The Portland Trail Blazers reportedly have a sign in their locker room which the team uses as motivation during their first round matchup vs. the Memphis Grizzlies. John Canzano of The ORagonian wrote about this sign.
The Blazers have a laminated motivational card affixed to the television monitor in the visiting locker room. It’s titled, “We are Rip City.” It lists all the ways in which the No. 4 seed Blazers will find a way to win this series against the No. 5 Grizzlies.
This seems like a good idea, and many of the motivational quotes, such as “we will be tougher,” and “staying together through adversity” are most likely effective. However, not all of the messages seem logical. Per Canzano,
Because that middle section included such oddities as, “We don’t lose to Spanish players,” and “Nobody can beat us eight times in one year.” Also, it includes a vow to, “Win the dog fight,” and, “We will play as a team and outwork Memphis each and every night.” Also, “We are better when we come to play,” and a promise to be, “(Expletives) on defense.”
Most of those seem fine, but one stands out. That one, obviously, is “We don’t lose to Spanish players.” This seems weirdly xenophobic, and isn’t something that you would expect. It is clearly a reference to Grizzlies star center Marc Gasol, who hails from Spain.
I would imagine that a message regarding the ethnicity of a player will not really serve to motivate very many players. In fact, now that the news of that sign is out, it may do the exact opposite of what the Blazers wanted: Motivate Gasol.
The Blazers fell to Memphis in game 1, and it wasn’t a very close matchup. Portland looked disoriented. Their star players Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Aldridge combined to shoot a horrible 18-55(32.7%).
Marc Gasol came close to a triple-double in the game, going for 15 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists. The last thing the Blazers want to do is put a chip on Marc Gasol’s shoulder, and they may have just done so.
It’s understandable why the Trail Blazers want to take down Gasol’s Grizzlies, as their most recent loss marked the fifth time in a row they’ve lost to them. However, it would be best to motivate themselves in away that won’t come across as offensive.
