How I fell in love with basketball but more importantly, how I fell in love with the Los Angeles Lakers

If you're a Los Angeles Lakers fan, chances are you have heard every insult in the book from being a "faker fan" to a "bandwagon jumper." You constantly argue with your peers about why the Lakers are the best team in the NBA (because back-to-back championships equalling 16 total isn't proof enough) just to get people to admit that the real reason why they hate the Lakers is because they are the best. Now I, myself, hate fair weather fans just like the next person but chances are, if you're reading this, you are as loyal as they come.

Being born and raised in Northern California, I get a lot of flack about being an LA Lakers fan.

"You should be a Kings fan," or "You're just a bandwagon jumper; how are you a Lakers fan when you live by Sacramento and Oakland?"

Most people don't know how, or why, I became a Lakers fan and most people probably don't care but I write this for all the true Laker fans, or any loyal sports fan in general, to tell a story about a young girl who fell in love with basketball, and more importantly, the Los Angeles Lakers.

When I was eight years old, I bought a book from the book fair (remember those?) called "How to Reach Your Favorite Star." It mainly had addresses to your favorite stars' fan clubs so you could write to them but there were also random facts and information about the person.There were all kinds of different celebrities in the book from Axl Rose of Guns 'N' Roses to Shannon Doherty of 90210. The one that caught my eye was Shaquille O' Neal of the Orlando Magic.

I thought he was so cool because of how tall he was (7'1'') and I memorized every strange fact I read about him. My favorite was about being able to fit the contents of a two-liter soda in his shoe because it was so big. Thus began my fascination with Shaquille O' Neal. I admit I didn't know a thing about basketball; i was an eight-year-old girl. But that came later.

In 1996, Shaq became a Laker. And I was a Shaq fan. I started to pay more attention to basketball when I started high school and, by that time, the Lakers were in the beginning stages of their three-peat. Watching Shaq and Kobe play together was one of the best feelings in the world. Add in the strong supporting cast of Derek Fisher, Rick Fox and Robert Horry, and you just knew you were watching history in the making.

But times got hard after the three-peat. And as soon as Shaq left, I hated him. I had become a Lakers fan after all. I don't hate Shaq anymore. I mean, I'm older now, and I understand that happens in sports. I'm just happy he was able to help bring three more championships to the Los Angeles Lakers and appreciate the fact.

But I have been a Lakers fan ever since. Being a Lakers fan has made me fall in love with the game of basketball. I love the excitement and adrenaline of the game. I love the possibility that a team can be down 20 points going into the half and turn around and win the game. I love that players like Kobe Bryant can make a buzzer-beater shot to win the game. I love that Reggie Miller scored eight points with only 18.7 seconds left to beat the New York Knicks when everyone thought the Pacers were going to lose. These are the moments that define the history of basketball.

Maybe I should be a Kings or Warriors fan, but why? I'm not from Oakland or Sacramento. Where I live, there are no professional sports teams. So why does it matter what team I choose to support? Just because that's how it's suppose to be? Proximity is not the reason I started watching basketball. A player by the name of Shaquille O' Neal is. Had he gone from Orlando to Sacramento, I might be telling a different story right now but that's not the way this story was written.

Next time someone tries to talk trash to you about being a Lakers fan, just laugh it off. Because their team, whoever it may be, is not the championship team; their team does not have Kobe Bryant. Or Derek Fisher. Or Pau Gasol. Pity them. I speak with experience in defending my fanaticism when I say shrug it off. Don't get mad like I do and almost poor a beer on a bitter Kings' fan cheering for the Celtics. And I definitely don't recommend trying to fight, like that time I wanted to fight a guy, because they pissed you off so much. Just walk away. Unless you're a guy because if I was that guy would've been KOed.

Anyway, remember the feeling you get when the Lakers win championships. And the joy of rubbing it in peoples' faces shouting "I told you so!"

Remember our history. Remember our legacy. Remember our dynasty. And most importantly, remember why you love the Los Angeles Lakers wholeheartedly.

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