Let me start by saying I have lived in SacTown since 1991 and I love it here! I am very glad to call this place home, I don't mind the heat, like the proximity to other places, and like the "small" town feel. We have a lot of very nice restaurants, we have some nice people, have great outdoor amenities, it's relatively affordable to live here, and all told it's a great place to live! We have a little too much crime for my liking and I strongly dislike the weather in December-February but otherwise it's a pretty great place to live!
Anyway, ever since that fateful series between the King's and the Laker's in 2002 (YES, SIX years ago) the people of SacTown have felt like they were "robbed" of a championship. As a huge King's fan myself I was very disappointed by the loss BUT let's remember the King's lost the series for reasons other than just the refs. What about missed layups, missed free throws and a blown 20+ point lead in a game!?
I just checked some old box scores and noticed Hedo, a starter in game 1, had no points on O for 8 shooting in that game. I like Hedo but you need more than zero points from each starter to win a game! What about the fateful game 4 loss. Remember the Horry shot... and that's why the King's lost that game right? What about the fact that the King's scored 40 in first QUARTER and 34 in the second HALF. Tough to a game scoring 15 and 19 in quarters! This will really shock you because nobody likes to hear anything bad about Doug Christie (and I certainly hope Jackie doesn't read this), and I like Doug, but did you know he had 5 points on 2 of 6 shooting in the game 6 loss? What about his epic game 7 performance of 2 of 11 shooting for 4 points!? Again, I love Doug and I know scoring was not his greatest asset to the team but let's not blame the refs. That series should have been won by the King's.
People in SacTown are so blinded by their younger step-brother mentality. I was talking to this guy at the gym the other day. He asked if I thought the Tim Donaghy accusations of corrupt refs (and/or NBA involvement) in the 2002 playoffs are true. I told him, "we listen to LOCAL sports radio, we read the LOCAL paper and we talk to other LOCAL King's fans to make our decision about this... in my mind you have to listen to NATIONAL sports radio, read articles from writers from other places around the country and talk to other smart people around the country. The overwhelming majority say the refs had a bad day at the office...." He then said, "ya, but it was like David v. Goliath...." This stumped me. Did he mean the King's were the Goliath or the David? The King's were the #1 seed and I believe had the best record in the entire NBA that year. Basically it was our championship to win (or lose). I asked for clarification and he said the Laker's were of course the Goliath. Why let the facts that the King's were the #1 seed and the Laker's the #3 seed get in the way of your conclusion buddy!? That's SacTown though. We ALWAYS feel inferior to these other places. The Laker's were glitz, glamour and defending NBA champs but the fact is the SacTown King's were the team to beat that year.
The Donaghy allegations have not re-opened anything. The issue of the 2002 playoff loss to the Laker's is brought up on local sports radio, by idiots that call in, at LEAST once a week. That is, the issue wasn't closed so it hasn't been re-opened. It's just elevated it to FRONT page news in the local fish wrap. People calling sports radio say stuff like, "reminds me of game 6." The year or playoff series is not necessary for people in SacTown. It has never died but hopefully it will one day. GET OVER IT. WE LOST. Blame whoever you want but how about we just look in the mirror and realize we didn't hit the clutch shots when they were needed!?
I was emailing with a friend today who is a Laker's fan. I mentioned that the vast majority of people in SacTown believe what Donaghy is saying (and don't see him as a guy about to be sentanced to a LONG time in jail trying to reduce his sentance by making up stuff) and there are probably some who would like to see the playoff series replayed right NOW. You know, have Webber limp over to Arco Arena from his Center Court restaurant up in Natomas, have Scot Pollard jump off the Celtic's injured reserve and suit up in the old purple and black, and all the rest of the boys. He replied that Jim Rome was joking yesterday that SacTown is already planning the championship parade for Peja, C-Webb and the rest. That's funny... but not too far off. I could honestly see someone like Mayor Heather Fargo suggesting such a thing. It's the PC thing to do since the King's "would have won the series if not for the corrupt refs...." Sad. In fact, here is an actual quote from sacbee.com on readers comments to an article about the King's and Laker's. "When all is said and done, the NBA will HAVE to take a good look at that game. If it is determined that there was a good possibility that there was cheating, then they will have to take steps. Those steps will be to give the Kings that game by default, thus destroying the Lakers Championship and their much hearalded 3-peat. I live near LA and it was Hell to be a Kings fan during that series. The Lakers will also lose their championship rings, and the books will show that the Championship Series went unplayed that year leaving NO WINNER!" Did somebody really mean that or is it a joke? SCARY!
Lastly I have to ask why the hatred for the Laker's? You do know there is NOT a rivalry, right? People in LA could care less about people in SacTown. We are a non-entity to them and why should we be? We never were able to beat them in those series were we!? Plus, it was years ago and was very short lived. Let's move on to bigger and better things. Let's spend our energy worrying about other stuff... like paying the mortgage, filling the car with gas, and cheering those River Cat's to another AAA championship!
That's a joke but it reminds me of something I have to tell you about. We took the kids to the River Cat's game last Saturday night. My SoCal roots tried to get us out by the 3rd or 4th inning but we lasted until the bitter end becuase they had fireworks afterwards (I will wait for July 4th to tell you how I feel about fireworks). We sat out on the grass in right field. That is truly a beatuful thing! The kids can run around, you can watch a little baseball and sip on a Coor's Light. What a country! However, the big guy sitting behind me didn't realize this is JUST AAA baseball. It really matters less than almost anything in life if they win or lose because we are just a feeder team for the big league team. Just a stop over for guys moving up the baseball ladder. Over the course of the final two innings he let two very loud calls of "SHIT" after the River Cat's missed opportunities on the field and then a loud "DAMN" after the last out. Several other grunts and other such noises after bad plays by the Cat's. Can you imagine what that guy is doing this week with the Donaghy allegations coming forth?
Let's stop all the Laker hating, let's forget about a basketball game from SIX years ago, and let's move on. It's silly and makes our city look like whiners and bad sports. You don't have to like the Laker's but why hate on them? That was one of the first things I noticed when I moved to NorCal... the huge "rivalry" toward everything SoCal. I am a committed NorCal resident and I love it up here. How about we focus on all the great things we do have and not worry about what LA is doing!?
peace out.
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