Web Letters: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Lakers

Wow, a media guy putting down a newspaper. It has to either be the rare conservative paper or Fox News. Stick to sports, Dave. People should be able to support whatever organization they believe in. So what if the money they get comes from government or public funds? Are they supposed to survey the public before sending in a donation? What about the banks and car companies which were rescued by the Fed? Are ya gonna go after them next?

I am sure the NY Times and MSNBC support your causes. We could surmise that they are anti-family and anti-Christian by what they do with discretionary funds. Are ya exposing them too? What is the difference, Dave? It is no wonder that the media industry is mostly failing in this country. It has become a propaganda machine. People are turning it off and cancelling their subscriptions in droves. What happened to unbiased opinions? Where are the checks and balances? Stick to sports, Dave!

Tom Jurewicz

Los Angeles, CA

Dave Zirin might want to look into a figure who owns some of the Lakers, the Staples Center and rail land in downtown LA, as part of his vast claims on wealth: Phillip Anschutz (also a big time evangelical and right-wing cause supporter).

He's been part of a vast reorganization of the ground beneath our feet in terms of the global economy.

But what a Lakers victory would mean for the many stuggling people in Los Angeles, the largest city of working poor in the country!

David Lau

Santa Cruz, CA

Alas, it ain't that simple, Dave. When you look at the two coaches, Orlando's Dave Van Gunde is much the better guy. As the Miami Herald's Greg Cote notes, "Van Gundy is simply one of the most genuine, real people I have met in sports.... Van Gundy leads the NBA in self-effacement"--and, he notes, in contrast to the Laker coach. Cote also points out that Van Gundy got a raw deal in the past that can be redeemed with this win over the "preening" Lakers.

Julie Leininger Pycior

Hastings-on-Hudson, NY

Can't do it. And I am biased. I love the Magic. I love the fact that their players smile rather than display their lower teeth like a game of basketball means anything other than fun.

But you know what? It's not like "all things being equal, I will root against Amway." Things ain't equal. I like the fact that the Magic have been winning against the media darlings (at what point did we left-wingers start rooting for corporate interests?) Down go the Celtics. Down go the Lebrons. But now we are supposed to love the Kobes? Hell, no. Never. The corporate media loves the Lakers. The NBA league office loves the Lakers. Every two-bit, half-wit Hollywood type loves the Lakers. If I am supposed to pit all of that against a single awful owner, well, guess what? Go Magic.

Todd Behrens

Lakeland, FL

Well, this is just great. As a diehard Celtics fan, this article really has me at a loss now. I can't root for the Lakers... but I don't know if I can continue to root for the Magic, either, after reading this. I think I just stopped caring who wins. That's what I'm telling myself, anyway.

Christopher Harding

Melrose, MA

Thanks for this. I dislike Kobe Bryant, so I was contemplating rooting for the Magic as a way of opposing him. I guess I'll just have to not tune in.

D. Middlehurst

Kula, HI