This January, for my traditional reviewing of the previous year, I will be writing a series of articles that would recap or evaluate some (if I have the time, then all) of the highlights of 2012 that involved, concerned, compelled, and/or fascinated me… this is the fourth part…
2012 was an Olympic year. And as usual, United States and China
dominated.
The Olympics, however, is not the
biggest sports story of 2012 that I cared for most. The following mattered to me more than the Olympics:
After getting cheated by the
judges with his fight with Bradley, Pacman, on his next match – his fourth meeting with Marquez – would suffer the most devastating loss of his career.
But above all of these, what
affected me most is the dramatic rise and fall of morale in Lakerdom…
After failing to capture the championship this 2012, falling to the Thunder in the second round of the playoffs, the Lakers management
was able to acquire Dwight Howard and Steve Nash during the offseason. Everybody in Laker Nation was ecstatic. I was ecstatic. At last, the Lakers are back on
being dangerous title contenders. In
fact, the championship was almost a guarantee with this new Laker superteam. Every Laker fan was floating on cloud 9.
The regular season, however,
brought Laker Nation crashing to the ground.
The team proved to lack chemistry.
They were not dominating as expected, but were losing instead. Mike Brown got fired as coach. Then Lakers hire Mike D’Antoni. Still, even with D’Antoni, the team ended the
year with a mediocre 15-15 record.
(As I write this, Lakers continue
to fall this January, winning only 2 games so far. With each loss, as the Lakers go further down
.500, a playoff berth continues to grow dim, a championship’s now almost an
impossibility. The Lakers currently have
an abysmal record of 17-25.)
A Laker turnaround this 2013 is unlikely,
but still possible. And as a Laker fan,
I hold on to this hope.
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