As we prepare to face the Blazers, it seems appropriate to reflect a little on the past season. 

Some of you might remember this fanpost I wrote back in November, when the team was in the middle of it's 14-3 start: a statement of the expectations some of us had for this team back at the start of the season.

With the exception of the 12-18, 30 game lull, and the associated drama, during the winter months, Planet Orange has met, and sometimes exceeded those expectations.  It has countered its weaknesses in size and defense, by playing team ball and by executing with precision and grace, picking up some needed grit along the way.

Even though it required the threat of exile, every player on this team finally understood what it means to be part of a team, to give up some part of yourself, so that you can belong to the whole, and in so doing reach greater heights than is possible alone.

The result of all of this is that our team has given us the best gift a fan base can receive: hope.

Hope that we can continue to do well, and go deep into the playoffs.  Hope that we can meet our demons, and fight them off.   Hope that we can throw off the outrageous misfortune of the past, and with a little luck win the whole thing.  And the hope of greatness.

Whatever happens from here on out, what we achieve will have been earned, the hard way.  And for that reason we should be proud of our team.