- The 100th Post -

The 100th post.  It kind of snuck up on me.  Really, there was only two things it could've been about; I either go the Murad route or I go the Batum route.

I choose Batum.

Really, when a person becomes a player collector, the whole world kind of flips upside down.  That sounds silly, but if we weren't a bit 'touched' to begin with, we wouldn't spend our entertainment budgets on pictures of athletes.

It's the same mentality for people who collect vintage sets.  It's a complusion to complete - to have order.  As well, it's an avenue to have a tangible connection to the past.  I remember when I tracked down several of the '63 Dodgers (the year my dad was born) and how I felt an instant connection to the team my grandfather always rooted for.  Holding those cards as they rolled in from the mail, I felt in some way that I was holding a piece of my family history in front of me. 

And in a sense, contemporary player collections are the same way.  We complete, and create order, because it's a conscious act to keep a connection to what will one day be our past.  Some day my girls will hold my Batum collection - or my grandkids if I don't make my daughters become nuns - and they'll know that holding that Blazers history in their hands is really akin to having a part of their family history.  They'll remember sitting with their papa eating popcorn and yelling when the three ball went up from the corner.  They'll remember what life was like when they were children.  And hopefully I'm giving them a great childhood worth recalling.

In so many ways, I mark my life by the sports I watch.  The father daughter dance I went to last week was the first event I've ever had like that with my daughters.  Ten years from now, I won't be able to say what the date was of that event.  But my daughters and I can look at that picture and I'll know that it was a Friday that the Blazers were playing at home against the Celtics.  And I'll remember that because it was the first game of the year that I wasn't able to watch the tip off.

Is it crazy?  Probably.  But we all do it.  How many times have you had a conversation with your grandfather and the only reason they can recall a specific year or date is because of what happened in sports that day?  It happens to us all the time.  We measure our lives as much by the sports we watch as we do anything else.

And in a way, being a player collector is just a much more involved form of that.  I remember my birthday last year was the last preseason game of the year.  And it was Batum's last game before the team shut him down for surgery.  I'll remember that.  Because when I got the news, my NBA season just looked bleak from then on out.  One of the worst birthday presents ever.  Ever.

My daughters know who Nicolas Batum is.  In the same way we watched Michael Jordan as children, my kids watch the Blazers and know the players as well as most.  So in that way, as it's always been with children and their fathers - when you don't want to talk about work or school or bills or the day's harder points, you can still sit down at about 7pm and root for your favorite player.  You agree when he was fouled and it wasn't called.  You groan with the missed free throw.  You bond and you interact - and all of a sudden, when you're not looking, a game that you have no part in - and a player you may never personally know - changes your dynamic in your home.  And for at least three hours you're in agreement with those around you.

So this is the 100th post.  I'm glad I've kept this up this long.  It's really been a gratifying experience.  I've found several new friends with incredibly similar interests.  And I've found a new buddy who likes good beer, the Blazers and Star Wars in TJ.  I've made trades with Madding and Offy, people I'd never have known about had it not been for this project.  I've received correspondence from Austrailia and Mexico and a whole host of other places.  And each day my inbox brings a new connection.

Here's to more posts!  And thanks to everybody for their readership.  I truly appreciate it.

Here's Batum's latest greatest highlight so that I might mark the occasion properly.  Our house erupted when this happened.  Even though we lost the game, it was classic Batum all the way.



Oh, and my piece of history for missing the tip off against Boston.  I think it was worth the sacrifice.

Yeah.  They're worth it.