Threat of a Boston NBA title brings out the pettiness in Lakers and Celtics fans

Celtics fans celebrate a playoff win as Kobe Bryant sits on the bench and puts his head in a towel in Boston on June 8, 2008. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

Driven by deep-seated disdain, Darrian Woods — the self-proclaimed pettiest Lakers fan, as his X.com handle suggests — can’t bear the thought of another Boston championship banner raised in TD Garden.

“Having won more championships is the only thing they’ve ever had because otherwise, there’s no debate on the greatest franchise in basketball history,” said Woods, 33. “It’s the Lakers.”

The Celtics are threatening to pull ahead in the all-time NBA championships tally.

The Lakers trailed the Celtics in titles since the Kennedy administration. It took 47 years to catch up to their hated rivals at 17 championships apiece.

For the second year in a row, the Boston Celtics entered the season as the favorites to win an NBA title. Now, they face the Dallas Mavericks in their second finals appearance in as many years.

Lakers fans are pulling for the underdog Mavs, while Celtics fans in the Los Angeles area are eagerly awaiting the chance to celebrate.

Woods said he loathes Celtics fans’ “arrogance and disillusionment,” admonishing them for believing Boston is the greatest franchise in NBA history. He despises Boston for its past treatment of Black athletes and for “being on the wrong side of the Civil Rights Movement.” And although he respects the players, he truly cannot stand Paul Pierce.

“I’m their biggest hater because I feel they’re everything wrong with basketball,” Woods said. “I’m always going to root for their demise and failure.”

Read more: Celtics stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown make most of second chance in NBA Finals

Fans arrived at Sonny McLean’s Irish Pub in Santa Monica ahead of the Celtics’ Game 1 win on Thursday, flocking to a haven for Bostonian transplants in a city of purple and gold, where Kristaps Porziņģis is a god and “Kyrie sucks” chants fill the air.

“We always beat them in the playoffs,” said Celtics fan Luis Rivera, 44. “It’s definitely big brother, little brother.”

Boston leads the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/threat-boston-nba-title-brings-110020498.html

Author : LA Times

Publish date : 2024-06-10 11:00:20

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