Okay, What the Hell Was That!?!

• dEDGE Post Scriptum •

I mean, who saw that coming? Who sucker-punched the Lakers back to 2008 when they weren’t (eh-hmm) paying attention? I can live with the ups-and-downs of the regular season, take my high-blood pressure medicine when things get dicey in the playoffs, but what do you do when your team doesn’t show up in perhaps the biggest road game of their professional careers? Laker fans have done their part, all the way from sporting team flags, waving foam fingers, and wearing our colors with true pride. And this is what we get? Today, a Celtics fan came up to me and said, “Seventeen” in reference to the number of titles Boston has won. I thought better than to tell him to stick it up his tea-pipe, partly because I was with my wife and daughter, but more so because I knew he would be the one groaning to himself after the game. And this is what I got.

I go through a ritual before each game, as I’m sure many of you do. I carefully select the right Lakers attire for the occasion, keeping the championship stuff in store until it’s really, really needed. If we win, I make sure I take note of what I did that day, in order to replicate it for the next game. I make sure there are no distractions by taking care of any chores, to-do’s, or kid stuff well before game time. I even go so far as to adjust the volume on the television carefully throughout the game, always making sure it’s set at 16, 17 or 24. At commercials, it goes down to 2. (I would plant it on 37, but the neighbors would undoubtedly complain.) Nothing goes unnoticed, doors and windows are either closed or opened just so. If my daughter walks in and doesn’t shut the hallway door, I get up and close it, careful not to upset the delicate balance between winning and misery. No more pizza and break out the back-to-back gear.

I jot down notes of key moments throughout the game for blogging purposes, but more so to maintain my ritual. I fear if I don’t do my part exactly as scripted, the Lakers would lose because I would have thrown our mojo out of balance. I did my part today, in fact, I’m sure 99.9% of all Laker fanatics everywhere did their part. That leads me to believe that perhaps this loss gets pinned on the team themselves. Not everyone, but you know who you are. Kobe, for all his heroics past, present and future came to play today. Drew also gets a push, and how is it possible that a 7-footer with a bum, swollen knee can out-sprint a healthy 7-foot Spaniard with two good knees? How does a mean face and a couple of snarls render an entire team helpless? Did you think the Celtics would be intimidated by an army of one and a half?

Losses never go down easily, but they are easier to endure if you give it your all. If you fight and persevere, and dive head-first into a sea of uncertainty and sink as a result, we’ll throw you a life buoy to live on and fight another day. But put on another display like this, and all you’ll see is a sea awash of foam fingers floating off into the abyss. I’m not a fatalist, nor do I even consider myself a harsh critic. In fact, I prefer to see and embellish the good rather than point out the obvious and the bad. But please, nothing can hide this elephant under the rug. What I saw today was uncertainty and fear. Not fear of an opponent, but the fear of failing.

What I like about Phil is his ability to calmly soothe the open sores and to move on. (I need to get me some of that zen right about now.) But I’m also quite sure he can’t just come out and say his team just played like shit. What can he possibly do to inspire his team to fight on and give it their all? Nada… Nothing… Zilch… It’s solely up to each player from this point on. It’s all or nothing time. No more excuses or curt responses of “we’ll be ready.” Put it all out on the court and make us proud again. Win or lose, live or die, we all bleed purple and gold. Just don’t make our new color, yellow. Go Lakers!