Sweet 16 = Back 2 Back

"Winning takes talent, to repeat takes character." - John Wooden

My meeting began at 3:30 p.m. and was scheduled to end at 5:30 p.m. Luckily - for me, down the street is a restaurant, sports bar & grill that my company frequents so often it has its own nickname given by the Edison employees long before my time. The name is "GO5", also known as Charlie Browns in Rosemead, CA. You see the buildings on Edison's "campus" go a little something like this - GO1, GO2, GO3 & GO4. The code word for happy hour at Charlie Browns became "GO5". It was here that I witnessed the greatest NBA game of my life.

But I digress.

The lawyer walks in and to ensure he makes a grand entrance, he interrupts the meeting by saying, "Just living the dream" as he enters the room. Mind you, he does this literally every time he walks into a meeting. So annoying. The other thing to note is he was over an hour late to a 2 hour meeting. Also, annoying. Oh and for kicks, he is also ALWAYS late. Annoying! Annoying! Annoying! Any who, as I sit and go over the documents our small sub team had to review, I couldn't keep my eye off the damn clock.

"Tick-Tock!"

Remember when you were back in school and you couldn't wait for class to be over? It was something like that - only I didn't have to meet my girl friend out by the baseball field, in the back where nobody could see us. I wasn't rushing to get to basketball practice, nor was I counting down the minutes to head to "Taco Lita" in Arcadia, CA (Mexican restaurant that was and is the bomb.com). I was counting down to something much better than all of that - Game 7 of the NBA Finals. The stage was set for it to be an epic battle and the only thing standing between me and my game was a fat ass, smug underachieving lawyer.

Double ugh.

The meeting is usually four hours long and I kid you not, I have been in there when the team (lawyer included) is going over one paragraph for 2 hours changing words from "and" to "also" or "exemption" to "unnecessary". So bad I wish I could tell you that I am exaggerating - sadly I am not. These are important documents regarding the transmission projects I work on, but I mean, come on - really? Two hours one one paragraph?

Tripple ugh.

Just when I thought I wasn't going to be able to take it anymore I looked down and it was 5:20 p.m.. The game was scheduled to start at 6 p.m. (PST). Best believe I text my Project Manager whom was sitting 3 seats away (I was trying to be slick) the following message:

"Game time! Let's wrap this up like safe sex!"

Blah! Blah! Blah! The lawyer just kept on talking and talking. My boss couldn't even interject because this blood sucker was on a role. Suffice to say, the meeting ended at 5:50 p.m.!!!! My boss was just as eager to get to Charlie Browns, so we both began putting away the chords to the projector, my laptop etc. We literally ran up the stairs to our desks and headed back down three flights of stairs and out into the parking lot like an illegal immigrant in Arizona from a cop. I got to my car, hopped in, turned on 710AM radio station to hear the beginning of the game and booked it out of the parking lot and down the street.

My boss and I arrived at Charlie Browns and it was extremely packed. I'm talking packed like a fat man in a small under armor shirt packed. I had to park at Carrows restaurant and pray that my car wasn't towed - although - at the the time my mentality was so long as the Lakers gave me a Championship, whatever happened to my ride was worth it. Idiotic rational, but I mean come on Loungers, this was Los Angeles versus Boston - EPIC!!!!

So we walk in and wiggled our way to the back where other co-workers were sitting. I'd be telling lies if I said I wasn't close to getting all Ludacris (a rapper) on some people and throw some bows as I tried to get thru the crowd. Stupid ass holes. The bitches were hot though, so they would have gotten the forearm. The dudes - well they'd get full bow to the chin, chest - pretty much wherever I could connect. This was Game 7 folks!!!!!

Without giving you a play by play of the game, the Lakers were down by double digits and every Laker fan in the joint was on edge. By the 4th quarter it was pure chaos, madness it was INTENSE!!!! I was clapping hands, smacking five and chest bumping people I had never met more than a teen in a mosh pit. And then friends, that's when it happened.

"Missed shot by Rajon Rondo, Lakers rebound - that is going to be it folks - Lakers win!"

The announcer is ecstatically and emphatically describing what hundreds of us inside Charlie Browns had just witnessed. Sure my voice was gone from so much screaming and cheering, but it didn't matter. I didn't even think about my car and whether or not it was still in tact. I didn't care that I missed the 1st 3 minutes of the game or that the nachos were hot as hell and had been burning my lip and tongue all night. I swear you'd a thought I had just gone down on Lindsay Lohan the way I was burning. All in all my fellow Loungers, the only thing that mattered was that the Los Angeles Lakers had done it again - they won back to back titles and further more, won their 16th title.

My stage was chosen, the outcome was glorious and my evening was complete - I shed tears of joy (yeah, so what!) and was so proud to be in Los Angeles and even more happy to be a Los Angeles Lakers fan. I witnessed history amongst great company and for that moment in time saw the best in humanity. The Lakers have such an affect on people and I am proud that they have had such an affect on me.

Next to winning my Fantasy Football League, this was the best Championship I have ever experienced.

Thank you Kobe Bryant.

Thank you Ron Artest.

Thank you Pau Gasol.

And a BIG Thank You Derek Fisher for being the glue that keeps the hope and faith alive.

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2010 NBA Champions. Back 2 Back with 16 NBA Championships!!!!!

Can you say - Re-peat of the Three-peat?

I would love to hear where you were and what your experience was witnessing history.