A Place To Be Seen
It is a measure of the increasing popularity of sports that they have been adopted so readily by the celebrity crowds in recent years. One only has to take note of this happening in other sports – for example, Tom Cruise attending a few soccer games due to a friendship with the Beckhams – to see that, where sport used to be considered a mostly working-class pursuit, it has really broken through to a wider audience of people who may sometimes go to games to be seen.
Now, this is slightly unfair on some of the long-term basketball fans who have been attending games for decades. It is well known that Jack Nicholson is a Los Angeles Lakers fan and has been a regular at their games for some time. The same is true of John McEnroe. The same may not be as true of Leonardo di Caprio and Bar Refeali. Meanwhile, it is well known that Spike Lee is a hardcore New York Knicks fan.
Of course, there is every reason to believe that this is just one of the perks of being a celebrity. Not everyone can be a celebrity, but can those of us who are not, and never will, really say that we would turn down the opportunity to have courtside seats whenever we wanted them to see our favorite team play? A busy work schedule may mean you can’t be there every game, but should that stop you from taking the chance when it is there? As for the high number of celebrity Lakers fans … well, that’s LA for you.