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BOSTON: When it comes to National Basketball
Association rivalries, the 21st century version has much less venom
and hatred than the 1980s editions, thanks in part to the game’s
global growth.
The Boston Celtics and Los
Angeles Lakers, the most storied rivals in NBA history, are meeting
in the NBA finals but without the animosity that swelled rival
players and cities when both teams were dominant in the 1980s.
“I’ve just heard horror
stories from the past in the ‘80s when the guys came in here,”
Lakers star guard and NBA Most Valuable Player Kobe Bryant said.
“I’ve heard stories of them
coming in here and not getting room service. My room service is
cool. I got the nice apple pie with the ice cream on top, a la mode.
I didn’t even ask for the ice cream but they hooked me up.
“There is a healthy competition
and they obviously want to win, the city wants to win, but it’s
not like ‘I hate your guts.’”
While the Celtics have not won an
NBA crown since 1986, Boston sports fans have had their passions
sated in recent years, gridiron’s New England Patriots winning
several Super Bowls and baseball’s Red Sox taking two World Series
titles.
Players know each other better
these days. Free agency has broken up the dynasty eras to make more
teams competitive and allow players to play for more different teams
than was common in the 1980s.
Globalization has seen more
players arrive in the US league without ties and deep loyalties to
one club or another. And then people might just have matured a bit
in the past quarter-century.
“I don’t think there is the
same kind of hate factor,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
“We’ve evolved a lot in that regard.
“Respecting your opponents is
one of the first virtues of being a positive coach. You don’t
downplay your opponent. You give them the respect they are due and I
think that’s an honorable position to be at.
“Free agency, people changing
teams, and international players, I think that takes a little bit
away from that, too. It’s a healthier aspect.”
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said
younger US players coming together on amateur teams and knowing each
other better before they reach the NBA help ease tensions that build
to higher levels in the past.
“I didn’t know anybody from
any other team when I came into the league. You basically had never
talked to them before so you tended not to like them,” said
Rivers. “Now everybody knows everybody. They all know each other
now.
“As much as we love and
fantasize about it, there were only four good teams. When I was a
kid the only three teams I thought were on TV were the Lakers, the
[Philadelphia] 76ers and the Celtics. I didn’t know there were
other teams.
“That’s probably why the
rivalries were so strong, because it was the same teams playing each
other every year.”
Of course, the Lakers have their
famous actor fans back in Hollywood waiting for “showtime” when
the best-of-7 championship series shifts to southern California next
week.
Don’t count out some spite
sneaking through just yet.
“Jack Nicholson hasn’t
weighed in in this series and we have to wait for him to spice up
the crowd,” Jackson said.
--AFP
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