So out in the ether of the world wide web, there is plenty of Hornets’ hatred for the Lakers. Go figure. Is it because CP didn’t get the MVP award and Kobe did? The fact of the matter is, that the award was CP’s to win, and whether he blew it down the stretch and couldn’t help his team seal up the #1 seed, or Byron instructed him to do so so that they’d have a better matchup in Round 1, he still lost it. Kobe earned it. There was no thievery there. Almost any critic in the league would tell you that Kobe’s the best player in the league, and has been for years. Most valuable? There’s plenty of room for argument there. But the answer, like it or not, for this year, is yes.
Maybe it’s jealousy because they got Gasol? But why? If the Trailblazers had offered us Brandon Roy for Adam Haluska, Rasual Butler, the rights to Birdman, Arvydas Macijauskas’ expiring contract, two first round draft picks, and cash, who would have said no? You can’t hold it to them for making a great trade. Leave the complaining to asses like Popovich, who said the league should banned the trade. Boo hoo from the guy wearing 4 rings.
Maybe it’s the realization that we might not have beaten them the Lakers this year if we made it to the conference finals, and they weren’t even sporting one of their best players, Bynum. Or maybe it’s the gut reflex of knowing these are the guys we’re going to have to go through over the next four-plus years, and anticipatorily hating them for it. That I can buy. A rivalry. Let’s just hope we don’t end up like the Kings or Blazers from the years the Spurs and Lakers were taking home trophies.
Any way. The fact of the matter is that the Lakers are the Western Conference representative. So I’m rooting for them. I know I stand alone on this. There seems to be plenty of Boston love out there. (Thus the title of this post!) But not me. I still have a permanent scar on my head from the Garden. Fuck Boston. Besides, does anyone out there really believe that the Eastern Conference deserves a champion? Please. Come back when you can field eight playoff teams with a winning record.
Ticktock6 would like to state that she does not endorse this post.
Your MVP statements almost imply haterism to the Movement.
I expect some disgust with this post, 60% of it coming from this comment (hehe!). Much like how biased Hornets fans are, you have to just accept the fact that there’s going to be hate on any successful team/player. Per se, I can’t really hate on Dwayne-I-refuse-to-spell-his-name-incorrectly-Wade version 2007 when his team goes, what, 20-62, right? And I’m very liberal with a ‘hater’ self-assessment, because I have the intelligence to hold my own when people start flirting with ad hominem.
With that said, I felt under-the-table shenanigans went down with Beantown and LA (I fail to see otherwise). Combine the fact that Bryant is quite likely the only athlete to garner both equivalent and unwarranted love and hate, and you have a recipe for strong emotions with Bryant ver 2007. If Bryant was willing to play for Charlotte (one reason I despise Bryant the person) and were still on our team, I’d love the guy. But fact of the matter is, he’s not. And as the saying goes, if you’re not for us, then you’re against us.
But anyway, enjoy your Kobe-fest while I continue to bid adieu to the Stern Button until post playoffs.
I want the celtics to win just because it would be kind of cool to see kg win a ring, dude would probably start crying right there on the floor. I believe that the hornets would have beaten LA in the WCF. And i will never say kobe was the most valuable for a season, best player in the leauge, yes but never most valuable.
*Warning: Disgust is in your Near Future*
Re: the Gasol thing- I think the hate comes from the fact that stuff like the B. Roy trade you said don’t happen. Giving away a total bust and a halfway decent rookie for P. Gasol is a good trade, sure. But an already proven talent traded for garbage just doesn’t happen. People question the legitimacy behind the trade, not its effectiveness. As in, was it done legally? Was it done without some sinister motives by the NBA underfoot? Why would Memphis trade him to LA when we know Chicago offered a much, much better deal, and other teams we don’t know of explicitly surely offered way better deals? In sum, we’re not mad that LA pulled off a great trade. We’re mad that the trade may not have been all Kupchak’s doing.
Re: the Kobe Bryant MVP- Lol… I still don’t see how Kobe had a better season than LeBron. At all. If somebody can successfully argue this case to me without using Team Wins as a stat or the nebulous-as-hell “made his teammates better,” I will jump over a speeding Aston Martin. That’s to say nothing of CP, KG, and even Dirk, who were all better. Critics in general are stupid. They say things like “Kobe has a killer instinct” instead of doing any actual analysis. In the end, #24’s top 3 arguments: 1. Oohhh, he’s never won before, what an injustice!, 2. He’s passing now! (not true) What more do you want??, and 3. Lakers first in the West! (let’s totally ignore KG!)
