With the highly anticipated USA vs. Spain game coming up we Portland fans face a difficult choice:

Who the heck do we root for?

Team Redeem (with no Portland players)?

Spain?

Rudy?

The patriot in me says, "it's wrong not to root for the US!"

The Portlander in me says, "who cares about the US. It's all about Por-lan and Rudy"

Whoever you root for, I'm hoping for at least a great game.

So who are you rooting for? Why?

So, my fancy new Rudy jersey showed up to my doorstep today. (in Seattle)

I wore it all day today, and without thinking wore it out to dinner with a friend of mine. As we were eating a man walks by with a Green colored t-shirt.

All it says is, "Sonics"

He gave me the saddest look in the world. I sad, "I'm really sorry man"

"It's OK, just don't rub it in"

"Hey, if it makes you feel better, I'm from Portland. And if you want to jump on the bandwagon, you're more than welcome!"

"Yeah, alot of people are, it might be the only option"

The guy was so sad I almost felt bad for showing off my new Rudy gear.

Nah....

edit: picture added. terrible pic, I covered up the "5". I also haven't shaved in a week, but Rudy doesn't shave...why should I?

Here's a piece I just sent to the Seattle PI....encourage them to run it! We have a opportunity to really increase Blazer Nation....

------

With Clay Bennet and his Raiders settling with the city Wednesday. Sonic fan's are left wondering, "What now?"

There are two obvious options:

We can choose to be bitter for the next few years until Seattle lands a new team (which could be a while) or we could choose to root for the team and Durant in OKC (traitor!).

There must be a better option, right?

There is.

I'm talking of course, about rooting for the Portland Trailblazers.

What!? Blasphemy, you cry!

Blasphemy because Blazer fans love all-star and former UW standout, Brandon Roy?

Blasphemy because Blazer fans love their leader, former Sonic's star and coach, Nate McMillen?

Blasphemy because they think Martell Webster, former Seattle Prep star, is going to have a breakout season?

Blasphemy because the owner is none other than Mr. Checkbook himself, Seattle's Paul Allen?

There's no Blasphemy there. Just a team that has more ties to Seattle than the current Seattle roster!

So, here's the deal. Sure it sucks that we are losing the Sonics. But there is a group of quality, up and coming young men down in Portland that are starting something special. #1 Pick Greg Oden is healthy and ready (and he endorsed Obama!). We have a crazy sharpshooting Spaniard named Rudy Fernandez (YouTube him, seriously) coming over.

It's truly an exciting time to be a Blazer fan.

And they aren't an exclusive club.

Did you know that the majority of Portlanders absolutely LOVE the Seahawks? Heck, even the Mariner's are the favorite MLB team down south.

The Blazers are the only professional franchise in Portland. They are fanatical about them.  It's time to jump on the bandwagon down south. Maybe we could even convince Paul Allent to have a few Blazer home games in Key Arena.

We could choose to be bitter, or even choose to root for Durant and company in OKC. But why? We've got a quality team just 3 hours away that would welcome us with open arms. And in a few years, probably some championship rings as well.

Scott Krager is a freelance web developer and writer in Seattle, WA and avid Blazer and (former) Sonics fan. Scott grew up in Portland before moving to Seattle in 2003 to attend college at Seattle Pacific University.