Championship

I have been dying to write this post. The past week, I have stayed up till 2 am, sometimes 3am to watch every Finals game. I woke up at 8am this morning to watch Game 5 of the best of 7 series. Lakers were leading 3-1. Just one more game.

Lakers and LA fans were devastated by last year's humiliating defeat by the Celtics, they lost by 39 points at home court. It was a defeat the Lakers vouched to avenge. Ever since the Lakers nailed the Western Conference Finals this year, we were waiting for a comeback, one that would silence all the cynics.

Could Kobe Bryant win a Championship without Shaq? Today, Lakers rule, Kobe rocks and Shaq drools. Today, Lakers took Game 5, 4-1, to take the NBA Finals Championship. During the playoffs and finals games, critics said Kobe was so focused on winning the Title, he had a permanent scowl on his face. His daughters called him "Grumpy" after the 7 dwarfs. Today he smiled, a broad grin.

As the Lakers players donned their championship caps, Kobe's 2 daughters came out in their gold Lakers dresses with mom, in Lakers purple. You could see the relief and the exultation on his face. Playing as he did, he was the Finals MVP, but he did not forget to give credit to his teammates. Kobe has matured. It's not a one man show from before, it's team work.

Derek Fisher, the only other player who had won 3 championships with Kobe back in 2000-2 was tearing up when he was interviewed. He said that winning this time around meant a lot, because they had been on the highest and seen the lowest. To have comeback from the lowest and be on top again is truly amazing.

Incidentally, this year's NBA theme is "Where Amazing Happens". "Amazing" was sung by Kanye West.

(photo: www.nba.com)

Grace under pressure

While I was studying in Los Angeles, my big cousin became my chaperon. We lived on the same street, and if I needed anything, I would go and buzz his gate at all hours. I was a nuisance.

One day, he called and said he had tickets to the Lakers playoff, and invited me to go. Back then, I didn't know much about basketball, but an outing sure beat surfing TV channels at home.

That game had dominant players like Kareem Abdul-Jabar and Magic Johnson. Yeah, it was that long ago, and I have given away my age. Anyhow, I was hooked to the Lakers.

I have been a Lakers fan for years, and my memorable plays were those paired by Shaquille O' Neal and Kobe Bryant. Although the Chicago Bulls have dominated the NBA scene then, I was still rooting for the Lakers.

With Michael Jordan came the "star" power. A lot of players play to show off their stride and it's a show rather than team playing. The loss at the 2 previous Olympics brought out the arrogance of the players.

Not this time around. Although there are big stars like Kobe, Lebron James, Jason Kidd, Dwyane Wade and other great players, they played as a team. The other teams were rough on Team USA, but they managed to keep their cool, and just smiled, even they were fouled badly by other teams.

There was a shot of Lebron James and Kobe glaring and Carmelo Anthony losing his cool for a second, but Team USA played with grace, professionalism and team spirit. One more game and Team USA will be "golden" again.

I am very impressed with the grace and cool of Team USA's players. And Kobe has emerged a more mature player rather than the green, arrogant, green kid, from eons ago. When the pressure cooker is on, some lose it and begin to unravel and spiral downwards. The ones who come out winning are the ones who keep their cool, and gracefully take the pressure in stride.

Am I glad to be rooting for a graceful team!! USA for Gold!!!

(photo : yahoo picture gallery)