At the Trail Blazers' Player Palooza, I found Rob Free-Throw Guy standing beside the Mechanical Bull Riding activity, talking with a group of people. A kind stranger from that group offered to take this photo of the two of us after I explained to him who I am, his Facebook friend up in Section 333, front row. Cool to meet him. Soon I'll have some photos that I took of him in action when an opposing player approaches the free throw line. He and a teeming horde of ThunderStix wielding Blazers' fans have the same goal--distract the player into missing those shots.
Let me explain the two buttons I'm wearing. The small, round, golden-colored one reminds me of an exploding firework. That's for what I want to happen after every game--fireworks for a job well done by the Trail Blazers. The other one, the I Heart Mom one is how I take my little Mama to the games with me. Ever since we moved to Portland in June, 2006, the two of us had watched a whole lotta Blazers' games on TV. After she died in January, 2011, I decided to take advantage of a special on being a season-ticket-holder that I heard about one night in April while I watched another game on TV, broadcast by Mike Rice and Mike Barrett--see yesterday's post for a photo of me with the two of them, so sweet! Anyway, after I got myself set up for the 2011-2012 season (the one with the strike, doggone it), I found this button for sale on Etsy, at a extremely good price, so I bought it with the intention of wearing it on special occasions. Nothing's more special than having Mama with me at the games--I wear both buttons all day if the game day is a work day. On weekends I put them on right before I head out to catch the bus. At the arena, it's great to tap that button now and then during the game and to think about her and how much she enjoyed watching the Blazers play. I miss her less, even if it just for a few seconds at a time.