How do you root for a team that use to be a rival? What happens to a fan if they are left without a team? Ever since that coffee guy sold the Seattle Supersonics to the investors from Oklahoma, I have found myself wondering why do I even care about basketball anymore? I have been unable to hit the hardwood for over 4 years and couldn't run the length of the court if my life depended on it. (Mainly because it is 105 at night down here, whew it is hot)

Growing up, the Seattle Supersonics,not that team now called the Thunder (still a lame name), were always fun to watch. While I was too young to really remember the championship year, I was still able to see players like Gus Williams, Jack Sikma, and Downtown Freddy Brown tear up the court. I remember going to games and watching these guys play as far back as I can remember.

Now that the coffee guy, and yes I am still boycotting his store, sold the team it has left a void in my life from just after football season until spring training starts. In order to fill that vacancy, I have half heartedly started rooting for the Portland Trailblazers but it still does not feel right. In the coming sections, I will look at the pros and cons and see if I can make any sense out of this madness.

While rooting for Portland is still weird, I have found several things about the team that make it enticing. The team makeup is taking on a lot of characteristics of those old Seattle teams. Paul Allen owning the team promises to ensure that the team will have Northwest roots for years to come. With all of the time, effort, and money he has put into making the Seattle community prosperous, he deserves some respect from a fan point in my opinion. (Despite that blob he calls artwork in downtown)

One of the biggest aquisitions that the Blazers made, in order to lure former Sonic fans, was the signing of Mr. Sonic himself, Nate McMillan. Nate was and still is a proud member of Sonic history. Watching him run the floor in his prime was something special. He was a second coach out on the floor and it got him ready for his first stint as coach in Seattle. While coaching in Seattle, he led us to a couple of playoff appearances and seemed destined to coach them for years. I could not believe it when he first left the Sonic organization to head down the I-5 corridor.

Brandon Roy is another individual that has me interested in the Blazers. Brandon was a standout player at the Udub during his college career. He left a huge mark in Husky history with the run that they made in the tourney during his senior season. He has, also, blossomed into a solid professional that will only get better with time. He carries himself with class and plays the game the right way. Whether or not I become a Blazer fan will not change my opinion on Brandon.  I will always follow his career and might even purchase a jersey eventually. 

Come on! Seriously! It still is Portland! The Jailblazers! Isiah Rider, Clyde the Glide, Bill Walton, Maurice Lucas, Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudemire all leave lasting memories of games played between the two teams at the height of the rivalry. Back when both teams were good, the hatred between the two teams was intense.  Whenever they would play, the media outlets for both cities would come alive with talk of who had the better team.

Rooting for Portland is against everything I knew growing up.  It would be just as bad as becoming a Lakers fan and riding that bandwagon.  That is what it feels like actually.  bandwagon riding on the coat tails of an up and coming team.  Part of me wants to hold out hope that the NBA will realize the mistake it made in allowing Oklahoma to swipe our team out from under us and send us a franchise somewhere down the road.  If not, I don't know what I am going to do. 

Yeah right! While I am confused over becoming a Portland fan or not, I know for a fact that I will never become a fan of the Thunder. I actually read the latest scores just in the hope that they lost again so that I can relish in the fact that they bought themselves a troubled franchise. While they might have hope in a couple of years, they will have to maintain their fan base in Oklahoma because this Sonic fan will never cross over.

Usually when you write out the pros and cons of something, you are able to figure out which way you should lean. After writing out my pros and cons, I am still left without a decisive decision either way. I guess I will have to wait it out a couple more years and see what my gut tells me in the long run. Until than....Go Seahawks!