Why is it always red?

I have a love/hate relationship with the color red.  A normal, typical red usually has so much "blue" in it to make it beautiful and bright that it actually cools it down a lot.  I don't "do" cool.  My coloring has so much warm gold in it that I have to steer clear of  cool colors.  So, I have never looked good in red.  When everyone is wearing cute Christmas sweaters, or Valentine-ish stuff or 4th of July colors, I avoid it whenever possible.  Or I have learned to at least avoid having the red directly against my skin.  I use buffers.  I will always put a white or black collar between my face and the offensive color.

Last night I was reminded of my life long frustration with the color red.  I was getting ready to go to a Portland Trailblazer game.  In the past, I have been a huge Blazer fan.  Not to the point of painting my face or anything like that.  But I did have a crush on that gentleman-player of all times, Clyde Drexler, whom I happened to see one day driving north on I-5 in a shiny black Mercedes.   All I saw was his profile, but I would know that profile anywhere, and you know that cute little bit of moustache he had?  I saw it!  So I know it was him!  When we would get the rare opportunity to go to a Blazer game, I could absolutely not wait to see my guys come out on the floor to warm up.  Terry Porter was much more handsome in person.  We ran into him one day in the Tualatin Fred Meyer, and he and Brian hit it right off; acted like they were old friends.  Jerome Kersey came to Pringle Elementary School.  I don't know who was more excited, me or the kids.

So why speak of the Blazers and the color red in the same breath?  Because every sports team that I have ever rooted for in the past always required the wearing of red.  My junior high school colors were red and black; the Wilbur Wranglers.  And everytime I would show my school spirit and cheer on my team, I would have to wear that insidious red pep club sweatshirt that completely washed me out.  Even the band uniforms consisted of a red cowboy shirt, you know the kind with mother-of-pearl snaps?  I looked terrible!  Then, my high school colors were red and white; the Grace High Grizzlies. Yet again, on game days or any day that I traveled with my school to music festivals or drill team competitions, you guessed it.  I would be wearing the prescribed color of the day, and never looked good in it. Well, you know, the Trailblazer colors, too,  have always been red and black. 

I solved the problem last night by wearing a black turtleneck sweater underneath my red wool jacket.  I bought that jacket because it has a lot of black in it, which dulls the brightness of the red a little making it not so garish.  I think it looked okay.  I felt apart of the team, and yet I didn't feel like the "ghost" that had showed up to the game.

For some reason, the pictures I took last night are not being allowed to upload.  Technical difficulties, I guess.  Oh well. So now you won't be able to judge for yourselves.