L.A. and Sports

    In life we got to find what makes us happy and run to it. For me, I love sports. I grew up watching basketball and football. I remember watching Shaq and Kobe and going to Kobe's last game. I remember watching the Chargers with Phillip Rivers, LaDainian Tomlinson, and Vincent Jackson. My whole life I have been a Lakers and Chargers fan. Once the Chargers moved to Los Angeles I became a L.A. sports fan. The Lakers, Rams, and Chargers all have a place in my heart. This blog will talk about is going on in L.A. sports and what the future holds for these teams. 

    Let's start with football and talk about the L.A. Rams. The Rams have been playing extremely well this year earning themselves a spot to Superbowl LVI this Sunday 02/13/22. The last time Los Angeles won a Superbowl was in 1983 when the Los Angeles Raiders beat the Redskins 38-9 to claim Los Angeles first and only Superbowl till this day. This Sunday, Los Angeles has an opportunity to capitalize and win another Superbowl as the L.A. Rams play the Cincinnati Bengals. The road to the Superbowl is a tough one and well deserved as the Rams ended the regular season with a 12-5 record and went on to beat the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49rs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers against Tom Brady and crew. The best part is that the Superbowl this year is held in Los Angeles! Which means the Rams will be playing at home for the championship game. I give the Rams the edge over the Bengals during the Superbowl and with home field advantage the Rams should capitalize early on what I hope to be an entertaining game.

    The other football team in Los Angeles is the Chargers. They ended the season with a 9-8 record and were just short of making the playoffs. Although they did not make the playoffs this year they have high hopes in the future with a young talent at the quarterback position. Justin Herbert has shown promise and with an upgraded offensive line and improved defense they can make some noise next year in the AFC. The Chargers are in the AFC division and the Rams are in the NFC division which means it is possible for both L.A. teams to play each other during the Superbowl which would be epic!

    Basketball in Los Angeles is dominated around the Lakers. Basketball fans in L.A. and around the world bleed the purple and gold. One of sports most recognized and appreciated teams is the Los Angeles Lakers with the most championship appearances of 32 and tied for the most championship wins at 17. The Lakers have a legacy and history with memorable players such as Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Shaquille O Neal, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, and more. The last time the Lakers won the NBA championship was in 2020 against the Miami Heat in "the bubble". This was lead by Lebron James and Anthony Davis who were argued as two of the top five players in the NBA. Currently this season the two are still together but are far from being considered the championship contenders that they were two years ago. This is due to many factors such as injuries and missing role players that they once had. The near future for the Lakers does not look promising. But with Lebron and Anthony Davis still at the core of the team, next year could be changed team with trade acquisitions and health.