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All right, first, you should know I was born and raised in the L.A. area. So, yes, I’m a Lakers fan. I used to hate the Jazz, but I’ve lived here almost 13 years and I’ve seen incredible maturity with this current team over the years. Now, I’m not embarrassed to say that I’m a Lakers and Jazz fan. I know you may think it can’t be possible, but it can. Why should you cheer for L.A.? Is it so the two cities can come together so we can have a warm and fuzzy, ebony and ivory, let’s hold hands and sing “Kumbaya” kind of a feeling? No way. After the NBA championships are over, by all means, go back to hating them. You may ask, “Why would I root for a team that knocked my favorite out of contention?” The answer is, “Because… they knocked your favorite team out of contention.” As a sports fan, I always hated when my favorite team was beaten by someone who ended up losing to someone else. If I’m going to lose, I want to lose to the best, not to some runner-up. For instance, my Dodgers ended up losing to the Phillies in the National League Championship. Do you know how furious I would have been if the Phillies ended up losing to the Rays? I would have thrown the biggest hissy-fit any 35 year old man has ever thrown. But I digress. Going back to basketball, I know it may be a hard pill to swallow, but I think you should root for the guys in purple and gold, and take heart in the fact that the Jazz was never embarrassed with a 121-63 loss in their playoff series like New Orleans had. Of course, it may not even matter because Lebron James and the Cavs are looking really good.
