Christmas? -- Oh, you mean Laker game

It's Christmas. Usually, we like to pretend something fancy. You know, fake celebrate.

This year, though, my family indulged in our distinct disinterest in the whole Christmas thing (aside from those 12 sugar cookies in my tummy) and went to the Laker game.

Oddly, we're complete Laker fanatics, but have never been interested in actually going to the games, mostly because of acute superstitions that the place and position in which you are sitting directly dictates the team's luck....

For example, at home, my mom and dad will be sitting at the kitchen table watching the Lakers. We will start to lose. Someone will be decided(/accused) as the bad luck-bringer, and will then be forced out of the room, or even out of the house. If it is an especially important game, my parents will likely start in separate rooms, or separate wings, even. In times of desperation, outsiders will be called in for viewing support. It's true: some people, when they contribute their energy towards the game, bring good luck. Usually I get kicked out before the first quarter even ends.

The logic about attending the games is: if you're sitting in a single seat at Staples Center, you can't really switch seats if the team starts to lose. You're stuck in the one perspective, helplessly.

Luckily, I think today disproved that theory -- we had a great time, got to sit in a fun little luxury box in which we could move around, and we beat Phoenix (another team I've always liked; in my high school stint as a fantasy basketball player, I would be well-advised by other, more NBA-savvy friends, to put Amare Stoudemire and Shawn Marion on my teams, in addition to Steve Nash, who was not yet on the Suns but whom I also loved.)

We were also excited to be at the game after the game in which Kobe became the youngest NBA player to make his 20,000th career point, and to properly celebrate it through lots of cheering, the continued chant of "MVP" every time Kobe was up for a free throw, and a little presentation at one of the time outs with some very serious musical accompaniment to honor the event.

Overall, a good experience, and already thoughts about purchasing further tickets -- then again, things would probably be very different if we'd lost. We'd probably never go back to a Laker game again. My parents wouldn't be speaking to each other. And maybe a law suit in there somewhere. Oh, god.

Final notes:

-Phil Jackson, whose picture still hangs on the wall in the room in which I grew up, looked crazy. They aren't putting up any of the pictures of him from tonight yet, but you can see in the lower left corner in this picture of Trevor Ariza shooting— he's wearing a polka-dotted bowtie with a black suit and shirt. Whoa. It's awesome:

-Here's an article on the game from another Crossroads alum, J.A. Adande, that also mentions Phil's silly red bow-tie.

(On the book-a-day thing from the last post: I've been suprisingly good about it. It's been more or less a book a day. --And you doubted me!!! Pshh. More later.)

-Zgzlda