Los Angeles sports fans seem to have it all. While the rest of the country is suffering through sub-freezing temperatures to watch football, LA fans are complaining about having to wear a light (probably designer) jacket to The Coliseum.
The Clippers — THE CLIPPERS! — just acquired the services of Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. And spoiled Lakers fans held a protest outside Staples Center because they haven’t seen a championship in nine years. Oh, the agony.
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Even when they don’t win, it’s still LA. Beautiful weather, beautiful beaches and beautiful people.
To sports fans around the country who live and die by their teams with little else to fall back on, it’s nauseating.
To the rest of the sports world, it appears that the Dodgers are like every other professional sports franchise in Los Angeles. They attract the stars (both on and off the field), and their fans have been spoiled rotten by the constant winning. They’re grouped in with the other LA fan bases. The arrogance of the LA sports fan is palpable.
For the past several years, maybe this thought has been justified. The Dodgers have been at the top of the baseball world. They’re able and willing to spend more than your team, and their farm system somehow continually produces the next great wave of talent in MLB. Magic Johnson shows his face every once in a while, and, even with his celebrity, seems to blend in with the handful of other Hollywood A-listers at the game.
But there is a difference between Dodgers fans and their LA counterparts. They don’t fit the mold. In fact, the Dodgers are the one LA team you should be rooting for.
Most of the country views LA in a simple light. All talk and no substance. Superstars want to be a part of what LA has to offer. Lights, camera, action!
The Lakers organization and its fan base sure fit the LA bill. They’re largely viewed as the most beloved of all the professional teams in LA. They have star power, championships and the celebrity draw. But don’t kid yourself. Their loyalty is often questioned. Clippers fans are as loyal as they come, but we all know that their recent additions will come with a horde of bandwagon fans. The Rams just returned to the city. And the Kings? Please. This isn’t a hockey town.
The Dodgers are different. Their fan base is different. They represent a side of LA that most people aren’t aware of. They represent the real Los Angeles.
Go to Dodgers Stadium and you’ll understand. The city of Angeles is the ultimate melting pot. And there's no better place to witness this than at a Dodgers game. People of different colors, backgrounds and economic situations all sit together. They’ve been doing it since 1957 when then owner Walter O’Malley picked up and moved his team to the West Coast. They sit as one in a ballpark well past its prime and brave the heinous traffic on the way out.
Los Angeles sports fans are perceived as part of the privileged class. Looking at recent Lakers ticket prices, it’s hard to argue that they aren’t. But the Dodgers represent something different. They’re blue collar. From The Valley to East LA, all the way to Hermosa Beach, Dodgers fans represent the best that the city has to offer. A diverse culture that comes together as one with unwavering loyalty. Hoping, but not expecting anything in return.
They haven’t won. At least not in the way that LA fans have come to expect. You’ll hear the year “1988” thrown around quite often. Dodgers fans have waited 31 long years to taste the victory champagne. Back-to-back World Series failures the past two seasons only deepened the pain. And yet, they continue to fill Dodgers Stadium, night in and night out.
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For the past seven seasons, the Dodgers have led the league in attendance. The passion and loyalty shown by the fans is unlike any other LA fan base. They continue to cling to the hope that comes with the Boys in Blue.
The Dodgers are at it again. They're 36 games over .500 and they're running away with the NL West. It seems that nearly every week they're calling up their next great star from the minors. And their success should be cheered.
When the Dodgers are relevant, MLB is in a better place. As the Dodgers are seemingly destined to return to the World Series for the third consecutive year, not only should the league office be rooting for October baseball in LA, but so should fan bases with no horse in the race.
Dodgers fans represent what sports is all about: total loyalty even when the ultimate goal hasn’t been reached in their lifetimes.
So, when you’re watching the Dodgers make their postseason push, don’t lump them in with everything else LA. They’re different. They’re a team you can get behind.