Okay, sure, the Brooklyn Nets are the worst team in the NBA, but they've won a few games this season and it wouldn't have been totally out of character for the Blazers to botch this one. But they didn't. They held strong for the second time in a row and even though it wasn't the prettiest win of the season, or even a pretty win, it was a win, and we'll take it, Blazers 130, Nets 116.
The big news of the night was that it was Blaze the mascot's birthday. This brought several other team mascots to town, Moondog from Cleveland, Rumble the Bison from OKC, Hugo the Hornet from Charlotte. All the big names, really. I had so many questions for these characters, unanswered mysteries about their trade. Like does a mascot actually travel, or is it just an empty suit shipped from city to city? Do they all hang out together and party in their costumes? Would I find answers to such queries? Read on to find out!
The game stayed fairly close throughout. Neither team was playing great defense, but the Blazers offense was slightly better. Once again The Bosnian Beast (Jusuf Nurkic) put in a good showing with 17 points 5 rebounds and a handful of sweet assists. Fans are really getting behind him. Here's a photo survey of the crowd on this Saturday nigh.:
This kid wore earphones to protect him for the huge roar of the crowd:
Hey look, it's Madison Rowley, World Beard Champion! Fashinonable Portland peeps know that red and black plaid counts as official Blazers gear. Same with beards.
Here's a snappy family!
This dude was from "The Tri-cities area, which means Ridgefield, Washington, apparently. He was wearing a Brooklyn jersey because he is friends with the parents of Joe Harris, a Brooklyn Net:
And hey, look it's Carson Ellis and Colin Meloy, taking a break from art, music and bestselling writing to cheer on their home team:
Here's a closer look at the truly badass jacket Carson designed for Colin (Hey Trailblazers PR, you should be getting on this, just saying):
Okay, so how did the game go? Great. The Blazers maintained control and CJ McCollum had a particularly fine night, as did Al Farouq Aminu, who scored a season high 23 points. But what you really want to know is what was up with the mascots, right? I stalked them much of the night as they dashed from one exit tunnel to the other, tossing out T-shirts and yukking it up with the fans. Here's Blitz the Seahawk and Benny the Beaver (OSU) looking tough:
The Blazers seemed to have things wrapped up by the 4th quarter so I made my way into the top secret "Locker Room C" where I found a room full of guys covered in sweat, their giant costume heads off and at their sides, and their furry outerwear pulled down to their waists. It's hard work running around with so much insulation! I approached Blitz the Seashawk and was given a fairly cool reception. He wouldn't tell me his name. "Sorry, we don't give that out," he said.
Rumble the Bison was a little friendlier, but he seemed confused as to why I had so many questions. I don't think he appreciated whatever I was insinuating when I asked if he traveled with the costume from Oklahoma or if they just found a person to fill it in each town. Mascots are people, I learned. They have irreplaceable skills. You can't just fill that costume with any fool and expect things to go right.
Finally Moondog the Bulldog, from Cleveland, called me over and explained that mascots are a tight knit group. Most of them know eachother and they prefer to keep their identities secret, like superheroes. He made me erase the pictures I'd taken which showed them with their headgear off. I felt badly for having breached their brotherhood. "It's okay man, you didn't know," said Moondog.
I wanted to ask them if little kids ever got too aggressive and attacked them during the games, if they ever had to drop the hammer and call security. But the Moda center staff arrived then with armloads of airguns designed to fire T-shirts deep into the crowd. The mascots toweled off, suited up, and each grabbed a gun, ready for action. On the way out one of the staff pulled me aside to make sure I hadn't taken any pictures of their faces. I told him their secrets were safe with me!
The Blazers now sit at 9th place in the Western conference, 1 and 1/2 games behind the Denver Nuggets for the 8th and final playoff spot. It's looking like it'll be an exciting finish to the season as this team has not given up. In fact, they seem revived with the addition of big man Jusuf Nurkic. You've still got about a month to catch them, folks. Go Rip City!