I Have a Dream
by Gil Meriken on Mar 18, 2010 9:00 AM PDT
in Editorial
74 comments
As a Lakers fan, I am part of one of the most persecuted and hated fan bases in all of sportsdom. The only other fans that come close to being as blindly judged are New York Yankees fans. I am called all sorts of horrid names: "Kobe Lover", "Faker", "L*ker", "F**ker". I am called fake, obnoxious, arrogant, bandwagon-riding, front running, and Hollywood.
It's assumed I know nothing about basketball, and I am judged based on the worst behavior of the most trollish and most outlandish of my (sports) people.
So today, I tell you that I have a internet dream. No, not that kind of dream, not the kind reserved for late at night, after all the game threads have died down, and all the post game quotes have been read.
No, I have a dream that someday, I will not be judged by the team I root for, but by my solid basketball analysis and non-trolling behavior. I dream that I will not have the fury of the opposing team unleashed upon me for pointing out holes in their logic ("David Stern makes sure the Lakers win" - except when they don't. And why didn't David Stern manufacture that Lakers-Cavs Finals he so desperately wanted to happen last season?).
I dream that opposing fans will understand that that one heinous Lakers fan on their site does not represent my point of view, does not speak for me, just as I do not speak for them.
Ladies and Gentlemen, I dream of being treated as an individual who happens to root for the Lakers.
I hope that opposing fans see those dumb fans who root for the Lakers and say "What dumb fans", instead of saying "What dumb Lakers fans". Stop lumping us all together, plz. It's seems that sports fandom is the last bastion of stereotyping. It's acceptable to describe in broad terms a group of sometimes millions simply because they chose to root for the same team.
via fansided.com
I hope they see that ignorant fans are a part of every fan base, and even if you think there is a greater ratio of ignorant Laker fans than for other teams, well so what? Would you still say "Lakers fans are ignorant" as if being a Laker fan makes you ignorant? No, you should say, "IHeartKB24 is ignorant" or "LBJSux is ignorant", don't apply their traits to the whole fan base. Because it's wrong. Even if there are reasons that more obnoxious people are attracted to the Lakers, that doesn't mean I am one of them. I don't even believe the "you're just jealous of winning" defense that is thrown out by many in Lakerville, because you hardly ever heard complaints about Spurs fans when they were winning. Even if I admit all that, it's still wrong to speak so broadly of such a large group.
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING BECAUSE I KNOW I WILL GET COMMENTS REGARDING THIS
I don't mean to trivialize Dr. King's words by using this analogy, but the point of an analogy is that it's not the same, but similar principles are at work. Because "fanism" is NOT THE SAME and it's NOT a serious issue AT ALL like racism is. I only wish to highlight that the same principles of prejudice and stereotyping are at work, even in something as innocuous as sports fandom.
Also, you don't get to choose your race, but you do choose your team. But should I not root for the Lakers because other people hate Lakers fans? Really? I shouldn't root for the team I like, because other people don't like their fans?
I'm not trying to take the fun out of sports, because some of the fun is giving other people a hard time. But just think about my plea, my opposing fan friends, the next time you think to begin a comment "Lakers fans are so ..." I'm speaking about all fan bases that are maligned. Give that Raiders fan, that Yankees fan, that guy wearing a Red Sox cap a chance, before you lump him or her in with the "lame fan" crowd.
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great article. Ive been dying to make a post on this topic, but I could never think about the right way of making one.
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
AMEN, Amen, Amen.... Hallelujah..... Amen
THIS NEEDS TO BE POSTED ON EVERY SB NATION BLOG!
Great article Keliods…. I mean….. Meriken. ;)
"I work my ass off every day in practice. How many other guys can say the same thing? Not many. I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worse thing you can say to a basketball player." - Dennis Rodman
once again, great article
I cant say that enough…Im sick of the crap/idiotic blanket statements we constantly hear from other fanbases (Denver Stiffs cough cough).
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
Excellent Article
We should all bookmark the link and whenever we encounter a hater, redirect them to this page.
However, i must disagree with one point. I don’t believe that laker fans have a higher ratio of ignorant fans. Rather, since our fan base is the largest, it APPEARS that we have more ignorant fans than other teams.
