Welcome to swat it to the cheap seats, and cheer like your hair is on fire. My weekly column of Dikembe Mutombo finger wags, and Stadium shaking cheers. Each week I take something I don’t like and “swat it to the cheap seats“. Then In order to retain balance, and honor the basketball god’s appropriately, we also “cheer like our hair is on fire” for something each week. So, let’s get to it, for week #2.
Swat!: The Lakers blowing a 26 point lead to OKC
There are bad losses, and then there are losses that make you question the entire fabric of the universe. The Lakers loss to Oklahoma City on Wednesday night was one of the losses. The Lakers, although a little long in the tooth, are a far better team than the lottery bound Thunder. This is a game they should have won running away, and they were running away with it in the first half. Carmelo Anthony was even getting lob passes, and Russell Westbrook was looking masterful. I even tweeted with overconfidence.
Then came the third quarter collapse that broke a long standing Laker record. When leading a game by more than 25 points they were a whopping 230-0 before that night. Now it’s an embarrassing 230-1. That airball from Carmelo at the end of regulation will probably haunt my dreams for years to come. I also apologize as it’s probably all my fault because of that stupid tweet. I knew I shouldn’t have tweeted it. Aaaaaaarrrrrgggghhh!!!
Our friend Hoopdini has an even better rant than I do though. Check it out, then get that (bleep) out of here!
Cheer!: Warm Welcome For Former Players
There were two very nice acts of kindness from fans this week. Russell Westbrook received a warm welcome from Oklahoma City Thunder fans. While Derrick Rose got a standing ovation from New York Knicks fans. This was great to see. I always love to see fans show appreciation for former players. It’s not like the old days when players would stay with one team for their whole careers. I think a lot of us fans have gotten used to that finally, and are embracing it. They may not play for your team anymore, but you can still appreciate the time and effort they gave you.
Nice classy performance by both the Thunder and Knick fan base. That’s something that’s worth cheering like your hair is on fire for. Especially after last year and some of the fan misbehavior we saw.
