LA Sports Drama

I knew from the beginning of the 2010-11 season that this would not be a successful one for the LA Lakers. It was hard for me to come to that conclusion, having been a Lakers fan for almost all my life. The season came and went, and I thought, Maybe I was wrong. They came out with one of the best records in the NBA. They barely finished off New Orleans and lost to Dallas in a clean sweep. Out...there will be no 3peat. What a way for Phil Jackson to end his coaching career. I watched parts of the game on Sunday, and what I saw was ugly. I missed the antics of Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom, but from what I saw of the clips on the news and Kobe's post-game comments, I'm glad I did. I heard about even more drama from a co-worker, who stated that Pau Gasol's girlfriend and Kobe Bryant's wife got into drama worthy of "Basketball Wives", which affected the team dynamics. Seriously?! I know they might be rumors, but that makes a lot of sense. This team unraveled before the world, making for ugly plays and ultimately, losses.

What I felt went wrong with the Lakers this past season was that they stopped thinking of the fans. If Gasol and Bryant let their own dramas get in the way, that only supports the rumors. Each team member appeared to be interested in furthering their own careers and agendas. Their focuses turned to reality shows, endorsements, awards, and other nonsense. They forgot about the "little" people who got them there.

They need to take a page from Manny Pacquiao's book. No matter what, he thinks of the fans. During Saturday's match, he was locked to win by unanimous decision halfway through, but even during round 12, he was going for a knockout because he knew the fans wanted it, indicated by their chants of Knock him out! He sacrificed his body and face in order to please them. He's a proud Filipino, and he has donated many of his earnings to charities in his home country. He could've retired on top years ago, but he insisted on this Mosley fight in order to raise money to open up a hospital. If that's not classy, what is?!

I don't want to take myself out of the running for being a lifelong Lakers fan, but if there aren't any changes in the team, I will. They truly didn't deserve to win this year.