A funny thing happened this weekend. And no, it wasn’t “funny ha-ha“, it was “funny disturbing“, because I found myself rooting for the Lakers. Now, for any of you who have read this blog, you know I’m not a fan of the Lakers. In fact, on my four-team list of teams I can’t stand, the Lakers always stand somewhere between 2-4.(Yeah, the Nuggets never move. Screw you, Denver.)
So how, you ask, could I possibly be rooting for the Lakers? I don’t like to admit it, but it’s all rooted in one thing: Jealousy. Yes, I’m jealous of the Thunder. They are the young, up-and-coming team in the West. They have exciting, developing talent. I watch Durant and I KNOW, as a basketball fan, that I should love his game. But I can’t. I resent his genius. Why? Because the Thunder are exactly what we thought the Hornets were two years ago. They are the charming, handsome heir to the throne the Hornets had designs on, and I can’t accept it.
It’s actually a stronger version of feelings I had last year with Portland. I liked to pretend my dislike for them was due to the bad blood between Przybilla and Chandler, and that I was just feeling an extension of that animosity. But it wasn’t that. I resented them for their youth, their future. I still sort of resent them.
So – I’m going to say it right now. I hope the Zombie Sonics lose. For my own sanity, so I don’t find myself rooting for the Lakers again, I want them out of the playoffs. I want them put back in their place, and out of the picture, so my own jealous fear of them can subside . . .
. . . does this make me a bad person?
Oh, but after OKC loses, I want the Spurs to obliterate the Lakers. Then all will be right with my Basketball world.
((Sorry Diane.))