The Winners

Last night I went clothes shopping with my eldest son. We went to the local mall here, known as the Beverly Center. Don't ask - 8 floors of stores. It's enough to make me nauseous. I can't stand so many options. My mother, may she rest in peace, who was a shop-a-holic, is no doubt disappointed at how I turned out.

When we first got off the escalator on the 5th floor, we hear screaming - not one person, mind you, but many. We came to learn that every bout of screaming meant that the Los Angeles Lakers, world champions many times over, had made points in the final play off game.

The crowd was gathered around an outdoor bar located on level 4, with several big screen TVs, and at all the railings overhead up until the 8th floor. It was very merry and I wanted to stay, but shopping awaited.

Don't hate me boycotters, but my son found what he was looking for at H&M, and it wasn't made in Turkey. In fact, the socks were, and I refused to buy them. Score 1 for the good guys.

Upon checkout, there was a particularly loud scream, would could only mean good things. When I mentioned it to the clerk checking us out, he looked appalled and said he hated sports. Okay, I responded, but this isn't about sports, it's about skill and talent. He responded by saying that the players were overpayed.

Well, I countered, it's like motorsports. . .but our clerk hates motorsports too. So I reduced the conversation to one in which I said that it's about a group of people coming together as a team playing together towards a common goal. To win.

I'm not that into sports either, but I appreciate the effort it takes and the desire to give it your all and do your best. Frankly, what's not to like? Especially when your team wins.

If there's anything to hate, it's the lack of team spirit and appreciation of the efforts of others. Well, not hate exactly. But question that point of view.

In the end, there's only one thing to say: LAKERS, YOUR ROCK!!!