Vlade to the Lakers

So reports the LAT: Lakers Turn to an Old Favorite.

While I have been a Spurs fan since 1991ish, I had followed the Lakers from the mid-1980s until the early 90s (when I returned to Texas for grad school). Vlade was a Laker at the end of that period of time, and so this is a real blast from the past. Not a bad move for the Lakers, I suppose, but he is 1) old and 2) no Shaq. I will say that he had a decent run in Sacramento.

For those who wonder as to my basketball fickleness: I didn't grow up watching the NBA (gee, whiz, the Dallas Mavericks were a new team when I was a kid, and the team we got on tv, and they used to stink back then. Plus, my Dad watched baseball, football and golf only back then, so the NBA was never on at our house). However, when we moved to SoCal in late 1983, we started watching the Lakers (the old Lakers: Kareem, Magic and Harold Kurt Rambis in those black glasses). However, once I moved back to Texas, I got the Spurs games and ended up converting. The Lakers were about to fall apart and David Robinson's Spurs were simply move appealing.

I guess if one doesn't acquire one's sports loyalties at a very early age, it is easier to switch. I would never depart from my beloved Cowboys (and I remember rooting for them at like 4 years of age, or even younger), and I even maintain my loyalty to the Rangers (who are having a surprisingly good season this year). However, I didn't solidify my college football loyalties until I went to UT for grad school.