Last week, thousands of people gathered in Pioneer Square in Portland at a rally for the Trail Blazers, who qualified for the NBA Playoffs for the first time since 2003. Each player said a few words, and one of the most memorable speeches was from Rudy Fernandez, who shouted, “Let’s go to win the playoff!” The line appears in the first part of this video:

I immediately saw a lot of people twitter this line because it was so charming in its enthusiasm and less than perfect grammar. Though Nicolas Batum is the only foreign player in the starting lineup, Portland has two Spaniards on its bench. When Sergio Rodriguez connects with Rudy for an ally-oop, the sports commentators refer to it as “the Spanish Armada.”

In both Sergio and Rudy’s first playoff game last Saturday, the Blazers lost terribly to the Rockets. I heard Sergio on the radio afterward saying he hopes the team “runs more” in this game. His English was a little rough–he seemed confused about what it meant to be tight (good) as a team and loose (relaxed) in a game. But of all explanations I heard of what went wrong in that 30 point loss, I like Sergio’s the best. The team did need to run more. Maybe it’s that simple. We’ll find out in 10 minutes when the game starts. I’ll be watching the Spanish Armada in particular because I really like the spirit they bring to the team at this climax of the season.

Post game update: The Armada did it! The Blazers won a very close game, and Rudy scored the final points by making a pair of free throws. Who’s your favorite international player in the playoffs?