STAPLES CENTER SOUTH

That’s what they call Phillips Arena apparently, home of the Atlanta Hawks. The Lakers moved to 8-0 on the road tonight with the gold clad fan club raising an absolute raucous in a building two time zones away from Downtown Los Angeles. And this is no phenomenon if you follow the Lake Show, though I’ve never seen it quite to the degree I beheld on this Tuesday night. Faces painted purple and gold, pom pom hair (also purple), chants of MVP for Kobe Bryant. Are you serious? Did the economic downturn drive so many Californians to the the ATL that the “trues” flood the once-a-year meeting between the Hawks and the Lakers? Or are all these people front running like Usain Bolt in a junior high Olympics? I’m baffled.

What I do know is that success attracts people because we seem to love a winner. If you can’t beat ’em, definitely, by all means, for the love of James Naismith, at least don the colors of them. It’s practically a mantra that he who roots for a loser is bound to become one himself. Can there really be Lakers fans everywhere because myriad residents esteem the legacy of a Minnesota moniker turned left coast icon? The Lakers are certainly a brand cultivated in the second largest market in professional basketball (New York is #1). But I’d like to believe that if I lived in Milwaukee, I’d bleed Bucks. Am I the one who’s trippin’? Maybe it has something to do with basketball specifically. I can’t imagine Green Bay residents, not even one, cheering on the New England Patriots because Tom Brady is a pocket perfectionist. Or could you envision Baltimore Orioles fan lovin’ them some Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim formerly known as the baseball team closest to Disneyland.

I’ve always known die hard fans who root for also-rans win or lose and fans who seem to like every team except the one they could actually watch play if given a ticket with 30 minutes to tip-off. It’s a strange allegiance that we have to teams and to watch the Lakers inspire the road team because of fan betrayal is nothing short of comedic. But it’s sad to be sure and it just seems treasonable to bellow “D-Fish” when you should be crying, “DEFENSE.”