Who does the rest of the country want to win this series?

[BASSTHUMPER]

cheif jay strong bow~~~~

ya lost cool points wit me on that pic playa~

lol..

[Celtic]

Does ANYONE like the Lakers except Los Angeles? 
I have yet to hear/read/meet someone who does.

Celtics with 95% of the Vote most likely.

Grew up hating em, hate em now, and really hated the Shaq/Kobe teams, they got away with so much nonsense in those years, Sacramento will always have a legitimate complaint from those days. Flip side, I am very much in the minority of Celtics fans, especially on these boards, in that I actually like Kobe Bryant. I used to really dislike him, but once Shaq was gone and it was just him, and he wasn't the media darling anymore, everyone started hating him, I started liking him, but I root for the bad guys in movies a lot. I am also very thankful that there is someone in the NBA still better than Lebron, who I detest.

[mpapic]

There are really three kinds of Laker fans:

1) People who live in LA...

2) People who grew up loving Showtime (which WAS America's darling) and fell in love with the Lakers then (this includes an enormous fan base across America and abroad, the global reach of the NBA was just starting and people in Europe and Asia got to adore the Lakers because of Magic, etc. - I am included in this group)

3) Bandwaggon losers who got hooked on to the Kobe-Shaq dynasty because they had to find someone to root for after MJ retired... Now they are dusting off their purple and gold because the Lakers are back in it.

People that you see in the stands of most basketball arenas wearing purple and gold jerseys obviously fall in the latter two categories, but are most probably just bandwagoners. Maybe a few of them moved to Boston (or wherever they are on the road) from LA, and maybe they are still THAT committed to the franchise of the 80s (like me), but they are probably just bandwagoners. As a Laker fan, I give you permission (once you are sure they are from the third category) to pester them.

Ok, now... other than these three groups... NOBODY WANTS THE LAKERS TO WIN. Sure, there are some talking heads out there who want the Lakers to win (dudes like Buecher), but majority of people in the US hate Kobe and hate the Lakers (especially now that they have that "Euro" stench on them). The Celtics have 3 genuinely cool cats that you can root for to win their first titles and who appear in all those silly ESPN adds... Man, even I genuinely WANT the Celtics to win A (if not "the") Championship... I have to root against you guys because the Lakers are playing, but there is just no animosity (unlike against the Jazz and the Spurs... URGH I hate the Spurs team/coaches and the Jazz fans... SOOOO MUCH!!!)...

So there... the short answer is that the country DEFINITELY wants the Celtics to win.

Except people in LA...
And people who started following basketball in the 80s...
And those annoying bandwagoners that I in the name of all LA fans declare free game for beer showers.

[mpapic]

one more thing... someone said something about "generational changes"... That is a money comment. My family is not from LA or Boston (grew up in Europe), but my dad is a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE Celtics fan because he started following basketball in the 60s (back when it was a challenge to get news about the Celtics from across half the continent away, so he deserves mad props) whereas I started following ball in the 80s (and obviously preferred the showtime to the Celtics... no offense, but I was a kid and Magic and co. played a much more exciting style).

I bet you that there are family splits like that all over the globe... Father rooting for the green and the son going for the purple and gold! Which is why a lot of the Laker fans from the 80s don't hate the Celtics... that would be like hating on your father man and that is just not cool

[RockinRyA]

i agree.. many of these father and sons here are like that, fathers rooting for the celtics, sons rooting for the fancy lakers(and melo, bron wade tmac and carter, all those showtime players)

well just got switched in my case, when my dad was alive he adored the lakers(kobe is like this, hes like that, theyre the best, the kings are queens etc) while i loved the men in green(from toine days of course, im only 22)

[mpapic]

I like the little "dig" in that last post RockinRyA... please refrain from comparing Showtime Lakers to anything that has any association with "melo, bron wade tmac and carter, all those showtime players). There is showtime and then there is Showtime. 

[cuckroller]

Who cares?  They're all losers!

