I am a diehard Portland Trail Blazer fan. I see Rip City logos and I get excited. I see clips of Damien Lillard hitting the buzzer-beater 3-pointer to beat the Houston Rockets in game seven and advance to the second round, and my heart races a bit faster. I follow and admire them similar to the way my 12-year-old self followed and admired Justin Bieber.
The athletes are more than just basketball players doing their job — to many fans, myself included, they have been manifested into something of a Hollywood star. If I were to see any Blazer out in public I would be just as stupidly excited and flustered as I would be if I were to see an actor in Hollywood.