As those of you in the Portland area may or (somehow) may not know, our beloved Portland Trail Blazers are gearing up for their first trip to post-season - otherwise known as "playoff" - action in six long, hard, barren years. Indeed, it's been lean times around the city lately, and the anguish of loyal fans has been palpable in the streets of Portland this last half-decade.

Oh, right, I'm thinking of a different city. Over the last six playoff-free years, no one in this city has given a fat flying fuck about the team, and now all of a sudden everyone's trampling over old ladies and children in wheelchairs to be the next on the bandwagon. Bemused as I am by this sudden interest - it does after all make my job that much more interesting - I'm also thoroughly annoyed with it. Whatever happened to loyalty? Four, five years ago, I was spending my meager earnings on $10 rafter tickets to watch an uninspired Blazer team - under the watchful supervision of their probation officers - lose in front of 4,500 fans on a good day. What was the rest of the city doing then? Hell if I know, but it most certainly wasn't watching the Blazers.

Sure, everyone had an excuse; there's always "all the players are criminals," or "they just aren't that exciting to watch," et cetera. Bullshit. Your team is your team, regardless of whether or not they're employing multiple felons or losing a lot [FULL DISCLOSURE NOTICE: Burson is, as you all well know, a rabid Oakland Raiders fan, so he's used to felonious teams that dog it every game]. My point is not that you the fan always need to condone what your team is doing. Just show some semblance of pride and loyalty in the bad times, and celebrate during the good. If there's one thing that the rally at Pioneer Courthouse Square today showed me, it's that those who HAVEN'T been there all along celebrate much harder than those who have.

While I may be somewhat put off by the flagrant acts of bandwagon-jumping occurring all around the city, I live by one rule: embrace, don't hate. So God bless, Portland. Drink up on these good times like a Polack drinks up vodka. Soak in the playoff aura like a contraceptive sponge soaks up... well, you get the idea. Whether you've been there from day one or not, live it up. When they start losing again, however, I BETTER still see your ass at the games.