By Tracey Henkels, May 16, 2018
Congratulations to Olga and Dustin, diehard fans of the Portland Trail Blazers with a combined 41 years of fandom between the two of them. Dustin even chose to attend Portland State over the University of Oregon for college so he could get season tickets to our fair city’s Rip City. While working together, the Blazers had a stellar season and my clients scored an amazing house in North Portland! After all of this, my curiosity was enough to finally google a question I’ve wondered about for years. Where the heck did the “Rip City” nickname come from?
The phrase actually originated during the 1971 game against the Los Angeles Lakers, when the team’s play-by-play announcer, Bill Schonely spontaneously shouted it out. Katrina Nattress of the Culture Trip tells it best:
The date is February 18, 1971. The Portland Trail Blazers are playing their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers, and they’re losing. Bad.
After being down by more than 20 points, the Blazers found themselves with a chance to tie the game. Shooting guard Jim Barnett got the ball and took an ill-advised shot from nearly half-court (and this was before the three-point shot existed). Somehow, the ball found the bottom of the net. Barnett tied the game.
The crowd burst into cheer, and the team’s play-by-play announcer, Bill Schonely, spewed a nonsensical phrase. “RIP CITY, ALRIGHT!” he yelled. The legendary announcer is the first to admit he has no idea where the words came from, nor did he have any idea his stream of consciousness word vomit would catch fire and change Portland culture forever.
Tracey Henkels
Principal Broker | Earth Advantage | OR
She/Her
Tracey grew up rooted in the rhythms of her family’s Iowa apple orchard, where rising with the sun instilled a deep work ethic and a grounded, thoughtful approach to life...
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