All of us weekly poker playing guys went to see The Dodgers beat the Cards on Wednesday so the Friday night session was called off to keep their wives happy. On the spur of the moment I decided to go see the Lakers play a preseason game at the Forum, their first visit to their old home since 1999. Current home for the purple and gold is the Staples Center, the most soulless arena in the USA. The Forum may not have soul but its down-right funky and doesn't have luxury boxes that take up half of the best seats.
In the past years I've seen some terrific shows at the Forum: The Rolling Stones, Coldplay and Madonna to name a few. I would not have seen them if they'd played at Staples where the upper level is in another zip code and the bottom level is in another tax code. The Inglewood Forum is as old as the Roman Forum...in SoCal years. Any building in the Los Angeles area that's over 20 years-old is considered ancient. Fortunately for me there are two places I love that have been around twice that long. The other one is Dodger Stadium. Its a great week when I can go to both.
The Forum is also the closest arena to where I live. After a couple beers at happy hour I knew I didn't want to drive to the game so I figured I'd do something shocking: TAKE THE BUS! Usually rapid transit in L.A. is a pain in the butt. This is the city that finally built a rail system...that doesn't go to the airport, Coliseum or the two major universities! Yet the number 115 bus goes straight from the beach to the Forum and costs only $1.25. Armed with a radio and a crossword puzzle I was ready to go.
At 5:40pm at the end of a long Friday the bus was clean enough. Heading inland it began to fill-up with people of all colors and languages. Some of them-like the German guy hitting on a cute Latina-were airline workers from around the world. If you've ever been to the Forum you know LAX is nearby because the jets fly right over the arena. I listened to the exciting Twins vs Yankees playoff game on my faithful transistor and watched as the neighborhoods were taken over by gun shops, liquor stores and taquerias. It didn't look dangerous but I didn't feel the urge to get off and roam around. There was no point in trying to talk with any of my fellow riders. They were all on their cell phones!
It took just over a half-hour to get to the Forum and when we arrived I was happy I'd taken the bus. That's because parking cost $22! Nearly as much as my ticket! Inside a beer cost $10 but I did get a nice commemorative t-shirt for the relative steal of sixteen bucks. I like my souvenirs to have a date on them and this one did. Makes it one of a kind.
The game itself was memorable for the amount of fouls called by the replacement referees. Stephen Jackson of the Warriors had five in the first quarter! The NBA better get the on-strike regular refs back by October 27th opening night. Monta Ellis poured in a game-best 24 points and doled out eight assists to lead the Warriors past the Lakers, 110-91.
The Lakers had 19 points from Andrew Bynum and 15 points from Kobe Bryant, who played at the Forum back in 1999.
Jack Nicholson did not show up for this one.
When I was a kid the Forum seemed like the biggest building in the world. Compared to the Staples Center it now seems like the neighborhood playhouse. Check out the view from the cheap seats. You're right on top of the action when you're in the lower Colonnade. Last time I was there they still had the Laker championship banners on the wall and the giant scoreboard loomed overhead.
They're all gone. Thankfully, the Forum remains. I'm just wondering for how long.
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Nice trip down memory lane Joe. It is nice to know that you can sometimes go home.
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