![\"magic-bird-championship-4.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/photos\/magic-bird-championship-4.jpg\")
<\/span>Then I went to college and grad school in Cambridge, Massachusetts, right across the river from Boston. That was in the Larry Bird years, and I soon found myself cheering for the Celtics. It wasn’t just that they were very good, but that the team, with Bird’s on-the-court leadership, was a great team<\/i>. But, that was also in the Magic Johnson Laker years, and who didn’t love Magic? So I found myself with a divided soul, rooting for both teams at once. (Photo: Magic Johnson and Larry Bird face of in an NBA final.)<\/p>\nAfter grad school, I lived in Southern California, and became renewed in my love for the Lakers. But, I must confess, it was hard for me to feel much affection for the team during the Shaq and early-Kobe years. Those guys were great athletes and the team was strong, but I struggled with liking Shaq and Kobe as people. So I had mixed feelings about the Lakers.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, I was strangely drawn to the San Antonio Spurs, not because I had any connections in San Antonio, but because the David Robinson and Tim Duncan-led team had such class. Of course, when the Spurs won championships, it meant they beat my home-town Lakers in the playoffs. But we had to lose, let it be to the Spurs. <\/p>\n
Now, oddly enough, I live just outside of San Antonio. This is Spurs territory. And I’ve become a proud Spurs fan, even though the team isn’t as strong today as it was a couple of years ago. Nevertheless, I’ve found it easy to cheer on such a fine team with such fine human beings as players. <\/p>\n
Or, if the Spurs don’t win, let it be the Celtics? After eight years cheering for my former on-court enemies, I have a kind of nostalgic pleasure in Celtic victories. <\/p>\n So what am I, a Spurs fan with disloyal affection for the Lakers and historic appreciation for the Celtics supposed to do when the Lakers beat the Celtics in the NBA championship? Like I said, I am confused. <\/p>\n Well, anyway, congratulations to the Lakers. As a man, I’m confused, but the boy in me is cheering. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I’m taking a short timeout from my series on illegal immigration to share some moral confusion. The L.A. Lakers just won the NBA championship. But I don’t quite know how to feel. Here’s why: I grew up as a die-hard Laker fan. It was the 60s, and the Lakers had a great team featuring Jerry…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":214,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1153","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"tim-duncan-eye-contact-5.jpg\"](\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/94\/import\/photos\/tim-duncan-eye-contact-5.jpg\")
<\/span>The problem is that Spurs fans are required by Texas law to hate the Lakers, especially Kobe Bryant. As Kobe has grown up, as a player and as a man, I’ve found it easier to root for him and the Lakers. But I have to do this in secret. If the Spurs don’t win, let it be the Lakers. (Photo: I took this at a Spurs game last year. Tim Duncan is looking right at me. You know what he’s thinking: “You’ve got my back, right Mark? You hate the Lakers and Kobe. Right?”)<\/p>\n