Doug: The truth, baby
Apr 28, 2010, 5:58 PM | Updated: Jul 26, 2024, 1:58 pm
For those of you that don’t know, I’m in a constant state of recantation. I’m sorry that I started life as a Lakers fan.
In my family, it’s either Lakers or Celtics and you had to make your choice around the time you learned to read. Dad’s a Celtics fan so I became a Lakers fan. I loved Showtime. I don’t say that now to rub it in for the years they beat the Suns but I couldn’t get enough of Magic, Kareem and Big Game James.
When the Lakers signed Shaq I was ecstatic. When they drafted Kobe, I was OK with it because I trusted Jerry West. I quickly changed my mind when this kid comes in and thinks he’s Michael Jordan and tries to shoot as much. The Lakers weren’t starting Dave Corzine like the Bulls were in the beginning of the Jordan era. They didn’t need Kobe to take over. Then he shot that airball against Utah in the first playoff series and I was done with him.
I was still a Lakers fan but I was just anti-Kobe. Then came the year of Kobe’s free agency when he talked about signing with the Clippers. His goal was one thing: to make the Lakers choose Kobe or Shaq. Winning championships wasn’t enough, he wanted to win championships without Shaq. After he ran out Shaq, I stopped being a Lakers fan. I didn’t want to be a fan of a team that puts personal squabbles ahead of championships.
I was living in Kansas City at the time when I renounced my Laker fandom. It was shortly thereafter that Kobe had his infamous trip to Vail, Colorado, which furthered my opinion of him. While in KC, I spent a lot of time watching the Suns. I loved the way Nash played the game and the D’Antoni system. I started to like the Suns but I wasn’t a fan. Once I moved here, the Suns reached out to me to welcome me to the valley. I already liked the team but when I got to know the people behind the scenes and some of the players, I completely embraced the organization. Although I’ll never go through all the pain that most of you have, the “vicinity of the bench” is burned into my head just as strongly as it is yours.
I’m giving you my life story as the only human who’s jumped from the Lakers to the Suns because of what I saw today. This ranks up there in the category of why we hate Lakers’ fans. This is not abnormal. This is your normal everyday Lakers’ fan. Next time you see a Lakers’ fan in the office, just play this for him and explain to him that he’s no different than this guy.
OK, maybe this interview isn’t completely legit but that is a great representation of Lakers fans.
