Posted on 06/15/2004 8:41:39 PM PDT by Dan from Michigan
I am glad the Lakers lost. I do not like Shaq, Kobe or Fox. I think Kobe is innocent but I still don't like him.
If there is any FReeper who would like to contribute a Pistons NBA Championship T shirt to this Israeli soldier please FRmail me.
Actually, most people hated THIS Lakers team before they even won a title. Most people I knew in 2000, even some who weren't sports fans, pulled for Portland to come back in that WCF series and hated the Lakers.
Come on, between the refs never calling Shaq fairly and giving LA an advantage no team in NBA history has had(including the BUlls, as Jordan was still a perimeter player) Phil's arrogance, Rick Fox and Kobe's Karaoke Jordan work, there was never a reason to LIKE this Laker incarnation.
Many of the same Laker haters liked them when they had Eddie and Nick Van Exel. I was one(not a fan, but I didn't hate them)
Compare the feelings about the Lakers from non-rival fans to what people felt about Houston or San Antonio. People will root against the favorite or dominant team, but they typically don't hate them just because of that.
I rooted against New England one year after rooting for them(my Skins will be back!) Why? The Pats don't need another trophy, but they got it anyway. I don't hate the friggin Pats. I still hate the Cowboys and the Eagles are also hated, as much for their fanbase as anything.
But the Lakers were hated before they won the first title with Shaq.
It is the personalities, conduct and to an extent the officiating that have made people hate the Lakers. Not the fact that they won.
Congratulation to The Detroit Pistons! I don't follow sports as much as I once did, but this is my favorite Detroit sports team of all time. Great job by everyone involved. What a pleasure to watch!
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