With the announcement that the Trail Blazers selected Greg Oden of Ohio State as the top pick in the NBA draft today, a roar of approval rose from the crowd of thousands gathered at the Rose Garden.
Between NBA commissioner David Stern saying "Greg" and "Oden," Portland fans rushed the floor at the Rose Garden and chanted, "Oden! Oden!"
The sentiment was nearly unanimous.
There was pandemonium, and someone shouted, "Rip City, baby!" Another fan blew a whistle.
Some fans made their preferences known right away, with black T-shirts that read "Oden" across the front. Five buddies were shirtless, and had painted their chests to spell out "O-D-E-N-!"
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The Blazers' NBA draft party Thursday at the Rose Garden was exactly that -- a big party -- as nearly 6,000 fans crammed into the Lexus Club Level, main concourse and arena.
They were there to see whether the Blazers would take Greg Oden or Kevin Durant with the No. 1 pick, and the overwhelming majority did not leave disappointed.
"It's a no-brainer, take Oden," screamed one fan, wearing a red No. 3 Damon Stoudamire Blazers uniform.
About 4:37 p.m. -- just after fans in the arena stopped chanting, "We want Oden!" -- the Blazers gave them what they wanted, picking the Ohio State freshman with the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft.
The selection of the 7-footer and potential franchise-changing center touched off a wild celebration on multiple levels of the Rose Garden. Fans charged onto the arena floor as if the Blazers had just won the NBA championship, jumping up and down, hugging and cheering.
And two levels up, at the Lexus Club Level, fans screamed and exchanged high-fives.
The atmosphere was fun, upbeat and passionate, revealing the newfound sentiment of Blazers fans across Oregon. Now that Oden is in the middle of an up-and-coming lineup that includes rookie of the year Brandon Roy and fellow all-rookie first-team member LaMarcus Aldridge, many fans believe the team could be on the verge of returning to the postseason for the first time in four seasons.
Vandaag wordt ie welkom geheten in 't centrum met honderden (eh duizenden) fans