Finally

I never really hated the Lakers, at least when I was following pro basketball back in the Bird-Magic days. Perhaps I was too far removed geographically to get sucked into the vitriol. I was, after all, in Kruger National Park in South Africa when I received word via shortwave that the Lakers had won game 6 of the 1987 NBA Finals, winning the trophy at the expense of the Celtics.

Or perhaps it was because my best friend at the time was a Californian who, naturally, favored the dominant West Coast team. My memories of twenty years ago might be a little hazy, but I only recall having (albeit grudgingly) respect for them, and even rooting for them when they faced off against the Pistons and Bulls in later years. It's hard to believe, but perhaps I was prescient enough to realize in the 80's that the Bird-Magic / Celtics-Lakers rivalry was pretty special.

Again, just consider the amount of talent on both teams. And the coaches. And the front offices. And the die-hard fans, including multiple celebrities, in two cities that were about as far removed geographically and demographically as you could imagine. The balance sheet of the Bird-Magic era might give the edge to the Lakers (5-3 in championships, 2-1 head-to-head), but a missed shot here or an avoided injury there could have easily turned that around, and fans of both teams should realize that by now. One final twist is how it's interesting that the centerpieces of both teams were natives of neither Coast, but heralded from the Midwest.

It really was a special time, and while the current incarnations of these teams have plenty of talent and should give us a competitive series, we're nowhere close to where we were 20 years ago. Ah, nostalgia...