meetings. Back to work.

Next trip will be to Chicago in a few weeks, and I've got tickets to a Bulls vs. Raptors game, so that should plenty of fun. Plus I've never been to the Windy City before, so it will be a few days of fun exploring.

Till then,
Sam