Oh, sorry, that's a bad attitude.  I don't know how much it's changed since the Celtics heyday, but their fanbase was much like the Yankees nationally (before the Red Sox Nation craze).  Lots of people latched on to the Celtics because of their dynasty.  Whether those people successfully passed it on to a generation who were trying to be sold  on a sucky team just because Dad said they used to be great is another question.

As for the people who currently fans of teams other than the Celts or Lakers.  I'd say the Celtics, just because they're more of an underdog story in recent memory. 

Yes, I must admit that your first reaction was also mine - the "who cares" part of it at least.

My sense is that both franchises probably split the "hater" population pretty equally. 

I have always felt that being hated comes with the territory.  At present, lots of people "hate" the Lakers because they wish to contrive a hate for "arrogant, and uppity" Kobe Bryant.  Boston, on the other hand, has always had to live down the reputation, real, or imagined, of being a dirty team willing to injure key players in order to win.

So, I say to heck with them.  Whatever happens with this rivalry is in final analysis our business - the fans of always, even the bad times.  That the sometimes "fans", but not really, those that feel that they must choose sides when their own teams are eliminated (a whole lot of time by us!)can rationalise all they want for justification of the enmity in regards both of our franchises, but, after cutting out all of the fat it all boils down to being jealous, and so I repeat, who cares!

[Bahku]

There's obviously a large contingent of poor souls who buy into the media's and the NBA's shameless promotion of their "Golden Boy" Kobe, but I think the majority favors the underdog, and the team that has worked the hardest and overcome the most adversity: The Celtics. All those red and blue states, will soon be green! Go Celtics!

[RockinRyA]

what im pointing out is, the people of my generation and younger usually favors those who are constants in highlights, you know, awesome moves, dunks etc.. another reason i didnt capitalize the "showtime"  and youre right, they pale in comparison to Magic et al

and i can attest that this is the kind of marketing that nba uses esp here abroad(some people thinks carter is a great player while not knowing who paul pierce is)

[Bahku]

what im pointing out is, the people of my generation and younger usually favors those who are constants in highlights, you know, awesome moves, dunks etc.. another reason i didnt capitalize the "showtime"  and youre right, they pale in comparison to Magic et al

and i can attest that this is the kind of marketing that nba uses esp here abroad(some people thinks carter is a great player while not knowing who paul pierce is)

Interesting perspective, RR ... and one I hadn't thought to consider much ... about how the media portrays players overseas. However, it makes sense, (though sadly), that Pierce wouldn't be well-known. It's an incredible shame that this guy has gotten such a bum deal from the press, and that more people don't know how truly amazing he is ... on all levels. I think we may see an end to that, (or at least an improvement), after these Finals are over. Regardless of the outcome, I think the world may finally get at least a glimpse of who the Truth really is, and just what a solid player he can be. Here's hoping!

PS: Hey, RR ... please keep me posted of the impressions your media has there of these Finals, and especially Paul ... I'd really appreciate knowing. Thanks!

[Eja117]

I didn't see anyone say exactly this, but Id assume due to all the Kobe haters most people would want us to win. I doubt there are lots of PP or Ray haters, plus most people probably have or will have respect for PJ B, Perk, Powe, and Baby, whereas I could see people not liking Odom and their Euros. People like Fisher though

[cuckroller]

I didn't see anyone say exactly this, but Id assume due to all the Kobe haters most people would want us to win. I doubt there are lots of PP or Ray haters, plus most people probably have or will have respect for PJ B, Perk, Powe, and Baby, whereas I could see people not liking Odom and their Euros. People like Fisher though

A lot of this stuff is simply there because of regional considerations.  The fanbases of a lot of the western conference teams "hate" the Lakers, and antipathy towards Kobe is a convenient excuse.  The real reason is that the Laker franchise has been too successful (for those fanbases I mean) in being a rather constant obstacle to their own title aspirations.  The exact same rationale exists for many of the eastern conference fanbases when considering the historic success as a franchise, of the Boston Celtics.

[Eja117]

Yeah, but they were good a lot more recently than us