ROGER SIMON: Good-bye to the Lakers: Confessions of an Ex-Fan.
When I first moved to Los Angeles in the late sixties I became a paleo-Laker fan.
Those were the days of Happy Hairston, but things quickly improved with the arrival of Magic and Kareem and Kobe and Shaq (or Shaq and Kobe, if you prefer). …
It was “SHOWTIME!” Rooting for the Lakers was like rooting for the 1927 Yankees. You knew they were going to win. …
With Jack Nicholson ensconced in his floor seat, the success of the Lakers mirrored the success of the city. It was the place to be. Who cared about the national anthem? We had ours—Randy Newman’s “I Love LA.” (“From the South Bay to the Valley/From the West Side to the East Side/Everybody’s very happy/’Cause the sun is shining all the time/Looks like another perfect day/I love LA”)
Unfortunately, as another, even better, song goes: “Those were the days, my friend/ We thought they’d never end.”
There’s a reason that song, originally Georgian and Russian, has been popular in multiple languages since it first appeared in 1925.
As for LA, we all know what happened. A picture [of the homeless] is indeed worth a thousand words. …
For that and other reasons, as some of you know, I left. …
NEVERTHELESS I WATCHED THE PLAYOFFS, LA-HOUSTON:
Although the game was a blow-out by the Lakers, I took no pleasure in it. Quite the contrary. All I could see were the endless “Black Lives Matter” t-shirts on the players and coaches and the same words emblazoned on the hardwood floor.
“Education Reform” was printed on the back of the familiar purple and gold jerseys. Reform how and for what wasn’t clear.
I wasn’t watching a basketball game. I was being propagandized by the NBA and ESPN.
Meanwhile, that night, only a few miles off in Compton, two LA County sheriff’s officers were shot in the head while sitting in their car. Reportedly, they are currently “fighting for their lives.”
Also being reported is that “Black Lives Matter” protesters appeared at the hospital, blocking the entrance so, presumably, the officers couldn’t be treated.
According to a tweet from the L.A. County Sheriffs, these protesters were yelling “We hope they die.”…
I don’t think Black Lives Matter is going to turn out to be a good brand.