celebration

The city of Los Angeles is currently half a billion dollars in debt and people are getting laid off left and right. I have several friends, all college grads, who have been laid off and have been unemployed for months. State employees are taking paycuts and I bet even AH-NOLD is cutting back on his cigars.

Yet, to celebrate the Laker's championship victory, 2 million dollars was spent on a parade.

Much has been written on this--critics have been yapping cause they're saying the times are bad right now, we shouldn't be blowing money on something that is ultimately a game.

The mayor of LA--a womanizer who kinda looks like Gotham's mayor in The Dark Knight--defended the decision to run the parade because he said in times like these--we need to find something to be happy about, something to cheer for, something to believe in.

"At a time when the unemployment in the city is 12.5%, and 21,000 people have lost their homes due to foreclosures, it is important for us to celebrate this great day," LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said in a news conference at the Lakers practice center in El Segundo.

I was initially on the "no parade" side, I thought it was ridiculous to run a parade too. But then I saw footage of the parade today, I read about my friend's experience (all over facebook and AIM profiles), I saw the look on people's face on the parade. This did bring them joy.* Might be a hard concept to grasp for non-Americans, but sports is a major part of life to Americans. We live it and breath it.

I know I clown the Laker fans alot because I saw first hand all the bandwagon ass-cats roaming around (mostly Asian girls and rich white folks). But really--I'm a sports snob, it kinda irks me when people suddenly get into something just because "it's cool to" and not because they're a true fan. I know I'm a snob and I can accept it (damn proud to be one actually). I know to other less uptight people, having something to cheer for and something to love is important. It doesn't matter if you jump on late or when times are high.

I know saying people in Los Angeles have suffered and waited long enough is eyeroll-inducing (the Lakers are one of the most successful, and fortunate, franchises in all of sports, so how much suffering could they have had?), but for alot of diehard Kobe fans, they've had to put up with the Kobe haters (cough me cough) saying for years how he couldn't win without Shaq, how he's a selfish ballhog, how he's no Jordan (he still ain't).

For them, this is redemption.

Yes times are bad, but they all collectively found a daily pick me up. For one day, they showed  up in downtown LA, forgot about life's problems and celebrated that their beloved sports team is back on top. Strangers high fiving each other, people bonding over their mutual love of sports.

Could the 2 million have been spent in more productive ways? Surely. But sometimes, the love of the game is bigger than the sound.

People have told me I'm too naive, I live in lala land, I find too much joy in things that shouldn't matter. Going around doing Jordan fistpumps like an idiot, finding inspiration from movies, smiling because the guitar riff in Kings of Leon's Crawl is fucking brilliant, letting cupcakes make my day, whatever.

I have my headphones on, and the guitar riff from Eel's Prizefighter is blasting. Can't hear you.

You don't like my lyrics? you can press fast forward I got beef with radio if I don't play they show They don't play my hits, well I don't give a shit, SO

*Check out this stunning 360 panorama view of the Laker crowd at the celebrationhere