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I wanted the Lakers to win last night and they did, but with the exception of two Queens homeboys in Ron Artest and Lamar Odom, why would I, a certified pro black sports fan root for a team rocking a white guy from Spain, another from the Eastern bloc and Bill Walton's son.

But old habits are hard to break, and I remember the Lakers (and to a lesser degree Georgetown) being my only saving grace in the Reagan era. Led by Magic, Kareem, and Worthy, the Lakers stomped out those purveyors of white hegemony, Larry Bird and the Boston Celtics on the regular. Sure the Celtics had a black coach in KC Jones and some black players, but it was more like saying Stymie, Buckwheat and Farina were the major players in the Little Rascals. We weren't going for it, and when Magic and the boys vanquished Boston in Boston we had hope, that things would change for us--and they did.

In fact they changed so much the Celtics today are more like the Lakers of the 80s, while the Lakers are more like the Celtics of that era. I should have been able to root for the Celtics, but my own shortcomings prevented it.

I wonder if that's how some white folks in places like Nebraska felt about President Obama? "He seems cool, he stands for what I stand for, but dammit, it's messing with my mind too much to support him".

Fortunately a lot of white folks that were able to overcome their hangups.

Maybe next year, I can learn from my open-minded white sisters and brothers and root for the Celtics. Then again, maybe I'll wait to 2012 to see if President Obama is re-elected!