The BLC -- also known as the Blazers Ladies Club -- slowly began forming over the course of the 2009-2010 season. The members (Anna, Christina, Cindy, Debra, Kristin, and Michelle) are a group of women who share a common passion for the game of basketball and a love of the hometown team, the Portland Trail Blazers. Most of the members began conversing in the game time chats on the iamatrailblazersfan website. Over the course of the past two seasons, the women have come together to attend/watch games, go to tweet ups, and get pre-game dinners among other things. The purpose of the BLC is to come together and discuss basketball. The BLC is a chance for these ladies to discuss the game and the team that they love most in a male dominated sports world where female fans are not often taken seriously. We plan on taking turns blogging on behalf of the BLC as well as create podcasts. First we want to share what the BLC means to each of the ladies. Enjoy!
Anna:
When I think of the BLC and its creation, all I can think of is a group of ladies who love the Blazers and love talking about them! It's so wild thinking of how we all met through Blazer events and clicked immediately. Each of us provides different opinions and points of views on everything from draft selections, roster rotations, trade ideas and so much more. Thus offering a well-rounded opportunity for great Blazer discussions. Who would've thought at first glance, that a group of women, who met through game day chats, tweet-up events and games, would end up forming an official club. Not just any club either, but a club comprised of some of the biggest fans I know, talking and blogging about the best team in the NBA!.
Christina:
I grew up playing basketball and watching the Trail Blazers. For the longest time, the only female “fans” I met were jersey chasers who didn’t even know what a lay up was. Then I stumbled upon the iamatrailblazersfan website and got started in the chat during games. It was there that I first started chatting with Debra, Anna, and Kristin. It was refreshing to meet true female fans who weren’t fair weather fans or jersey chasers. The first time I met Debra and Anna was at the first play off game in 2010 that they showed at the RG and it took off from there. These women are amazing to be around -- they are all intelligent, funny, caring, and basketball loving/knowing. While the team might be the thing that brought us all together, it is the friendship that has formed that keeps us together. So many people jump ship when the team is struggling and it quickly becomes annoying but I know I can always count on reason and sanity with this group of women.
Cindy:
I'm not like the others and I didn't first meet everyone in the Blazer chat. I tagged along with Kristin to the second tweetup and I think that's when we first met Debra in person. I met Anna when she and Kristin took their first road trip last year and then met Christina and Michelle at different BLC get togethers. I enjoy the BLC because it is a group of female Blazers fans who are interested in the sport, the team and the game and are positive fans. It is fun to share my interests with this great group of ladies.
Debra:
I started participating in the Blazers chat room on a Blazers game day last season. At the time, I did not have any women friends who cared about sports or the Blazers like I did. I was particularly impressed by a few women in the chat room who knew the game, understood the game and who I could learn from. I remember throwing it out in the chat a couple of times about meeting face to face to watch a game together....it didn't get legs but I kept trying. I had the most opportune moment at my first Blazers tweet up....it was then I first met Kristin and her mom, Cindy. I connected with them immediately. Which to this day, I continue to be impressed by Kristin's knowledge of the game...and Cindy’s wonderful memories of the Blazers. I found out from the chat that Christina worked at my former employer (amazing how small the city is). Also a regular in the chat room was a girl who made me laugh...she was young but her fandom was off the charts. Anna I want some of that, I thought!! We were then lucky to have Michelle join us...Thank you Anna... With the continued chat time, tweet time, and meeting face to face for games, dinners together...I felt a part of something special. Women who might not otherwise meet except for basketball and the love of our team, but whose company I enjoyed being around. I believe (but I might be challenged) that I first used the acronym BLC in a tweet. (140 The RULE of the Tweet) We have varying opinions but we are united with our love for the sport of basketball and especially our team. I feel I have some true friends. We are getting to know more about each other outside of basketball which makes it even more special. Who knew that signing on to a chat room on game day could turn out to be so nice.
Kristin:
The BLC originated from the live chats on the Blazers website during games. Several of us were in the game chats on a regular basis and got to know each other (Debra, Anna, Christina and myself). My mom and I got a chance to meet Debra in person at a Blazers tweet up last season. The person who was supposed to come to the game with us had backed out at the last minute so we invited Debra to sit with us. The rest of the BLC started attending tweet ups as well, and it's those events that helped spark our friendships, paired with our earlier interactions on the game day chats. We started getting together more often, and even had a pre-season dinner during team training camp in 2010. The BLC is great because it gives all of us a chance to share our passion for the Blazers. While we can talk Blazers and sports with the best of them, women are sometimes looked down upon when it comes to discussing sports. We are able to talk basketball without feeling like we have to prove something. The BLC has developed great camaraderie. We attend games together, meet up before games for dinner, and continue to enjoy the game chats on the Blazers website. I've found some great friends and have the Blazers, twitter, and now the BLC to thank for that.
Michelle:
I had a love-hate relationship with basketball when I was growing up. I started watching the Portland Trail Blazers when I was young and playing basketball myself. Then I got a coach that made me just despise the sport; I stopped watching the Blazers but reluctantly continued playing for a couple more years. During the 2009-2010 season, Anna asked me if I wanted to go to the fan fest and I decided to go ahead. As soon as I got there I fell in love with the atmosphere, the fans, the players, everything about it. I was hooked from then on. Anna then introduced me to Christina and Debra in line to get into the RG to watch the first playoff game of 2010. Later, I was introduced to Kristin and Cindy at a Tweet-up. All staying in touch through twitter and forming a friendship the BLC was formed. The BLC is full of the most amazing women, who not only love the Blazers as much as I do but they are great to be around.
Now that you know a bit about the BLC, we hope you will join us on this journey as we blog and podcast to help the Blazer fandom grow and to do our favorite thing: Talk Blazers!