Maybe it sounds petty to relish in the failure of the Lakers and LeBron's experiment, with their automatic assumption that they would have a great chance to get LeBron yet another championship ring following a departure from Cleveland.
Yes, maybe it seems petty, but I will allow myself to enjoy it nevertheless, and rub it in a bit to bandwagon fans of both LeBron and the Lakers.
You see, the Lakers are one franchise that have sickened me for a long time. Not so much the franchise itself, as their fans, and the sunny California image that they symbolize. And the clear, transparent favoritism that they continually receive, such as when former NBA Commissioner David Stern claimed that his dream NBA Finals would feature the Lakers versus the Lakers.
Clearly, all of that came into play with LeBron moving his talents to west coast, to the city of angels, to play with the team with the ugliest uniforms in the league.
Only this time, it did not work. The Lakers never really fully took off after a sluggish start. They kept struggling, and just days ago, after losing to the Nets, it became official: the Los Angeles Lakers had been eliminated from playoff contention.
There will be no ninth straight trip to the NBA Finals for LeBron, although that seemed improbable nevertheless, given his move from the weaker Eastern Conference to the much tougher Western Conference. But the fact that the Lakers did not even qualify, and that last evening, they clinched a losing record, was also an extra added bonus.
Sorry, I like Jack Nicholson and all, but this is a franchise that won five titles in the 1980's and five more again in the 2000's. They have enjoyed plenty of success, thank you. Let somebody else have a damn turn!
This year, despite the biggest star in the league donning the Lakers colors, this franchise actually let it happen, and early! By being eliminated from playoff contention, it is assured that someone other than LeBron will be in the NBA Finals, and someone else will win the NBA Finals.
And with each passing year that LeBron fails to win more championship rings, the more his legacy lags behind the real king of NBA legacies: Michael Jordan.
Some are asking the question about whether this is just a fluke kind of a season, or the new normal for LeBron? Well, I cannot say one way or the other about that.
But what I can say is that I, for one, was glad to see the Lakers, and LeBron, crash and burn for this one season. Don't get me wrong: I do not hate LeBron, although I sometimes feel that he could conduct himself in a classier manner (again, a bit more like MJ). There is always some pleasure for me in seeing a season when the playoffs begin, and the Lakers are not in it. That is a rarity, even extremely rare! And I have seen the Lakers win 10 titles, and go to the NBA Finals at least 15 times!
To put that into perspective, some people are sick and tired of the New England Patriots continually getting to and winning the Super Bowl. But I remember the Patriots being literally the worst team in the league for several years, and feeling a bit like a basket case. And they have reached the Super Bowl a total of 11 times, which is easily the most of any NFL franchise. They have won six, which ties them with the Steelers for the most of any NFL franchise. By way of comparison, I do not remember the Lakers ever having been anywhere near the worst team in the league, and the numbers of years that the Lakers have missed the playoffs have been greatly outnumbered by the times that they have made the playoffs. And since the early 1980's, when I began to follow sports, the Lakers have won those ten titles, and gone to at least 15 NBA Finals, far and away more than any other franchise during that span. And that is only in the past 40 or so years. If you look beyond that, the Lakers have won at least seven additional NBA titles along the line, and also enjoyed enormous success in the decades before all of that, as well.
This, for the second biggest city in the country one that has a sunny, glorious image, and which really does not need this. I could perhaps understand and appreciate it for a city that does not have much else going on. A place like, say...Green Bay. Or Buffalo. Or even Sacramento or Portland, cities that had only one major sports franchise until recently (Portland has since gotten an MLS club, but Sacramento has not. But Los Angeles? Really?
I used to feel that way about the San Francisco 49ers, more than the Lakers. Now, don't get me wrong: I still am no fan of the 49ers. But I remember seeing them win their fifth Super Bowl in 13 years (and in five appearances) in 1994, and wondering how I could possibly be the only guy who was sick and tired of this team. I see all of these Patriots haters, and wonder the same thing. Even the Yankees and Lakers look tame by way of comparison, and that is saying something! Surely, I cannot be the only one who is tired of seeing the Lakers and their ugly uniforms deep into the playoffs, and getting one break after another. Getting Shaquille O'Neal, for example, and then landing Kobe Bryant. Then getting Phil Jackson. Getting Pao Gasol for virtually nothing. Getting Dwight Howard, also for almost nothing. Getting LeBron James, also for almost nothing. Not all of those big name additions did the trick, but my point is: why is it always the Lakers who seem to pick up these huge names and talents for nothing? How is that possible, if not for someone in the league pulling some strings to make sure that it happens for them? The Lakers are the NBA's equivalent to our shameful corporate welfare system!
