Dear Portland State Basketball program,
Hello, my name is Alex. I am a huge sports fan. No, seriously, huge. I will watch any sport. I start SportsCenter loops all the time — you know, when you have SportsCenter on until it repeats, and then you watch it again. But even with all those other sports on out there, basketball is my first love.
My earliest memories are of playing ball with my dad at my old elementary school courts without nets. I used to shoot granny style from the free-throw line because the ball was half my size and that was the only way I could muster up the strength to get it up there. Don’t worry – my shot and size have changed a little bit since then but, most importantly, my love for the game has not.
While basketball may be my first love, a close runner-up is Portland. I have spent the majority of my life here. I was born here, raised here, and go to college smack dab in the heart of Portland.
Add those two things up and it’s not hard to conclude that I am a die-hard Portland Trail Blazers fan. I love the Blazers. I have never met a fan bigger than myself, other than my dad. Trust me – that guy’s crazy. But when I’m not busy screaming my head off for my team, I’m busy screaming my head off for college basketball.
So Vikings basketball, this is where you come in. Portland is my city. Portland State is my school. I did not come here to watch sporting events; I came here to get an education. But seeing the Vikings in the NCAA tournament and watching my two favorite things collide into yet another thing to obsess over? Now, that would be exciting.
There is an obvious lack of fan involvement in the athletic program at this school. However, if there is one thing that can boost student involvement, it’s getting the kind of recognition basketball teams get for making it to the real deal. There is no way that Portland State will become a sports school overnight, and that is certainly not what I want. I just want to be able to say that, as a student, I witnessed the Vikings win their way through the Big Sky conference. Through the Big Sky tournament. And onto the March Madness bracket.
While this task may be daunting, it’s not impossible. The Vikings have been close before. Just ask Jeremiah Dominguez. Even Charles Odum and Chehales Tapscott had a chance a few years ago, if not for the now Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard.
Portland State basketball is far from a joke– there have been a lot of talented players on that roster, and there still are. Even the fandom hasn’t been that bad lately, like when Oregon State came to the Peter W. Stott Center last year. Now that was fun. The crowds are there, it seems like the players have been there, so Coach Geving, can you make it happen?
Give us something to cheer about, Viks. Prove to every student in this school that Portland State has an athletic program. Most importantly put Portland State basketball in the Big Sky and on my bracket, where they deserve to be. I’d bet on you – don’t let me down.
Sincerely,
Alex
