L.A. Fans Absent From Team's Return?

In all fairness, the Lakers deserve better fans.

Were there NO Lakers faithful on hand to welcome their team back to L.A.? Am I mistaken?

KCal-9 was there, but they didn't show or get fan interviews. Is that because there were none on hand? If that's the case, that's a telling story about the character of Lakers fans.

Commentators made note of how much louder Celtic fans were than those in the Staples Center. Is it a matter of blue collar vs. make-up collar?

No, I didn’t root for the Lakers. I’m a New York transplant and don’t just abandon loyalties that easily. I’m still not too happy that L.A. has our exiled Brooklyn Dodgers. A city and a team has to earn my support over time. So far, Los Angeles and the Lakers have not.

Have locals forgotten Magic and Kareem, Worthy and Coop? And the passion they left on the court? I haven’t. Those rivalries between east coast and west coast teams were intense, but always sporting. If Magic had a hell of a game, we gave him his props, but we still wanted them to lose. And if the Lakers won the series, they earned it, and it made next year’s season even more intense. As fans, all we can do is be supportive and yell, and scream, buy jerseys and hot dogs and now that I’m old enough, even a beer. The fight belongs on the court in competition.

Baseball legend Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot by watching.” And what I’m observing about Laker fans is a little unsettling. The L.A. Times, Lakers Blog is rife with comments supporting the criminal assault of Celtics fans at the Staples Center big screen viewing. The assault contributed to the viewing of Game 6 being cancelled by law enforcement and Laker management. Talk about the embarrassing 39-point finals loss? What an embarrassment that every other Lakers fan and visitors to Los Angeles suffered? They couldn’t go to an NBA finals game because of fear of wannabe thugs? And what’s worse, there was no outcry from ‘true’ Laker fans; not even Magic came out and said, ‘Hey, that’s enough!’

Rivalry is one thing and it’s healthy. Hooliganism is just plain criminal. Besides, “Hooligan” is Irish and Kelly green in derivation. Remember the Tea Party? Yup, folks from Boston know how to throw a bang-up party.

Not one Lakers fan, wearing Lakers jerseys in Boston was assaulted. Not one.

There was always and, I hope, will always be ‘the rivalry,’ but with it, there was always respect. It was ‘Fun.’ No one should have to fear being loyal to their team. If this is the Raiders, Black Hole, Wild West lawless, frontier hospitality, that’s why the trophy is back east.

I vividly remember Larry Bird stepping to the free-throw line during a L.A. Clippers contest when L.A. fans unfurled life-sized posters of bikini-clad supermodels in an attempt to distract him. It didn’t work, but that’s the kind of fans L.A. needs. Larry even had to laugh at that one.

On the L.A. Times / Lakers Blog, “The Lake Show” commented that the attack on the Celtics fans at Staples Center was “Awesome.” ? Awesome?

The Bah-Bozo went on to say that someone should shout “Crips” to Paul Pierce to distract him? Does he think mentioning a murderous street gang is appropriate in sport? Why not just scream out, “Hey, ni****, the KKKlan is waiting outside for you?!” That is just ugly and has no place in sport. Does that moron think there were no gangs or thugs on the east coast? What does that nonsense have to do with sports and sportsmanship?

Is that the kind of fan the Lakers want or need? I think not.

I know, the usual response is, ”Oh, those are not real Lakers fans, they’re probably not from here.”

Well neither are the Lakers; they’re from Minnesota!

That mentality demonstrates, or is at least indicative of, the lack of ownership and sportsmanship off the court and team play the Lakers demonstrated on the court.

Will the real Lakers fans please stand up?

The bottom line is that at the end of the season, win or lose, the team you rooted for all season is still your team afterward.

The Lakers had a hell of a season, and this city's warriors - oops, Lakers - should be appreciated, commended and welcomed back in grand fashion for their efforts. So what if they didn’t win it all this time. Wow; no one came to welcome them back. Kind of like the Vietnam Vets.

Today’s L.A. Lakers fans need one of those training books like 'Fan 101' or 'Being a Fan for Dummies.' Maybe sportsmanship should be taught in L.A.s public schools… Never mind. They’re in crisis too.

Cheers!