If you have a debate with a scholar, you can win. If you have a debate with an ignorant person, you will most certainly lose.
^^^ this...
is the truth
"I work my ass off every day in practice. How many other guys can say the same thing? Not many. I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worse thing you can say to a basketball player." - Dennis Rodman
Great post Gil. One problem though……Red Sox fans suck!!!!!
Just kidding, just kidding……. not really
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
Good post Gil
Too often, I kinda think of it this way: “Don’t judge me by my blog memberships, but judge me by my posts.”
Yo, we should get a March madness thread up here!
Awesome article by the way. REC’D.
just use the fan post i set up for the fantasy march madness tourney.
no need to make another one.
"I work my ass off every day in practice. How many other guys can say the same thing? Not many. I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worse thing you can say to a basketball player." - Dennis Rodman
by LakersFoEva on Mar 18, 2010 12:26 PM PDT up reply actions
Ignorance can’t be reasoned with.
I take any ignorant hatred towards the Lakers and me as a fan as something I welcome.
I used to get upset and offended but I realized that I had no reason to try and defend the Lakers and its fan base. I will never apologize or feel as if I have to represent all Laker fans when I speak. In reality, there is no need to defend, in my opinion, the greatest franchise in all of sports. We don’t have to say word because the retired jerseys and championship banners do all of our talking for us. If someone ever tells me that my attitude is full of arrogance then my only answer would be, "didn’t you already think I was arrogant just on the basis of the team that I root for?" Either way, we will never be able to change anyone’s mind about the way we are viewed so why adjust? All I can do is be proud of my team and if someone doesn’t like it they can kiss my ass.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 11:01 AM PDT reply actions 1 recs
My sig is based on pretty much the same concept
If you have a debate with a scholar, you can win. If you have a debate with an ignorant person, you will most certainly lose.
Yours signature is actually better.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 2:27 PM PDT up reply actions
I have a picture on my pc under My Pictures does anyone know how I can up load it and paste into this post?
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 11:03 AM PDT reply actions
You have to post it online first
Try imgur.com or some other photo hosting site
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gil Meriken on Mar 18, 2010 11:10 AM PDT up reply actions
i use flickr
not only can you upload pics there but you can crop and edit them too….
"Just by the aura of D.J. Mbenga being there, the shot missed."
dam! I knew you guys would know. thnx. With this topic of this post
I have been wanting to post the pic of my cubicle at work because I get so many negative comments on it.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
btw..thnx for the tip shaqfor3
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 4:19 PM PDT up reply actions
Hey that flickr thing is pretty awesome..thnx
That flag is 3X5 feet. I had ask my boss’ permission before I put it up on my cubicle…lol But I get crap for it ALL the dam time.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 7:12 PM PDT up reply actions 5 recs
that is too awsome
it reeks of g and you are an inspiration
YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD YES!
www.reverbnation.com/czheckproductions
And on the last day god made Kobe unstoppable,is it possible to stop something unstoppable?
lol..thnx man!
I went to a game last month and as you know, when the Lakers win they drop those long strips of confetti and I got a purple and gold strip and I’m going to put it all along the top of my cubicle.. I put that stuff up proudly. On top of that you can’t even see the left side which has a bunch of other stuff.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 9:49 PM PDT up reply actions
Is it the team or the flag?
Are you taking crap because you’re a Lakers fan or because your a fanatic with a giant flag in your cubicle?
Defenitely the team..
I get made fun of because of the flag but I get true real hatred for the team that i’m a fan of. But I talk too much trash and read too much about the Lakers for anyone to know more than me. Hell, most of the time I know more about their own team they do. I just laugh at it now because people don’t ever give you a thought of their own as to why they hate the Lakers. It is the same stereotypical crap.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions
hell fucking NO!
I live in LA and I work two blocks away from their practice facility and even that doesn’t matter. There are so many fans of basketball that absolutely hate the Lakers.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 10:51 PM PDT up reply actions
I'll put it to you this way
Clipper fans put more emotion into hating the Lakers rather than talk about their own team.
