LA's "Celebration" After Lakers' Win

After the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Orlando Magic for the NBA Championship last night, Los Angelenos apparently decided that celebrating equaled setting garbage on fire, jumping on cars, tearing down street signs, breaking into and looting stores, and tagging buildings. We hear that police basically let people throw things at them, only intervening to put fires out; LAPD police chief William Bratton, who is a former NYC police commissioner, said, "Officers tonight used minimal levels of force..behaving very professionally," also calling the revelers "knuckleheads" and "cowards." (Was nothing learned after the 2000 win?) Newsday's Neil Best blogged, "Thank you, Los Angeles for the timely reminder - 15 years to the day since the Rangers won the Stanley Cup - that New York consistently is better behaved in celebrating sports championships than are other, less civilized burgs." Damages are estimated to be at least $1 million.

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By Jen Chung in News on June 15, 2009 1:25 PM

Comments [rss]

NannyState

They would have rioted in Orlando but Wal-Mart was marking down Magic merchandise 35% and giving away free popsicles.

Think2wice

Some go into the streets to address sham elections, imprisoned journalists, and equal rights for sexual minorities, but Lakers fanatics go into the streets to...stay classy.

Snoopy

I missed that one. Thanks for pointing it out. But then again it was Montreal and everyone knows how passionate the French are.

r1b2

Ahh, if only a NY basketball team could win and create the opportunity to riot.... dreams, I know.

Steven

Bunch of stupid idiots. Who cares if you're favorite team wins or not? I'm a Yankee fan, but I sure would not go up and arms over them. They are getting paid million dollars, so what is in it for the fan when they win?

Snoopy

Talk about dedication to a team, how about the famous charioteer of the second century CE, Gaius Appuleius Diocles? He began driving for the Whites at the age of 18; after 6 years, he switched to the Greens for 3 years, and then drove 15 years for the Reds before retiring at the age of 42. His winnings totaled nearly 36 million sesterces. And that was in the day when a sesterce meant something.

And that's just his career in Rome.

Snoopy

Are you kidding? If the team wins the fans get a winning team. And other things like lower taxes, free four week vacations to anywhere in the USA, new cars, their mortgages are paid off, a brand new stadium paid by the other teams, free carriage rides in the park, a year's supply of booze, lower food prices at the stadium, etc. etc. etc.

Yeh right.

The fans don't get anything except what they think is a great victory over who, some other teams that couldn't care less where they played as long as they get paid?

Snoopy

It's not just New York vs LA. There is a big difference here, the basketball fans are of one culture and the hockey fans are of a different culture. And some people call hockey a pugilistic sport. HA!

The Lakers should pay for the damages. They were the reason it happened.

Billiamsburg

Culture = Race

jaycjay

Hockey fans last year... and not even a championship, just advancing a round:

http://citynoise.org/article/8035

db

It is cheaper to replace a windsield on a police cruiser than a $15 million lawsuit payout to a punk that got a baton to the nutsack on TV.

inoyourider

Thats why we need to eliminate those BS lawsuits.

People act like they're seriously hurt and nothing bu 10-20 million is going to make that hurt go away.

Ared

This is what people do when they suffer under a repressive regime and their elections are rigged.

Wait, this was in LA?

inoyourider

I got some of the pictures confused this morning while watching with the sound off.

inoyourider

I don't like the idea of the police letting people do these things.

Why have we turned into a society where people are permitted to act like animals as a result of a goddamned basketball game???

Rubber bullets, arrests.

GO TO JAIL ASSHOLES!