Popular Demand?

"This is what America wants to see."

Those were the words crowed by Magic Johnson when talking about the NBA Finals featuring the Boston Celtics and his former team, the Los Angeles Lakers.

Are you being honest about that, Magic, or are you just rooting for your old team? I tend to believe the latter. You might not get the same reaction if you asked Walt Frazier what team he'd prefer to see in the finals. Or Oscar Robertson. Or Hakeem Olajuwon. Or Patrick Ewing, Julius Erving, Clyde Drexler, Karl Malone, Billy Cunningham or Michael Jordan, for that matter. Certainly they'd like to see the best teams but they'd be much more enthusiastic if their old teams were in the finals instead of Boston/L.A. again, especially considering that this matchup appears to be under questionable circumstances. Among the enormous amount of dormant brain cells that clog the collective thought process of the modern-day "my-team-rules-your-team-sucks" sports fan these days, there is still a small contingent of old-school fans who are, by today's sub standards, "radical" enough to have a more sensible grip on what's going on, or at least what appears to be going on. And what appears to be going on here is a contrivance. It's just too obvious to ignore anymore.

Seems like only yesterday that Laker GM Mitch Kupchak was so ineffective that Kobe Bryant wanted out, even after the Lakers shipped Shaquille O'Neal out of town to appease Bryant and his ego. And not so long ago the Minnesota Timberwolves tried to trade Kevin Garnett to the Celtics and he refused to go, claiming that he'd never play in Boston. Danny Ainge was no better as a GM than Kupchak and the Celtics and Lakers were drifting into the cesspool. So what happened to put these two once-great rival franchises back on track and in the Finals less than a year later? Commissioner David Stern somehow got Garnett to sign off on the trade and along with a series of other one-sided deals, Boston went from 24-58 to 66-16, much like they did when Larry Bird joined the Celtics in 1979 when they went from 29-53 to 61-21. Adding fuel to the thought here is that Minnesota's GM is Kevin McHale, Bird's teammate during their great run in the '80s. The Lakers stole Pau Gasol from Memphis, which just so happened to be run by Jerry West until two years ago. Did he still have an influence? Who knows? But it's damn obvious that the NBA, Stern, and fans and former members of the Celtics and Lakers wanted this matchup to happen more than America did. The fans are just following along with what's become the Mother of All Hypes.

A contrivance? If it really did happen that way we'll never be informed, but it sure feels like it to me. And that's why I find myself unable to get into this series despite the draw of Bryant, Garnett, Phil Jackson going for his 10th championship, all the history and stories, ad nauseum. The whole thing might taste different if they were still playing in Boston Garden and the Forum in L.A. with all the history right there in those buildings - especially Boston. But the new [Fill In Current Corporate Name Here] Garden/Center/Whatevers are just as antiseptic as the other new arenas and don't have that aura.

I've watched some of each game so far, but one thing that turned me off (and was completely expected) was all the expensively produced self-glossing spots for the Celtic/Laker rivalry that look a hell of a lot more like they were produced weeks in advance instead of on-the-spot just after the semi-finals were decided. They would never have come up with such slick promos if the Spurs and Pistons had made it. If Boston/L.A. is what America wanted to see, then why is the league expanding to all these tiny markets that would guarantee molecular-sized ratings if they were in the finals? This is leading to a new problem for the small-market teams and their claims of not having a chance to compete against the richer franchises. It may no longer be a matter of budget restraints as much as potential ratings.

The other thing that made me sick was the Paul Pierce situation and the stones some people had to compare it to Willis Reed in 1970. Click on this link for the Willis Reed story. Read it and then see if the Pierce saga doesn't smell to high hell:

http://www.nba.com/history/finals/19691970.html

I sound like one of those silly conspiracy theorists, but the difference is that, unlike them, I don't make things up. I trust my instincts. In this age where everything from a small business to boxing to a 9/11 fundraiser to a presidential election can be successfully manipulated, the NBA and the NHL secretly scripting their events in an attempt to win back fans soured by strikes, lockouts and performance enhancing drugs doesn't sound so far-fetched.

At least pro wrestling has the decency to tell you that it's rigged.