But LA, I noticed, is a melting pot of fans. In my company alone there are Clipper, NJ Nets, Knicks, Celtics and so many other fans and they all have one thing in common..they hate Kobe.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions
same thing that Laker fans at my job say
my boss is somewhat concerned because I keep adding more crap. I have the Chevron Lakers car bobble heads and the poster that Kobe designed. When they won the title I had the front page of the LA times laminated at Kinkos and put that up to.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 10:55 PM PDT up reply actions
true fan!
i like how you take your non-Laker fan co-workers crap and just keep adding to that B-E-A-U-tiful cubicle. LOVE it!!
Oh i love the hatred. : )
I mean really? Is there any other team’s fan that can say something that would bother me? I can talk crap about any team in the NBA and I wouldn’t be wrong. I can kill half the trash talkers but just saying that in order for them to qualify in a trash talking session their team has to have made the playoffs recently.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 19, 2010 8:23 AM PDT up reply actions
mamma mia!
that’s a workstation? Looks more like a Laker memorabilia museum!
….just kidding, Carlos! ;-)
"E-Coaches are heavy in here tonight! Take E-Sasha and put him on the E-bench on your fantasy league, that’ll show him!" - Jevon O
: ) I know..
its a shrine. I want to add more to it.
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 20, 2010 11:38 AM PDT up reply actions
sweet!
thnx sir… : )
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 11:17 AM PDT reply actions
Good post
It’s especially relavent when you don’t live in Southern California, but I love my Lakers and always will.
The Airman of Westwood
I get alot of lip about being a Laker fan cuz I live in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Most people think I’m a bandwagon fan, until they realize I lived in so-cal for 17 years before moving away for college.
"I work my ass off every day in practice. How many other guys can say the same thing? Not many. I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worse thing you can say to a basketball player." - Dennis Rodman
by LakersFoEva on Mar 18, 2010 12:28 PM PDT up reply actions
plus many fans here are insane about the jazz
Is that you Dacos?
My gf doesn't watch sports at all and she was watching an NBA classic
game with me once vs the Kings and out of nowhere she just says, " You know that in small cities where there isn’t much to do is where you see fans get crazier because there is nothing else to do"
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 18, 2010 10:49 PM PDT up reply actions
your girlfriend is very smart.
Billy Mac: "Lamar, can you see yourself actually getting in the (boxing) ring"?
Lamar Odom: "No. My face is too pretty."
she is too freakin smart.
She has a photographic memory. ugh! I took a class in college and went everyday she shows up only on the day of the final and gets a fucking b and I got a c-
"If you want to find the dumbest guy in the room just find the first guy to tell you how smart he is." - JG
by PURPLE AND GOLD FOR LIFE on Mar 19, 2010 7:33 PM PDT up reply actions
You live in Utah Madz?
"I work my ass off every day in practice. How many other guys can say the same thing? Not many. I'm fighting against becoming soft. That's the worse thing you can say to a basketball player." - Dennis Rodman
Condolences
Jazz fans are some of the worst in any major sport. Salt Lake has great people, but for some reason they mutate into ignorant dopes when it comes to the Jazz. The late 90’s were particularly ugly.
I see so much of the Jazz fan mentality in Cavs fans and it is mind numbing to listen to them rant with no substance or coherent thought. The similarities between the late 90’s Jazz and the Cavs are uncanny. I often refer to LeBron as Mailman, Jr because of it.
Haha Spero doin the Vanderbilt/Murray St. game
this dude is legend in the making
FSU
I saw toney Douglas in the tournament last year for FSU and he carried them agaisnt some good teams. The ACC was strong last year and he set records in that conference. as a Laker fan i was excited when they drafted him. He is a good triangle point guard. he has good size, can shoot and rebound. I was devastated when they traded him. but hopefully we will find someone else. He is young and will get better. Still think he has more upside than Shannon and Farmar and for sure Sasha
Honestly
who cares? The kind of people that judge all Laker fans immediately are the kind of people that tend to be straight up homers that do not think about the game on any sort of analytical level. They’re never going to appreciate the way you think about basketball critically because they themselves have no interest in that sort of stuff.
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.
