Wasif's World

Game 7 between Boston and Los Angeles stands to highlight the similarities between the two teams. At alternating times, each has battled, each has struggled, each has looked unstoppable, and each has won three times.

But over the past two weeks, the gap between the two cities has revealed itself to be broad enough to drive “Big Baby” Davis through. And such, glaring differences between the fans spark the realization that they are truly the representatives of their citywide personalities.

Boston is known as a blue-collar town, from its intellectual capacities to its passion, sometimes to the point of obsession, for all things sports, frequently exhibiting encyclopedic knowledge of even the most trivial statistics.

Los Angeles is a sprawling city where the residents are more carefree, laid back. They’re known to maintain a more laissez-faire attitude toward their teams. They show their support when the season begins to wind down, if not later, with a flag or two on their cars. Not that they don’t root like crazy for their Lakers, but you will be less inclined to speak intellectually about the sport with them. Mainly, it’s the factual inconsistencies that spout from their mouths that really make you take notice.

To understand this, you must take note that Los Angeles is a town where everything seems perfect – the weather, the beautiful people, the abundance of outdoor activities, (well, maybe not the traffic), and their basketball team. The city’s main industry, TV and film production, goes to great lengths to make sure everything is perfect. If they need rain, they can make it rain; if they want laughter, they’ll flash a sign and the audience will laugh; if they want the superhero to win, they’ll just write it in the script.

Living there, you begin to ignore items of irrelevance, like facts. Just believe what you want and it will be so.

That statement becomes more palpable over the past few weeks as the Lakers advance through the playoffs. Listening to their announcers, their fans and even their coaches, I’m amazed at the number of times they’ve said something to be blatantly untrue. For example:

One radio host said after Game 5, “The Lakers don’t want to lose the Finals at home two of the last three years.” Impossible, since they were in Boston when they lost in 2008.

Another one praised the ratings as being at their highest since 2004 because “America loves to see the Lakers win.” Uh, they won last year and the ratings weren’t that high. Could it be that America likes the idea of the Boston versus Los Angeles storyline? What was it about 2004 that made America watch? Oh, yeah ... Detroit beat LA. How about it America, do you like to watch the Lakers win or lose?

Even their head coach has been making stuff up. Game 5 famously had him lambasting the Celtics’ inability to hold leads. “This team has blown more fourth-quarter leads than any other team in the league.” Actually, they were 14th in that category.

(Though this is the same man whose team got almost twice as many foul shots as the other team, and he still blamed the refs, so take that with a grain of salt.)

It got so bad, even their color commentator said in respect to the Lakers needing to win one game at a time before Game 6, “Like Steppenwolf said, ‘One is the loneliest number.’” Actually, that was Three Dog Night. Fortunately, he was corrected a minute later, which was a pleasant surprise.

These inaccuracies trickle down to the fans, making it difficult to have a decent basketball conversation with them.

On my May 16 blog titled "Why Lakers Fans Are So Hateable," one Lakers fan commented, “LA is number one in everything, even in the off years in a particular sport, we are the best. From high school sports to the pros ...” Would those pro teams be including the St. Louis Rams and Oakland Raiders?

Bostonians check their facts. They may not like what they have to say, but they use them. Los Angeles fans can’t be bothered. “It’s all good, baby!”

When in LA, things are rosier. It’s contagious. Perhaps the refs start to feel it, thinking, “Hey, that elbow to the face isn’t a foul. It’s just “good, clean basketball.’” It’s a view clouded by happiness (and smog, of course). Though surprisingly, Dodgers fans are not quite the same. Their fans are more reasonable. That’s another blog for another day.

One fascinating point that sums up the disparity lies in the anthems for the two cities. Boston’s prideful song boasts “I love that dirty water, oh, Boston you’re my home.” It speaks of muggers and thieves along the banks of what was once the filthiest waterway in the country. Boston fans embrace this song. They wear the authentic and less than classy lyrics as a badge of honor. Pretty, no. But truthful, yes.

Los Angeles, on the other hand, reveres the great Randy Newman tune, “I Love LA.” It speaks of the sunshine and the greatness every day ... on the outside. But it’s really a song about the excesses and extravagances of life in the 80s, a brilliantly done sarcastic shot at the superficial nature of the culture at that time, especially in Los Angeles. I don’t think the residents and certainly the fans grasp the irony. It gets in the way of their perfect view of their lives.

Boston fans will live with a loss tonight for long time, even though they will still be the most accomplished NBA franchise of all-time. To them, it’s personal. Los Angeles fans will deal with it for a short time and then hit the beach “cuz the sun is shinin’ all the time. Looks like another perfect day. I love LA!” We love it!