LOS ANGELES – When ABC announcer Mike Breen announced the final seconds of the Lakers’ victory in the NBA Finals in October, he proclaimed, “Pennant number 17 will soon be hanging on to the deer.”
He was right about the suspended part. What Breen didn’t know was that when the Lakers open the season against the LA Clippers on Tuesday, no one will be able to see the flag making their new home at the Staples Center.
The Lakers will have a black cape that covers the flag of the 2019-20 championship for the opening night, with the message “Stay tuned, Lakers family” printed in large gold letters.
It will remain covered until the coronavirus pandemic disappears and fans can return to the building for games.
“We will not unveil a flag because we want to wait for fans to do so,” Lakers President Tim Harris told ESPN. “When you win a championship, the championship has a lot of owners in quotes. A championship belongs to the team, it belongs to the players, it belongs to the fans.”
“And then the things that come with a championship, the assets that come with a championship, it’s like the holding group is the keeper of the trophy. And the rings when you win a championship belong to the players. And the flag when you win a championship belongs to the fans. That’s how I see it. . “
The last time Staples Center hosted a fan game was March 10th. In late November, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health issued an order banning all public and private gatherings of people outside the same household.
“Obviously we were awarded the trophy. And [el martes] In the evening we will deliver the rings, “Harris told ESPN.” And we want to wait, if we can, hopefully, until we have the opportunity to reveal the flag with its owners, who are the fans, there with us.
As for the black cape, Harris explained, “There’s something that says, ‘We’ll wait for you.’
The ring ceremony will continue, without the normal circumstances that accompany the celebration of the gold and purple championship.
“We started thinking, ‘How are we going to do this? How are we going to run this event when we don’t have fans?’ ‘When you’re doing a TV show,” Harris said.
“For the flag, we’re missing a part of it. We’re missing a component, and these are the people who have a big part of winning this, the fans. So we’ll wait.”