Adam Karon Those who want to camp out
with Karon, his autographed photo of Jim Everett, and his George
Foreman: Lean, Mean, Fat-Reducing Grilling Machine can email him at
gianthater@yahoo.com.
Rumor has it that Steve Lavin may coach the Boston Celtics next
season.
The UCLA head coach dodged sportswriters, sidestepped the
administration, and slam-dunked in the face of his critics last
weekend when the upstart Bruin basketball team defeated Arizona
79-77 in overtime.
No one gave Lavin and his boys a chance. Those of you begging
for a fellow named Pitino ought to buy Lavin a case of hair gel and
send a letter of apology. Chances are he’d write you back.
That is the type of guy Lavin is.
When I was 16, I enrolled in Steve Lavin’s summer
basketball camp. Shortly before the first day I found out I needed
knee surgery and would be unable to attend. Due to limited
enrollment, the camp had a strict no-refund policy.
Lavin not only refunded my money, he sent a message urging me to
continue to play ball once I recovered. He did not mention the
possibility of life without basketball. Instead he stayed upbeat
and positive.
And that is how he survived what the UCLA community has thrown
at him this year.
Perhaps I should have written something supporting coach Lavin
weeks ago. Some will criticize me for waiting until he is on top of
the world to write an admiring article. They are probably
right.
I was not at the game Thursday night. In fact, I have not been
to a game all year. I just couldn’t bear the aggravation of
UCLA fans deriding Lavin and chanting Pitino’s name.
Kudos to the fans who went to the game. Well done to those who
camped out for good seats. Congratulations to all of you who rushed
the court. I envy you.
Watching the celebration on television from my couch was as
painful as a Gilbert Arenas three-pointer, but I deserved the pain.
I have waited three years to rush the court, but I missed the
action on Thursday night.
I was not there in the cold and rain, bundled up waiting for the
morning light and a precious priority pass. I did not risk arrest
by being part of the first student body to rush the court in recent
memory.
But I got what I deserved. I missed arguably one of the greatest
experiences in the past four years at UCLA.
Westwood is still echoing with the chant “we love
Lavin.” Was it Valentine’s day or did someone have a
quick change of heart?
It is ironic that an entire community can go from shoving a
coach to loving him. Saturday’s victory over Arizona State is
a good example. Four weeks ago, Lavin would have been blasted for
allowing the Sun Devils to score the first 10 points of the game.
Boosters would have ripped him for beating an 11-13 team by a mere
five points.
And where was I throughout it all? Wrapped up in distancing
myself from UCLA basketball. It was not because I didn’t like
the team. It was not because I didn’t like the coach. I just
could not tolerate the negative attention that Los Angeles seems to
direct towards its most prominent athletic teams.
As a result I began to follow other UCLA sports more closely.
You will rarely hear of the baseball or gymnastics coaches being
run out of town. You just don’t hear, “Well, the girls
aren’t as crisp on their Yurchenko half layout front vaults.
She’s just not getting it done. Maybe she’s too young
for the job. She’ll never be as good as John Wooden.
It’s time to bring in Bela Karolyi.”
No one will ever be as good as Coach Wooden. Of course, there
will always be comparisons for any basketball coach at UCLA, but
until the media, the alumni and students let go, we will constantly
force coaches out of Westwood.
Sometimes I am embarrassed to be a UCLA sports fan. Losses to
USC can be redeemed; a player leaving early happens everywhere, and
disabled parking scandals I won’t even touch. But what is
most embarrassing is our lack of loyalty. We say a Bruin is
forever, but we don’t encourage and support a coach in hard
times. Instead we turn against him as if he bleeds red and
gold.
I don’t want to imply the athletic director’s office
should become a warm, fuzzy, feel-good sanctuary. At the same time,
if this school is going to preach success and loyalty, it must
start somewhere.
I know what I’m going to do. I’m going to make up
for the past two months by camping out, and storming the court
after the Cal and Stanford games, even if I have do both by myself.
What’s the worst that can happen? I’ll lose a couple
toes to frostbite and maybe start a criminal record for
trespassing. But at least Lavin might think twice before leaving to
take that Celtics job.