Point Forward

It was 1990, I was 12 years old. That year sparked my first season playing basketball. I fell in love with the game and football (Aussie Rules) took a back seat as it would for the next 20 years. Now don't get me wrong, I love my AFL but Basketball would become the sport of choice for the rest of my life. I didn't know it right off the bat, but I had discovered the greatest game in the world. The one thing that took it to the next level was discovering the limited NBA coverage we had back then. One game a week, replayed each Friday or Saturday night on our very own ABC, the least watched television station we had here in Australia back in 1990. It wasn't until years later that I realised that one regular season game a week, a first half of highlights and the second half in full was poor coverage. At the time I was happy with it, and it was the only way for it to grow here down under. I didn't know any better and at the time I was spoilt and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Watching that first game late on a weekend night, I became a Laker fan. I can't remember who they were playing but watching Magic run the floor and direct the flow like a true general, I became a Laker fan. Watching Worthy slash to the basket and clean the boards, I became a Laker fan. Watching Elden Campbell, Sam Perkins, Byron Scott. I loved this team. I became a Laker fan. Now I already knew the players from buying packets of cards at the local basketball stadium after games, but I hadn't seen these guys in action. I already knew who the big names were from the kids sporting the caricature T's at school, at Practice and at the stadiums so I already knew who the superstars of the NBA were. I knew who Magic was, who Michael was, Larry, Isaiah, Sir Charles, The Mailman... I won't list them all, you get the point.

I guess what I'm saying is if the Bulls and Michael had been playing the Mavericks, I may have become a Bulls fan. If the Sixers and Barkley had been playing Denver, I may have been a Phili fan. If Boston (shudder) and Bird had been playing the Spurs, I might have Celtics jerseys hanging in the closet rather than Lakers. It was meant to be and it's certainly been a great ride looking back on all those years of success, but that said it wasn't always easy as it never is for any fan. The highs and lows naturally come with any team you pledge your allegiance too, unless you remain a player fan or follow multiple teams as allot of Australian NBA fans do. Even then you go through the highs and lows following any player. In 1991 the Lakers faced off against the Bulls where Michael and co. would begin their early run of the decade and take the NBA world by storm. The following season, Magic was forced to retire. And even though I got to watch one of the greatest performances the following year of all time in an All-Star game, even though I got to watch him compete on the biggest stage at the Olympics the following year, at the time, my world was shattered.

In the early years of the 90's the NBA had a boom period down here in Australia and at times it was easy to follow and at other times, not so easy. The Chicago Bulls took center stage away from The Celtics and The Lakers and The Pistons, so naturally they dominated the coverage here. I always loved to watch Michael, so while the Lakers were finding their place in the NBA without Magic, it wasn't always that bad. Especially when they were beating the teams that ended our seasons all those years. Over the last 10 to 12 years it's become much easier. The Internet, Pay TV, Free to air TV; all creating avenues for a Laker fan like myself to follow that purple and gold team with the same anticipation I had as a child pleading to stay up late, sitting in front of the television with a blanket waiting for the Lake show to come on TV. Each season I find myself even more excited about he next up-coming season, and this up-coming season, I'm taking the next step; I'm entering the blogging world, so look out blogging world!

I'll be rating all things Laker related (clever I know), right here on this site. On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being dismal and 10 being Showtime, I'm looking forward to allot of Showtime. One thing I've learnt about us fans is we are a confident fan base. With the success of last season, and the short comings of the season before that, I'm confident I'll have allot of positive things to post in the up coming in 2009/10. The Laker world can expect great things next season, and I'm proud to be able to share it with fellow fans and enthusiasts.

Well, that's me in a purple and gold nutshell. My introduction and point forward if you will. In the future; less about me and more about LA. Get ready for another great season.

Disclaimer: This blog is in no way affiliated with the NBA or the Los Angeles Lakers or any players and/or teams featured in these blogs. All images, videos, and audio are property of their respective owners.