“Can’t beat us? / Join Us
Can’t fade us? / Hate us”
- Memphis Bleek
I’ll take the hate, and even the bandwagon fans. It’s a sign of a successful team. We know we have our die-hards, and even “rival” teams know it. The hate is actually a sign of respect.
http://twitter.com/wondahbap
"hate is a sign of respect"
too bad they won’t admit though lol
If you have a debate with a scholar, you can win. If you have a debate with an ignorant person, you will most certainly lose.
major props
for using the memphis bleek quote
the best thing about hatters is the sweet silence they have when the lakers win it all
YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD YES!
www.reverbnation.com/czheckproductions
And on the last day god made Kobe unstoppable,is it possible to stop something unstoppable?
You should try living in Ohio!!
I am born and raised in Ohio. My dad grew up in LA, and I have been a die hard Lakerfan since birth. Until about 6 years ago, nobody cared about the Cavs. Now every time I get into an NBA discussion and it comes out that I’m a Lakers fan, everybody in the room gives me crap because they say I am a bandwagon jumper. They actually accuse me of the same thing they are doing! It’s so bad that when people ask who I root for, I have to give the disclaimer, “I am a Lakers fan, but my dad is from LA”.
True story- I am also a member of the Ohio State SB nation page. After the Cavs swept the season series from LA, one of the editors from the Buckeyes site put a Fanpost on the Buckeyes site about how great the Cavs are and how LeBron is so much better than anyone else. Crazy me, I go the OSU site for Buckeye information, not the stupid Cavs.
So I respond by saying that January doesn’t matter in the NBA, and those of us who have actually watched title teams don’t get all giddy because we won a game in January. I also said that shouldn’t LeBron actually win a title before we call him the king??
That’s all I said; no insults and no cussing. They actually tried to kick me off of the Ohio State page for that!!!! The editor said I was trolling. I said no, I was stating my opinion. I am a Buckeye fan and I don’t get on OSU’s site to read about the Cavs. If he doesn’t like what I have to say about the Cavs then maybe he should not post about them on that site because not everyone in Ohio likes the Cavs.
He agreed and let me back on, but I wanted to give you an idea of the type of morons I am dealing with here in Ohio. I hope LeBron leaves just so people in Ohio can stop caring about the NBA, and I can root for the Lakers in peace like the good old days.
by jjschmid72 on Mar 18, 2010 3:17 PM PDT via mobile reply actions
Well, you'll always have a safe haven here...
And no, LeBron ain’t leaving. Cleveland remains his best chance for championships, which I assume he wants more than money. If I am wrong, any respect I have of him will evaporate instantly, not that I have much left after the “LBJ MVP” or “Check My Stats” incident, and the handshaking thing, the dancing thing, the photo ops, ducking the slam dunk contest, and the crap dibble thing…
But hey, it’s still fun to see him take too many shots during a playoff game and lose the series, and have the media crucify his teammates afterwards for being incompetent. (yeah, like a 60+ win team is full of incompetent players…)
I can't tell if Phil Jackson is playing 3D chess and is 10 moves ahead of us or if he's just goddamn senile...
by Mike1204 on Mar 18, 2010 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
I feel your pain jjschmid72
Man I empathize with you man. I know people can be ignorant but the only way you can shut ignorance up is with knowledge. Especially with their team. True story, I live in South Texas and I started a conversation with a Spurs fan at a party. We chided each other on our respective teams. I eventually admitted that one of my favorite non-Laker player was The Iceman (dude is too smooth). He gave me a dumb look and asked who was that. Oh man I gave him hell and berated him all night by calling him bandwagon. So next time please ask your friends what the hell is Brad Daugherty doing broadcasting for NASCAR!
Unfortunatly, you simply can't shut ignorance up
That’s part of being ignorant: they just won’t admit when they’re wrong.
If you have a debate with a scholar, you can win. If you have a debate with an ignorant person, you will most certainly lose.
NASCAR?
Why didn’t I know that Brad Daugherty was calling NASCAR? Whoa, what’s next Mark Price reffing soccer matches? Hot Rod Williams in movies? Wait…wasn’t Hot Rod in a movie?
Sad that Cavs fans have to go back 20 years to name a significant player before LeBron.