In the end, I don’t really care that he won it. Steve Nash winning it back to back officially made the MVP into basketball’s Gold Glove award.
Re: the knowing we can’t beat them- Unfortunately, you’re right. I called LA going to the Finals a few weeks before the playoffs started. I think deep down, a lot of us knew it.
*End Disgust*
I can sort of handle Boston winning it because I’ve liked Paul Pierce for a really long time. High character guy, has done a lot of work in his community, works with Baron to do a lot of good things in LA. None of the “high character” stuff applies to Kobe. Either way, we’re in for a lot of bandwagon celebrators this summer. I thought Phoenix/Miami bandwagoners were bad, but this is gonna be something else entirely…
You are all right. I renounce the error of my ways. The Lakers are inherently evil.
(………………………… THERE’S MORE THAN ONE KIND OF HIJACK!!! Muahahaha!)
Hahahah. Nicely done, ticktock.
mW, as others point out, as a conspiracy theorist I am disappointed in your Lakers love. But I will grudgingly accept the fact that you were a Lakers fan before moving to New Orleans and seeing The Light (That Might or Might Not Be Chris Paul Shining With a Special Glow). So I can see ya gotta stick with that.
P.S. In case you haven’t heard our Boston Garden story, I present you with the link to the very angry letter I wrote them following the incident. Damn, reading that just makes me mad all over again. Now I feel like I can’t root for the Celtics either. But I like their players better than the Lakers, and it is not their fault their building is owned by fascists.
P.P.S. However, the Boston Bruins are not off the hook. They will never win another Stanley Cup because I have cursed them.
Jeez.. just read that entire letter. Did they ever respond?
Wrong blog, mW.
@ atthehive: Yeah, they sent us something from their lawyer saying they weren’t responsible for the door hitting Mike in the head as they were throwing us out. So… pretty much they were asses. In New Orleans you woulda gotten a little lagniappe, something. But apparently they don’t care who their arena people piss off.
ticktock, I’m guessing the security guard was implying *some*thing else when he said you had no boyfriend… (by the way, nice insert, that ‘lagniappe’. I think the extent of regional dialects in Texas is ‘Ya’ll’)
atthehive, this year really was a ‘lifetime achievement award’ for Mr. Vanessa Laine Bryant, methinks. Granted, Mr. Vanessa is consistently one of the best, but you make a good (and valid) point that there were better individual players. I have proof that New Orleans was ahead in the race before the Gasol trade (so Gasol propelling Lakers into first… wouldn’t Gasol be most VALUABLE player?), so technically, Mr. Vanessa didn’t make LA numero uno. I’m not vehemently against Mr. Vanessa winning; I’m sick of the requisite obnoxiousness that comes with the supporters.
As for mW, the whole Lakers thing… for shame, for shame…
ticktock… wow, that’s seriously shocking. My opinion of Boston just plummeted (then again, I am a Yankees fan, so said opinion wasn’t very high to begin with). But Paul Pierce is still the man, am I right?
Mark, haha haven’t heard the Mr. Vanessa thing before. I would use it… but after hearing Utah fans call CP “Christina Paul” over and over again, I’ve vowed not to sink to their level. That said… Ericka Dampier sucks!!!
I’m not going to lie, I get hot and bothered when I type ‘Vanessa Bryant’, instead of the bias that stems from ‘Kobe Bryant’. Hence, it keeps me more grounded. Plus, Vanessa Bryant > Kobe Bryant, any day, any time. You can tell I likes me some Vanessa Bryant.
Vanessa Bryant.
Thanks for the “hijack” ticktock. Any way. Has anyone looked around to see the opinion of CP across the country? Hate him. People that think the Cavs are a joke except for the one-man wrecking crew up there? Haters. And as for Kobe? Plenty of hatred. Any superstar that can destroy your hopes and dreams with an unstoppable fadeaway jumper or a cut through head-on-a-swivel-ankle-branking drive through the paint is the kind of player that opposing fans will hate. We should revel in the fact that people are starting to hate CP. It means that fans fear what he can do to their teams.
Same with Kobe. If you admire basketball, it’s almost impossible not to respect his game. Maybe you don’t like his personality, or his rep, or his temperament. Fine. But what he does on the floor? Amazing. Simply amazing.
