View From The Other Side

Today’s game: word association.

We say Portland, you say . . .

Angeleno No. 1: “Wet.”

No. 2: “Quiet.”

No. 3: “Maine?”

No. 4 (wearing a Lakers T-shirt): “They’re no Lakers.”

No. 5 (not wearing a Lakers T-shirt): “Champions. They’re hot.”

Not “it’s hot.” “They’re hot.”

Not the city. The team.

As the Trail Blazers plow through the Western Conference finals against the Lakers--a series of such T-Rex proportions that Sports Illustrated last week dubbed it the “de facto finals”--the notion of Portland, the place, filters into Californians’ consciousness like weak coffee.

It’s a reaction that would have pleased former Oregon Gov. Tom “Visit-But-Don’t-Stay” McCall, but that simply serves as a reality check for those who dream of a whopping civic publicity boost for Portland from the Blazers’ battle against the Lakers.

Despite the fact that more than 19,000 Californians moved to Oregon last year, an absolutely unscientific survey conducted on the streets and beaches of Los Angeles in recent days shows that few residents give Portland and Oregon much thought.

In Los Angeles--the nation’s second-largest city with more than 3.7 million residents, one of the world’s top industrial, commercial and financial centers, a fountain of trends, a rainbow of cultures--Portland, population 512,395, is nothing more than a blip on the radar.

When asked how they consider Portland, residents use little meaningless words such as: “Quaint.” “Sleepy.” “Clean.” Even “bland,” Angelenos say apologetically.

Unless you’re talking basketball. Then, when asked, residents get a little wide-eyed, their spines straighten, they speak of Portland--the team, not the city--with newfound respect. Those who live in fast-lane L.A. by choice thrive on and admire tough competition and the only thing go-go-go about Portland, they say, is the basketball team.

“I think it’s going to be a good series. Portland’s a great team,” said Jason Camat, a 20-year-old library worker, decked out head-to-toe in gold and purple Laker garb. “But we’ll come out on top. Lakers in six.”

Angelenos, whose passion for the game flagged, along with the city’s NBA franchise, in the 1990s, are charged up again, thanks to this Laker team led by guru-like Coach Phil Jackson and monstrously talented Shaquille O’Neal.

And take one look high above the court at the downtown Staples Center, and it’s obvious that the Lakers and their fans are familiar with what it feels like to win. There hang NBA championship banners from 1972, ‘80, ‘82, ‘85, ’87 and ’88. (In Minneapolis, the Lakers won five NBA championships between 1949 and 1954.)

Next to the Trail Blazers’ one championship trophy from 1977, the Lakers’ legacy is as dazzling as the Los Angeles skyline on a rare clear night.

No wonder, then, that folks in these parts are impressed with the Blazers’ deep bench, with the team’s record, with the hustle that brought Portland’s players to Los Angeles this week.

Maybe, in the eyes of Angelenos, when the series moves Friday to Portland, a little of that Blazers’ shine might rub off on the city that stands behind them.