I never do understand why commentators and bloggers bash everyone on the cavs not named lebron, do they understand that if you are a 60+ win team it takes more then just 1 superstar to be that good of a team, i mean just look at kobe and the lakers from 04 till we got Gasol
by javon on Mar 18, 2010 5:18 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
I cried reading this post
So beautiful and true.
"I don't want to be the next Michael Jordan, I only want to be Kobe Bryant" - Kobe Bryant
Rec'd Rec'd
Infinitely Rec’d
pslakerfan: "Well if you can get in (the Hall of Fame) by being a scorer who doesn't rebound or play defense.....
Then I guess you can get in by being a rebounder and defender who can’t score." referring to Dennis Rodman
I have a dream
That Laker fans will begin to think of themselves as one community and one tribe, and not be so willing to throw other members under a bus so quickly.
Hmm
I think I am feeling the tribal aspect. I enjoy basketball, and I am part of the community of humanity. Thank you.
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gil Meriken on Mar 18, 2010 10:28 PM PDT up reply actions
*I think I am NOT feeling the tribal aspect.
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gil Meriken on Mar 18, 2010 10:29 PM PDT up reply actions
Game Threads are Tribal
Game threads are where the tribal love comes together. We rejoice together in victory, sorrow together in defeat and in Fish’s diminished skills and drive out stupid trolls together. That’s oneness!
Get under the bus, you!
Twitter feed: @dexterfishmore
by DexterFishmore on Mar 18, 2010 10:50 PM PDT up reply actions
The Chief Elder of the SSR
The Chief has spoken and I have been banished to the underside of the bus. I’m not feeling so tribal anymore…
Everything is interchangeable, at some point you becomes them and they become you, you switch the Celtics jersey into a Lakers jersey and the desires, the hopes, the wishes are the same, the names change, Old Fish becomes Old Ray Allen, but still we create these imaginary boundaries one is purple and gold and one is green, but take off the uniforms and put the players in grey t-shirts and shorts (I’m not ready to imagine them naked – oops I just did) and you’re just left with a bunch of athletic guys trying to live their life the best they can. There are no tribes, groups are an illusion, and I have no point, I rarely do.
"This is not a game for boys. This is a game for men." - Phil Jackson
by Gil Meriken on Mar 18, 2010 11:28 PM PDT reply actions 3 recs
Slava approves this post
he tried to explain this topic to rasheed but he was not having it
YOU CAN PUT IT ON THE BOARD YES!
www.reverbnation.com/czheckproductions
And on the last day god made Kobe unstoppable,is it possible to stop something unstoppable?
beautiful sir... just beautiful
it is truly inspiring when you wax poetic… that just transcended basketball you know.
Seriously though, Gil
Do you know how much what you just said in that paragraph applies to SO MANY OTHER THINGS in life? Great post! And on a Lakers site no less!
$Money Makes the League Go Round$
For the most part I agree with your thought Gil. I often wonder how many players play where they do for pure love of the team or city they’re part of. Bottom line it’s all about money and less about loyalty. Loyalty is mostly a fan attribute. Ballers can ball most anywhere, especially where the cash flows.
Respect
That is all people need. Everybody has his or her own team to root for (I’m with the Mavs and, on a lesser note, the Celtics). Each people may or may not agree on certain matters, but all we have to do is respect each others views.
I also agree with the lumping or stereotyping of fans. For example: stupid Lakers fans, ignorant Celtics fans, bandwagoner Mavs fans, etc. Not all fans are alike, and if one fan who roots for a certain team is deemed to be ignorant, it doesn’t make the whole fanbase ignorant.
Respect is all we need. This is a Lakers blog, so of course, the writers here seemed to be biased towards the team their rooting for, just as the writers in CelticsBlog are biased towards the C’s and just as the MavsMoneyball writers are biased towards the Mavs. If you think you’re a better writer than those here, then go make your own post so people will see and can judge your writing.
Nice post. Not only applicable to Lakers fans, but to the other fanbases in the NBA or on any other sport as well.
"The idea is not to block every shot. The idea is to make your opponent believe that you might block every shot." - Bill Russell
Yes, intimidation is the key to domination.
well put, Gils.
rec’d
"E-Coaches are heavy in here tonight! Take E-Sasha and put him on the E-bench on your fantasy league, that’ll show him!" - Jevon O
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