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It's that time
again for laker fans
By Grant Parker
Special for the Online Forty-Niner
It's that time
of year again in LA.
Time for Laker
fans to gear up for their third annual championship run of
the new millennium.
In what has become
another predictable NBA dynasty,
Laker fans are becoming accustomed to championship parades
and parties.
This "getting
used to winning" attitude also raises expectations and
confidence. And I'm not talking about the team, I'm talking
about the fans.
Laker fans are
at the height of their euphoria. Their spring is consumed
with the team and the expectations for a third straight banner.
With such expectations
and confidence in this team, it appears that a certain cockiness
has been bred in Laker fans.
As a resident of
the L.A. area, and a host of a sports
talk show on the CSULB
campus, I witness this cockiness first hand.
Heck, as a Laker
fan, I've indulged in this cockiness myself for some time.
I've heard all sorts of fans' opinions on this season.
The co-host on
my sports talk show, Ryan Rivas, runs his mouth about the
Lakers constantly.
He's been a fan
since he was 10, and has rode the emotional roller coaster
with the team ever since. But this year, he doesn't predict
any tears.
"I'm confident
that they will win it all again this year."
According to Rivas,
all the Lakers have to do is "come and play, and they
have this championship in the bag."
Not only does Rivas
predict this year's championship, but also he feels that there
are many more to come.
"There's no
doubt in my mind that the Lakers have a dynasty on their hands,"
he said.
Co-hosting the sports talk show here in the L.A. area, he
encounters plenty of other Lakers fans.
Rivas said Lakers
fans are cocky because "[they] are confident in what
this team can do."
Gerry Sanabria
is one such fan. Following the team since 1987, Sanabria is
a hardcore follower.
He sees a difference
between this team in the regular season and the playoffs.
"The Lakers
lacked focus during the season, but [they] will put it together
during the playoffs and take it just like last year,"
he said.
Sanabria said Laker
fans today "take for granted that they'll win."
But he doesn't fall far off the line either.
"I'm cocky,
I exude confidence like Kobe," Sanabria said.
Even newer Laker
fans have a sort of swagger to them.
Coming from "Bulls
country" three years ago, Brad Hultz has taken up to
the Lakers since his move to L.A.
Hultz even jokes
that he "followed Phil Jackson out to L.A. when he took
the head coaching job of the Lakers."
Hultz's insight into the team is fairly basic, yet still cocky.
"If they play
hard, they'll sweep all the way through. Nobody can beat them,
plus Kobe's too good to be stopped," he said.
Cockiness is not
something new to Laker fans according to Hultz. He witnessed
the "Showtime" era, when "Magic Johnson started
L.A.'s cockiness in the 1980s."
But today's Laker
fans have a cockiness all their own. Maybe this is the works
of the one-two punch team of Shaq and Kobe.
Matt Loggins didn't
even watch basketball until this dominant duo joined forces
in L.A. Now, he rarely misses a Laker game.
"I'm disappointed
we didn't win more games, especially against the worst teams,
but I'm not worried about the playoffs," Loggins said.
Confidence is not
something Loggins lacks now, come playoff time.
"Look what
they've done the past two years, who can beat them?,"
he asked.
Loggins believes
that the rest of the "Laker nation" is doing their
part in rallying this team to another championship.
"Everyone
is backing them, without worries of a letdown," Loggins
said.
Its obvious, whether
they admit it or not, that many Laker fans do have a bit of
cockiness when referring to their confidence in a third straight
title.
Perhaps it's that
swagger that all championship teams and their fans walk with.
How can you argue
against them? You can still be cocky as long as you're still
the one puffing on the victory cigar at the end of the season.
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