Don't call me a band wagoner.

I am not a band wagoner.

I started loving the Lakers in the 5th grade. Magic Johnson made a triumph return to basketball as an overweight power forward. I remember staying up late to watch the game to witness the historic event. I can remember the play like it was yesterday, Magic was on the baseline with the ball and saw a streaking Cedric Ceballos and pump-faked a pass and then hit him with a no-look pass. At the moment was the first time I realized that I truly loved watching basketball. Like so many others, I have Magic Johnson to thank for that gift. From that moment on I was a die hard Lakers fan.

Magic only played that season and in that off-season the Lakers signed Shaq and traded for some punk kid out of Philadephia. I loved the team before the Shaq/Kobe era even started. I loved Van Exel, Cedric Ceballos, Elden Campbell and Eddie Jones. When they got Shaq they had to get rid of Van Exel because you can't have a point guard that won't throw the ball to Shaq and Ceballos scored all his points on offensive boards so with Shaq there he was worthless. Then there was Eddie, who is still my all-time favorite Laker. He was a gentlemen on and off the court. He was athletic and could jump out of the gym. He was one of the more streaky shooters in the league so when Eddie got hot he could shoot the lights out. I never had a Kobe or a Shaq jersey, I rocked a purple Eddie Jones jersey. But Kobe started to improve. He started on All-Star teams but didn't start over Eddie Jones. As Kobe's ego and game grew the need for my main man Eddie was disappearing and he got chased out of LA because Kobe demanded and earned a starting spot. I am probably the only Laker fan who hates Kobe.

I will cheer for anyone who wears the purple and gold especially if you help the Lakers win. My ability to blindly cheer for anybody who wears a Laker jersey just speaks to my loyalty. I will cheer for accused rapists, players who beat up fans and even Karl Malone. I can't wait til Kobe and his ego and sadly hall of fame talent and championship winning play leaves LA.

I don't mind cheering for a team that doesn't win the championship every year although 5 championships out of the 14 years I've been a Laker fan is a pretty high percentage but I don't think I could cheer for a team that isn't competitive. The Lakers have only missed the playoffs five times in their entire history oddly I cheered for them during one of those seasons. My point is that when Kobe leaves the franchise the ownership won't settle for not being a championship team. Giving me no reason to jump off the "bandwagon" Ask anyone who knows me and they will probably say terrible things about me but calling me a band wagoner will not be on that list.