Victorious Lakers Fans Get Rowdy In L.A.

Hundreds Pour Into Streets Around Staples Center After NBA Championship Win; 5 Arrested

(AP)  Hundreds celebrated in the streets outside Staples Center after the Los Angeles Lakers' NBA title win Sunday night, with some revelers damaging at least one police cruiser, throwing rocks and bottles at officers and setting bonfires in the street, police said.

At least five members of the rowdy crowd that split off on to surrounding streets were arrested after police declared the gathering an unlawful assembly, police spokeswoman Mary Grady said.

Officer Karen Rayner said one or two police cruisers were damaged and reinforcement officers were called in from throughout the city to help disperse the crowd.

Aerial television footage showed people jumping on a police car, rocking vehicles attempting to pass through the crowd and throwing flares set up by police. No injuries were reported.

A gas station was looted and several cars and a news van were vandalized, police chief William Bratton told KTTV-TV.

Bratton commended officers for showing restraint despite "a lot of provocation from a number of knuckleheads," he said.

"It's not easy to stand there when cowards in the middle of the crowd are throwing rocks and bottles at them," Bratton said.

Police department strike teams pushed people from the immediate area around the Staples Center into surrounding neighborhoods and were broke the crowds into progressively smaller clusters, Grady said.

The department declared a citywide tactical alert, meaning that all officers on duty were to remain on duty until the crowds had been completely dispersed, she said.

Across the country in Florida, the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic 99-86 in Game 5 of the NBA finals Sunday night to win their 15th championship.

The game was not shown at the Staples Center as it had been in previous years, but revelers from surrounding bars and restaurants and nearby neighborhoods descended on the area around the Lakers' home for a post-game celebration.

Television reports also showed small crowds of people parading through the streets of East Los Angeles, where excitement over the Lakers' Game 4 win Thursday night spilled into the streets, with rowdy fans swarming vehicles trying to pass through the area.

Bratton said that despite the problems the night went "all things considered pretty well" compared to expectations and the more widespread violence and vandalism of previous championship celebrations.

In 2000, after the Lakers won their first NBA title in 12 years, fans rioted outside Staples Center, burning police cars and leaving more than 70 vehicles damaged, many at nearby auto dealerships. At least 11 people were arrested and a dozen were injured.

Before the game, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said if the Lakers win they should have a victory parade in Los Angeles, despite the city's budget woes.

Villaraigosa said he would work with the private sector to help fund the celebration, which was expected to occur on Wednesday.

[cdegolier]

This is why I will never root for the Lakers or Raiders, their fans are simply thugs who can't control themselves or act like adults.

[harp3coat]

I hope a few heads got busted by police clubs. It does not make any since for people to act stupid when their teams wins a championship. Places like Detroit are no different.

[nujac123]

Spectator sports date back to the Roman Coliseum. Has anything really changed?

[mrs_trepidatious]

"My team won, let's burn a car and rob a gas station!" What mental malfunction causes that kind of reaction to victory? Posted by rf35
=========================
Rejecting Jesus.

[Slrman]

This demonstrates how stupid sports fans are. They say they are supporting "our" team. How ignorant. The teams are owned by wealthy people who are there for one reason - to make money. They do that be fleecing the gullible with over-priced tickets and merchandise. The players are just another marketable commodity than can find themselves playing for the opposition from one day to the next. In fact, the entire team can move to a different city whenever the owner finds that it would be more profitable there.

So just keep on acting like you mean more to the team than a revenue stream. Get drunk, be even more stupid, and end up arrested. That's more entertaining than any professional sport.

[wyo1943]

Reminds me of european soccer fans....

[sabre1111]

I wonder if Kobe will do a rap asking Shaq how *his* a$$z tastes.

[tautomer]

"My team won, let's burn a car and rob a gas station!" What mental malfunction causes that kind of reaction to victory? Posted by rf35
________________________________________________________________________

It's simple rf. The fan who is prone to this sort of behavior takes strong vicarious pleasure from his teams play. In some, there is an actual delusion that they are somehow linked to the team (hence the abundance of team jerseys and logos. Of course, games being games they simulate agression. During the game the fan doesn't generally have an opportunity to express those aggressive feelings (although thats why there are frequent fights in the stands.

Once outside the fan has an opportunity to act out his accumulated feelings of aggression and he (or she) does so. Simple as that. Plus it feels good with a little liquid courage in you.

[rf35]

I'm as much of a sports fan as the next guy and get excited when my team wins a championship game. I don't understand why the outcome of a game, even a big game, can cause the fans of the winning team to become violent. "My team won, let's burn a car and rob a gas station!" What mental malfunction causes that kind of reaction to victory?