Thursday, June 12, 2008

Land O' Lakers

Seems like everyone's wearing their Laker pride these days. On their cars, on their bikes, on their heads, on their backs. Even the Militant has been wearin' the purple and gold with his usual camo. But the tallest Angeleno of them all (Yes, the Militant is aware it's an inanimate object, but bear with the Militant, okay?), The Building Formerly Known As The Library Tower as well as the First Interstate World Center, a.k.a. The U.S. Bank Tower, is sporting its Laker pride high above the City for the homestand games in the NBA Finals. Many people wonder if some of our other highrises would be showing off their Laker Pride as well, but you know the rules -- There Can Only Be One.

GO LAKERS!

Besides, oops, hold on...okay there. Besides, what's Boston doing to show it's team's pride in its skyline? Oh yeah, they don't have one.

And yeah, though these guys already covered it, the Militant has a much closer shot. :P

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Um... Have you ever been to Boston? Because: http://images.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&safe=off&client=safari&rls=en&q=downtown+skyline&btnG=Search+Images

Militant Angeleno said...

anonymous: Dude, your link is dead, lol.

Yes, the Militant has been to Boston before - twice, in fact. Again, two buildings do not make up a skyline. Yes, there's another cluster of buildings closer to Baaaaastin Haaaaabah, but they're all under 20 stories tall. But hey, great place to get some laaaaabstah.

Jen Muehlbauer said...

Militant Bostonians (and yes, there are some) are pretty anti-development, and one of the results of this is that Boston doesn't have a lot of tall buildings. There's a fight over the height of just about every proposed new structure. It's a slow-growth thing.

And, while Boston sports fans are completely obnoxious, they do seem more consistent than LA fans. Lakers fans fly their flags when it's basketball season and the Lakers are doing well, but Sox and Patriots fans are gung-ho year round, and this was true even when both those teams sucked. It's also worth noting that the Prudential building spells "GO SOX" for every playoffs the Sox are in.

On the flipside, Boston is cold, expensive (yes, more than LA), and often pretentious. The food scene sucks and I'd rather live in LA. (4 years there, no, not college, and 5 here so far). But the skyline and lack of sports enthusiasm aren't really the right reasons to rag on the place.

Anonymous said...

fine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston,_Massachusetts

scroll down the page.

Geoff said...

While I was growing up in Boston, it was one of the most sports-obsessed cities in the country, and I suspect it still is. So while LA has many, many things that put Boston to shame, a transcendent man-made skyline and a die-hard sports culture are not among them!

Militant Angeleno said...

jen and geoff: So yes, Boston sports fans are the most rabidly obsessed...because the have no life.

As for Los Angeles fans being all "fair-weathered," flying their Laker flags only during the playoffs, you REALLY don't know any real Angelenos. The Miltant knows people with tattered, weather-beaten purple and gold car flags. But since youre little circle of friends only consists of transplants, that is all you see right?

And besides, IT'S A SPECIAL OCCASION. So when people fly American flags outside their houses on July 4, does that make them "fairweather Americans?" Puh-lease.

And as for your dissing of Los Angeles as a sports town, excuse the Militant, but this "non-sports town" you so totally diss has hosted the Olympics, NO, hosted *TWO* Olympics, the First Super Bowl, a World Cup...and that's not opinion, that's historical fact.

And what exactly makes Boston's two-building skyline so superior to Los Angeles'? Oh yeah, it's an East Coast skyline, therefore it's better [eyes rolling].

Jen Muehlbauer said...

It's east coast, therefore it's better? You clearly didn't read the entirety of my comment, which contained many disses on Boston plus the statement that I'd rather live here. And your assumption that all, or even more than half, my friends are transplants is incorrect and borders on stereotyping. It's also obvious that you're not open to any sort of reasoned discussion about regional differences unless it's about how LA is better than everywhere on every level. Every city has its good and bad points. I expected a higher level of discourse and nuance from The Militant.

Geoff said...

I agree with jen. My remarks were not intended to be negative about LA but to provide some balance. However, Militant's responses make it clear that balance is an unwelcome commodity here. Oh well . . . his blog, his rules. Happy first anniversary.

Aaron said...

Haha, that's the Back Bay. Downtown Boston itself has a real skyline, one actually reminiscent of NYC's due to its position perched over Boston Harbor. You can see a photo here.

Most of those buildings are much higher than 20 stories ;p.