As for the Lakers in general? They will be hated as much as the Yankees in basketball or the Red Wings in hockey (sorry Canadians/Leafs, patriotic fervor and the focus on recent winners sidesteps the hatred, despite your storied histories), or recently the Patriots in football. Because they’re dominant. Repeatedly. You could make a similar remark about the Spurs. The Lakers have most Finals appearances in NBA history. Of course, that said, they have less championships than the Celtics. I guess the fact that the Lakers are more successful recently makes them more hated.
And while I’m alienating myself from the entire Nola community, we, as basketball fans, should be shocked at the lack of respect Phil Jackson got in the COY voting. The man has won 10 of the last 17 championships (losing 1 of the remaining 7), and now he is in the 18th and might win it, becoming the winningest coach ever. Yes, I know, he also does not get a “lifetime achievement award.” But consider, he seamlessly adapted to a new starter in a complicated offensive scheme, whereas Phoenix and Dallas failed to do so miserably (and both teams were led by former-COYs). Don’t get me wrong, I’m still saying Byron deserved it. Hands down. But Phil is amazing. Yes, yes, he had MJ, Kobe, and Shaq for all those wins. But funny story, Shaq is the only one of those guys to win a championship without Phil. And he had Riles. Another all-time great.
What I’m saying is that there are plenty of reasons to respect the Lakers. Definitely you could say the same about the C’s. But plenty of Hornets’ fans have already done that. I’m just telling the other side of the story. I’m just surprised the love is so one-sided. Typically, if enough people spit out their opinions, reactions tend to fall on both sides. Not here. Curious.
So be it. But no hatred here. Go Western Conference!
I never got over the sexual assault trial. Real… false… doesn’t matter. In my mind I’m still skeeved out over it.
Actually, with Chris Paul, a lot of people were raving about him, “He made me love basketball again! He is the second coming! He makes me love life! Weep for joy!” But sadly it’s like that with many debuts. I can see it turning to hate gradually.
First of all kobe in regards to the trial it was dropped but explain this, why did he pay off the girl who he “raped” if he did nothing……oh well. Kobe is nothing to respect because the way he acts off the court shows his game, him putting down andrew bynum when he was bad and then praising him when he is good just shows what kind of person and player he is, and that is selfish. No player that selfish can ever be good for a team, without one player his team was a 50 percent team. With one player(gasol) they got much better, not because of kobe but because of pau. But anyway I can say I respect KG because he inspires his team and gets them riled up, the same with Paul, but bryant just whines and says “guys…..c’mon….” like a child, he gets his points from bad calls by the officials and that is it so it’s sad to me that he is even in the league. Lebron James is out of his league play wise because he is doing things that haven’t been done in a long time, as is Paul, but bryant is scoring baskets, which has been done by lots of people since the league started, so way to do the same thing you’ve always done only slightly less and get an award kobe, way to go. The time has come that the most valuable player in the league is a guy who stabs his teammates in the back instead of trying to uplift them as Paul did.
what is that smell……..it’s great the scent of laker fan tears….ahh…refreshing, need to get some tickets to the game tuesday so I can show off my Pierce jersey in L.A. HAHAHA
You OWN that Pierce jersey!!
Yep, I have a collection and buy jerseys for players I respect, like I have a minnesota KG jersey. I’m a fan of the sport but just can never respect players that talk shit to their own teammates instead of trying to uplift them. But I truly respect PPs’ game, it sucks that the Hornets are out but this celtics team deserves to win this year, they were the best all year round.
Being the conspiracy theorist that I am… I think that Jerry West had alot to do with the Gasol Trade. I have nothing to back that up other than the fact that he’s been the GM for both organizations, and I assume he still has plenty of contacts with both. My beef about the trade isn’t with the Lakers, rather its with the Grizzlies. I mean, wouldn’t you want to get SOMETHING back for your best player? You don’t make a BS trade like that with someone in your own conference. That would be like the clippers giving us Magette for Hilton Armstrong, the rights to Arvydas Macijauskas, and Mike James. I will never forgive them, ever. May the fleas of 1000 camels infest their armpits.
As for the Lakers in this trade thing, Swarming the Ball did a post about Karma biting them in the ass. Pretty good read. I think it will.
I’m rooting for the Celtics because of PJ Brown. He’s the last Hornet connection left alive in this thing. I’m also cheering for the Celtics because I don’t want the Lakers to be too comfortable with what they’ve got. If they don’t win it all, that means they’ve got to tweak their roster. Yes, I know Bynum is out, but do you honestly think the Lakers care about that? No, they care about winning now. They can also lose key members of their bench this offseason. We would have more to gain by the Lakers losing, in my opinion.