Go Lakers!!!

Living in SoCal for most of our lives, we are big Lakers fans, and one of Andrew's Christmas presents was two tickets to a Lakers game. So yesterday Andrew and I drove down to Salt Lake City where the Lakers faced the Utah Jazz. We weren't expecting much because the Jazz had won 19 straight at home, but the Lakers came out and just OWNED the game. I like this picture I took just before tipoff (this plus 12 more photos posted here - please click), with all the players hugging and being all nice. Although... Derek Fisher here I think is hesitant to hug his former teammates on the Utah squad. :-) The picture here is about as friendly as they got all night, and the Lakers had opened up a 20-point lead by the end of the first quarter. They never looked back, and won 106-95. The Goodales (some or all of them) had previously seen two "away" Lakers games, both in Atlanta, where the horrific Hawks team BEAT the Lakers. We were beginning to think the Goodales were cursing away games for the Lakers, so it was good to reverse that trend! :-)

Most of all, I just LOVE the energy that you feel at professional sporting events. It's so much fun to be there and feel it. Whether your team wins or loses, it's just fun because of the energy of the place. I once went to a Braves-Phillies game at Turner Field in Atlanta - two teams I don't even care about. But it was fun just to be there and feel the energy.

Andrew loved his Christmas present, and I put him on a plane to head home this morning. His three older siblings have all flown alone, so this was sort of a rite of passage for Andrew, getting to fly alone. He loved that, too!

Christopher has taken his place, though, and we started our college tour today. More on that through additional posts...