Special thanks to MPLaker for submitting his take to the Lakers Nation and giving us the rights to post it on the blog. Once again, if you have your own take and want to see it on TLN, feel free to e-mail it to us at Articles@theLakersNation.com.
Hollywood has turned to comic book heroes and old television shows to help satisfy the audiences’ demands for entertainment. Movies like Spiderman and Transformers are now some of the biggest moneymaking movies of all time because these movies provide heroes and stories that a majority of adults grew up with. These paying adults collected comic books and ran home after school to watch cartoons about robots from a planet called Cybertron and are more than giddy to revisit their childhood.
Thanks to Hollywood, new generations have been introduced to old favorites and Peter Parker and Optimus Prime are as fascinating now as they were back then. In following this trend, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody that the Lakers and Celtics rivalry has returned and piqued the interest of many sports fans world wide.
Not just basketball fans, mind you, but football heads, baseball idols, and soccer players are looking up and taking notice of what is shaking up the NBA courts. Members of the New York Giants, who upset Boston’s beloved Patriots, showed up at several Knicks and New Jersey Nets games, Manny Ramirez was a towel waver at a Celtics game earlier in the season, and David Beckham’s mug is shown more at a Laker game than when he’s playing for his own squad, the L.A. Galaxy.
Ratings have been given a jump from the heartless and doldrum performances of the last two NBA Playoffs. The city of Miami and San Antonio, home of the last two basketball champions, might disagree but let’s face it… Miami is filled with old people enjoying the scenery before they bite the big one and San Antonio’s population of thirty, all working as tourist guides at the Alamo, didn’t bode well for the NBA’s television payoff.
On the other hand, the return of Hollywood versus “Blue-collar Bean-town” is the league’s basketball version of a wet dream except, now it is a reality.
The Lakers against the Celtics bring back memories of not basketball games, but basketball wars. Clothes-lining someone’s head (Kurt Rambis courtesy of Kevin Mchale), jersey-grabbing (Dennis Johnson on Magic Johnson), and incredible last minute steals (John Havlicek) are just a small fraction of the numerous legendary personnel and highlights that these two warring factions share. Many reputations and legacies were built around their battles and it remains the same today.
Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce are chasing their first championship ring and Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson are hunting for their first since Shaq turned traitor and jumped ship. In addition, Coach Jackson is looking to get his tenth and last finger fitted, which would break his tie with Red Auerbach, the coach that built the Boston Garden.
If Kobe were to win, he would come closer to establishing his place among the greats of-all time. Shaq-less, Kobe would be unequivocally recognized as the catalyst for the Lakers’ success. The cult-like chants of “Beat L.A., Beat L.A.” have returned, while Angelinos are again preparing to take up arms and march down Figueroa Street.
As a kid growing up in L.A., I wholeheartedly bought into the rivalry and I was sure that if I ever saw Larry Bird on the streets, I would have asked for his autograph and then kicked him in the shins, hoping to break a bone or two.
I read my Spiderman comics, watched Transformers, and idolized my Lakers. As I grew up, I put down the comics for college textbooks, and Transformers was canceled, but I never stopped supporting or watching the guys in Purple and Gold.
That being said, I was shocked to see Paul Pierce, a local from Inglewood, California, which is the location of the old Lakers’ Great Western Forum, leading the cheers to “Beat L.A., Beat L.A.”. Pierce, to many Lakers fans including myself, is now the new Green Goblin and Megatron all rolled into one. He is the face of an old evil come back to life for all Lakers followers everywhere.
Just like Hollywood has welcomed back old heroes and idols and introduced them to a whole new generation, the Lakers versus Celtics rivalry is an event that has been missed and longed for.
Welcome back… welcome back.
Lakers/Celtics: The next generation of rivalry begins…
“Last night is when you really started to hate the Celtics”
Celtics coast to win over Lakers
ATTENTION: And so it begins…
Lakers/Celtics: A lot of love and a lot more hate
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nice article
!!!! sooooo good! kudos!
Very nice.
Lakers in 5!
Excellent article
Lane
http://LosAngelesSource.com
Last time these two ball clubs met, I was only in my teens. Nostalgia!
that’s a tight picture
ALL I CAN SAY IS IF WE DON’T LET ARIZA GUARD PIERCE WE WILL GET SMOKED AT THE SMALL FORWARD… Please god stop playing Walton and Radman….please.
Lakers in 5!
Let’s do it!
Go Lakers
I FEEL LIKE WALKIN’ TO BOSTON(FROM DC)WITH MY KOBE JERSEY AND PIMP SLAP THE NEAREST EVERY SMELL-TICS I SEE(I’ll be runnin’ when I do it),LAKERS,PIMP…SMACK!!!
very nice!!!! SLAP THOSE OOOoooo’ssss!!!!
Ey guys, how are you? I´m spanish and I can tell you, is the first time ever all Spain is paralyzed for a NBA finals. And the 95% of the country is with Lakers! We´re very proud about Gasol (despise he wasn´t doing very well in the playoffs), and you can wait tons of parties if Lakers wins the NBA (I´ll give you the press covers when that happens ’cause is gonna happening! KOBE AND GASOL FTW!)
the suspense is killing me I can’t wait for Thursday I hate Boston more now after watching those “show time” days on NBATV and reading this article im only 17 but /i hate the Celtics with a passion this will be an hell of a series Go Lakers! 08 CHAMPS! PUMP UP THE VOLUME!
Please keep us posted on everything thats going on in Spain!
For the next two weeks I hate green, birds, irish coffee, lucky charms, step on four leaf clovers, anything that comes in three’s, babies that cry(ainge), and cigars…. but will light up a cigar if we win the last game of the season. Would love to see Phil light up one on the bench. That would be EPIC….
if phil just busted out a fat blunt after a game 7 win. that would be epic.
I’ve been to Spain and man do they party there, especially in Barcelona where Gasol is from.
You think we are fanatical fans, just go to Europe and you’ll see how hardcore those fans are. If the Lakers win, I’m sure they’ll be partying it up in Barcelona.
Lakers Fans Only invited to my party in Fullerton!!!
lakersnation,
thank you for publishing my take again. it’s always an honor to be first article, front page on this site. let’s go detroit gems!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (look it up if you don’t know)
mplakers
Is cool to see Lakers Celtics again because when I first heard of the LAkers was when magic was there so I started watching them not a lot but enough to know that LAkers vs Celtics was big rivalry so now to see it and to actually live it I think is cool
************** Dusting off old Genesis system*************
Playing Lakers vs Celtics!!!
and with Tom Chambers double pump dunk from the 3-point line!!! haha
lol i c worthy’s testicle
were is the location
street, ……
It’s in Fullerton. We are expecting a large crowd because of all the excitement generated from the rivalry. The flyer is on the site just click on my name.
Party is this Sunday, June 8th
Located:
Incahoots Fullerton
1401 S. Lemon St.
Fullerton, CA 92832
For guest list go to: deluxpro.com
I´ll do!
For the moment a bigger new happened that has made to stop talking about the NBA finals.
Remember that Spain won the World Cup in 2006? The coach, Pepu Fernandez, has been fired only because he said he would leave the national team for coach a club after the Olympic Games. Pepu didn´t reserve that end.
Fitore Fitore!!!!!!
Get on the guest list if you are in California!!! click on my name.