And all of those bandwagon fans that come out of the woodwork as soon as the Lakers begin the get good! Sickening! All of those fair weather fans who suddenly, loudly proclaimed how they have always loved the Lakers, and who respond, when asked (by me) if they are merely bandwagon fans, that they have been there through the good and bad, and started out liking the team when they were bad. To which I respond, when exactly was that? The Lakers have been good, even very good, for the vast majority of the time that I have followed basketball. Again, quite recently, I could count the number of times that they have missed the playoffs on one hand. Name another North American sports franchise that you can say that about?
So, at least for one spring, good riddance to bad rubbish! And it is particularly sweet to see all of those Lakers and/or LeBron fans, the ones with a false sense of entitlement, finally grow quiet and humble, if only for one spring and summer. It could not happen to a more deserving franchise!
Some are asking the question about whether this is just a fluke kind of a season, or the new normal for LeBron? Well, I cannot say one way or the other about that.
But what I can say is that I, for one, was glad to see the Lakers, and LeBron, crash and burn for this one season. Don't get me wrong: I do not hate LeBron, although I sometimes feel that he could conduct himself in a classier manner (again, a bit more like MJ). There is always some pleasure for me in seeing a season when the playoffs begin, and the Lakers are not in it. That is a rarity, even extremely rare! And I have seen the Lakers win 10 titles, and go to the NBA Finals at least 15 times!
To put that into perspective, some people are sick and tired of the New England Patriots continually getting to and winning the Super Bowl. But I remember the Patriots being literally the worst team in the league for several years, and feeling a bit like a basket case. And they have reached the Super Bowl a total of 11 times, which is easily the most of any NFL franchise. They have won six, which ties them with the Steelers for the most of any NFL franchise. By way of comparison, I do not remember the Lakers ever having been anywhere near the worst team in the league, and the numbers of years that the Lakers have missed the playoffs have been greatly outnumbered by the times that they have made the playoffs. And since the early 1980's, when I began to follow sports, the Lakers have won those ten titles, and gone to at least 15 NBA Finals, far and away more than any other franchise during that span. And that is only in the past 40 or so years. If you look beyond that, the Lakers have won at least seven additional NBA titles along the line, and also enjoyed enormous success in the decades before all of that, as well.
This, for the second biggest city in the country one that has a sunny, glorious image, and which really does not need this. I could perhaps understand and appreciate it for a city that does not have much else going on. A place like, say...Green Bay. Or Buffalo. Or even Sacramento or Portland, cities that had only one major sports franchise until recently (Portland has since gotten an MLS club, but Sacramento has not. But Los Angeles? Really?
I used to feel that way about the San Francisco 49ers, more than the Lakers. Now, don't get me wrong: I still am no fan of the 49ers. But I remember seeing them win their fifth Super Bowl in 13 years (and in five appearances) in 1994, and wondering how I could possibly be the only guy who was sick and tired of this team. I see all of these Patriots haters, and wonder the same thing. Even the Yankees and Lakers look tame by way of comparison, and that is saying something! Surely, I cannot be the only one who is tired of seeing the Lakers and their ugly uniforms deep into the playoffs, and getting one break after another. Getting Shaquille O'Neal, for example, and then landing Kobe Bryant. Then getting Phil Jackson. Getting Pao Gasol for virtually nothing. Getting Dwight Howard, also for almost nothing. Getting LeBron James, also for almost nothing. Not all of those big name additions did the trick, but my point is: why is it always the Lakers who seem to pick up these huge names and talents for nothing? How is that possible, if not for someone in the league pulling some strings to make sure that it happens for them? The Lakers are the NBA's equivalent to our shameful corporate welfare system!
And all of those bandwagon fans that come out of the woodwork as soon as the Lakers begin the get good! Sickening! All of those fair weather fans who suddenly, loudly proclaimed how they have always loved the Lakers, and who respond, when asked (by me) if they are merely bandwagon fans, that they have been there through the good and bad, and started out liking the team when they were bad. To which I respond, when exactly was that? The Lakers have been good, even very good, for the vast majority of the time that I have followed basketball. Again, quite recently, I could count the number of times that they have missed the playoffs on one hand. Name another North American sports franchise that you can say that about?
So, at least for one spring, good riddance to bad rubbish! And it is particularly sweet to see all of those Lakers and/or LeBron fans, the ones with a false sense of entitlement, finally grow quiet and humble, if only for one spring and summer. It could not happen to a more deserving franchise!
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