Today is going to be a radical day for America. My Dad and I are going to watch the Biggest rivalry matchup in NBA history. The teams are the LA Lakers vs the Boston Celtics. I have been a magic johnson fan my entire life. He is playing against his most hated rival Larry Bird. When walking into the arena with my Dad it was one of the most gnarly experiences in my life. The height on magic as a 6 foot 9 point guard and watching Larry shoot the ball like no one has ever seen before.

My Dad grew up listening to the lakers games on the radio with his Dad but never had enough money to watch the games live after recovery from the great depression. He would cut out the stripes of stats on the news paper and hang it up on the wall. To see how many points his favorite player Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was averaging. He would tell me stories about what it was like growing up in the great depression. Telling me how he would have to work 40 hours a week just making 1 dollar a hour as a 8 year old, while his Dad was in the military after fighting in WW2. So He had to work everyday so his family could have enough food for one meal every night. He has always taught me about being grateful and disaplean. He also taught me to live in the present but always look forward in the future.

The game is about to start the crowd is raring. The fans in LA were going crazy. You could feel the intensity in the air. The announcer yelling the starting lineup for the lakers “Starting Point guard for the Lakers standing at 6 foot 9 MAGIC JOHNSON!!!”. The crowd went radical chanting MVP. I never seen my Dad so with such a big smile on his face. He looked like a little kid a candy store. The players were walking out to the center of the court. The ref dribbled the ball twice blew the whistle and threw up the jump ball. Kareem jumped up and won. Magic dribbled the ball down the court looking for his star teammate Kareem down low in the post. Magic passed the ball to Kareem. Kareem did his famous post hook. The Lakers took a early lead. But started to shy away when Larry bird started getting hot. Larry won the 3 point contest the following year and you could tell. Larry wouldn't miss anything. He was 4 for 4 from the 3 point line and had 22 points at the end of the half. He led the Celtics with the lead going into the 4th quarter 79-74. You could feel the tension in the air. The fans quite nervous that their team could lose the championship to their most disliked rival. There was 1 minute left down by 4. Magic dribbled the ball down the court and took a 3 from downtown. Baangggggg! My Dad and I jumping up and down high fiving the Laker fans around us. The lead was shortened to 1. The celtics called time out, While the crowd was going crazy chanting “M.V.P M.V.P!”

It was the celtics ball with 33 seconds left. Larry got the inbound and was dribbling the ball down the court. The crowd was rawring, Larry passed the ball to Nate Archibald. He drove in and got fouled. My dad and I were screaming our lungs out while he was preparing to shoot his free throws. He made his first one it was a two point game. He dribbled the ball twice and shot his second free throw and missed. This was it Magic Johnson was dribbling ball down the court, down by 2 with 13 seconds and counting. He dishes it to kareem, kareem drives it passes it out to magic in the corner the fans chanting “5.4.3.2” Larry sprinting at magic. Everything was happening in slow motion Magic pumps fakes larry jumps passed him. He shoots the fans raise to there feet. It goes in. THE LAKERS WIN!! THE LAKERS WIN!! All the players rush the court jumping on Magic, while the celtics were walking off the court in tears with their heads down. I hugged my Dad, while he was in tears of joy. Five days after the game my Dad passed away in a car accident on the way home from work. I knew that day we spent together was the best day of my life and nothing will ever change that.