As the Portland Trail Blazers prepare to take on the Houston Rockets tonight, we want to put a simple request before you. The turn of the year means the coming of our annual Blazer’s Edge Night event, the time when Blazers fans send kids who otherwise couldn’t participate in person to see an actual Blazers game. We get requests from teachers, counselors, principals, coaches, and community workers who work with children and youth in underserved areas. Even though these kids know and love the Blazers, actually getting to a game is beyond them. Lack of funds might be one reason, but there are more. What about family infrastructure? Is mom or dad available to go on a given night? How about transportation?
Whether it’s economic, interpersonal, or public infrastructure that’s missing, the reality is that it’s really hard for these kids to go under normal circumstances. For them, the Blazers and the Moda Center are like a dream, another world that they see on the streams but can’t touch any more than they can walk into the latest season of Stranger Things.
Here’s what we do. We turn the world upside-right. We make that unapproachable fantasy into reality. When those adults write in asking if they can take their kids, we tell them, “Yes!” It becomes one of the most joyous words imaginable, delivered like that.
The requests usually come with stories. Some of them are sad, speaking of loss or deprivation. Many of them are hopeful. “These kids work so hard to make progress, but there’s not enough immediate feedback to show how proud we are of them.” It’s not our job to say what this experience means to each and every participant. Instead we give them the ability to find out.
Over the years—it’s been 20 years now, and we’ve sent tens of thousands of kids and chaperones at this point—we’ve heard so many stories of those tickets and that night unifying classrooms. We don’t just provide tickets, we provide a human connection between professional educators and their students, bringing smiles—and sometimes tears—to people who don’t usually get the chance to show them. The reactions of students are great, but you wouldn’t believe the reaction of the teachers and counselors and coaches who get to treat their kids to this event. The support radiates farther than you’d think.
Some of us grew up going to games regularly ourselves. For others, it was a treat but approachable, an indispensable part of our childhood. The idea that someone would be denied this is hard to take. It isn’t just about tickets and dollars. It’s about being able to participate in something bigger than ourselves, being part of Blazermania, a movement that spans horizontally across the region and vertically through generations. We connect people to a community that’s large and warm and enduring…a touchstone that takes us through life. Whether you’re 30 or 70 or 12 or 15, you can be a part of this! We’re not just creating the next generation of Blazers fandom, we’re giving these kids a chance at redefining it just like we all did.
What if you loved something but you never got to experience it or connect with other people over it? Would you be reading here, a part of this vibrant and dynamic community, if somebody didn’t take you to a game at some point? Think of all the things in your life that have come from simple moments like entering an arena, seeing a scoreboard, watching real, live people play.
Hear me out. What if there’s a Shaedon Sharpe DUNK that night? Can you imagine?
And here’s the thing. It’s so easy to make this happen for other people. It’s one of the simplest things you’ll do all year.
This year’s Blazer’s Edge Night is the Trail Blazers vs. the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday, March 10th. The Blazers have set up a special website through which you can purchase tickets directly from them. There’s no overhead from us. You purchase from the Blazers, just as if you were buying tickets for yourself. Except instead of going into your personal ticket account, they go into a larger pool from which we distribute to the various groups and kids who come. You can buy any amount, from a single ticket to a whole section! Every ticket you purchase has the potential to change somebody’s year, maybe even their life in at least a small way.
Prices start at just $13. For that price–about a Big Mac value meal–you can send one our participants who otherwise wouldn’t be able to see the Blazers play in person.
Here is the link to buy/donate tickets. As long as you purchase through that link, the tickets are automatically donated.
The game is in March. That means donations will end in early February. We have about a month to finalize ticket sales and inform adult leaders that their kids are welcome to come. Can you please help us today so we can begin to say yes to folks who want to take their kids? Take a minute, click through, and give if you can. Don’t be afraid to invite friends, coworkers, family members, or whomever to donate as well. We need all the tickets we can get!
Thanks for reading and thanks for helping. Blessings to all.
—Dave Deckard, Managing Editor, Blazer’s Edge