Eve,

Here’s my post, if it could run during the upcoming Finals, that would be pretty awesome.

Michael

After family, friends, and career, I would venture to guess that two of the most important things in my life are wine and the Lakers. I’m not sure if this sound pathetic, but it is true.

I first became a fan of the Lakers in 1971-72, during that incredible 69-13 season, which included that historic 33-game winning streak. Watching Jerry, Wilt, Gail and the rest of the team during that championship season got me hooked.

Now I am not a fair-weather fan. Some people think that the Lakers have always been good. And, overall, they have been a very successful organization. But, they have had their trying times in between the great teams of Wilt and Jerry, Kareem and Magic, Shaq and Kobe, and now Kobe and Pau. I remember some pretty poor teams — teams that didn’t make the playoffs, or if they did, were eliminated early.

But through it all, I followed the Lakers, often listening to Chick’s “word’s-eye view” on the radio, as these were the days before home games being shown on cable. Actually, these were the days before cable.

In the mid-80s, I discovered wine. A lot of trials and tribulations there too, as I struggled to learn as much as I could about this incredible — what, beverage? Yes, but much more, at least to me. Finally, I was just able to enjoy what I liked and not worry too much about the details.

I was going to try to tie these two things together, my Lakers and my wine, talk about how when a great team plays together it resembles the components of a great wine coming together, but that would be kind of a stretch, don’t you think? But, what they do have in common is the enjoyment I get from them, and I think that’s what matters.

Which is why you’ll often find my wife and me at our favorite table at All Corked Up, watching the game and drinking [and sharing] our wine, especially this time of year.

Michael P.