Rivalry? What rivalry?

Throughout the week, I’ve been seeing the same articles on Web sites and on sports pages across the country, all mentioning the resurgence of the Lakers-Celtics rivalry.\nI don’t disagree that this NBA Finals series is possibly the most exciting to come in a long time or that the matchups between Kobe and Paul Pierce and KG and Pau are not compelling. Both teams are exciting to watch, with talented rosters and a gifted coaching staff. And let’s face it: Any championship where one team is the San Antonio Spurs is almost automatically a snoozefest. \nBut seeing dozens of headlines detailing the old Los Angeles and Boston teams of the 1960s through the 1980s reminded me of the past, not the present. Reading the articles was similar to reading a history book about famous generals in World War II. To the younger generation these rivalries are not relevant. Many of today’s NBA fans are simply too young to remember Magic and Bird except for old highlight reels on ESPN Classic.\nHaving been born in the late 1980s – the last year the Lakers won a championship in the 20th century – I grew up with Jordan’s Bulls, Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers and Duncan’s Spurs. Vince Carter, Steve Francis and Penny Hardaway were the heroes when I was attending basketball camp. In fact, one of my earliest memories is Jordan beating the Jazz in 1998 with a last-second shove on Bryon Russell and making the perfect jumper to clinch his final championship.\nBut I’m not alone in my youth. Just take a look of the rosters of both teams. Sixteen players out of the 30 total on both teams were born in the ’80s, meaning they would have been in elementary school or younger during the last great runs of the historic franchises.\nLarry Bird and Magic Johnson retired in the early 1990s, effectively ending the rivalry. Even now one finals matchup cannot be heralded as the resurgence of two teams. This is Boston’s first 60-plus win season since 1986 and the Lakers’ first title run since O’Neal left. In fact Boston didn’t make the playoffs the past two years.\nThe last time the Lakers and Celtics met in the finals was 1987, four months before Lakers center Andrew Bynum was born. Guard Jordan Farmar would have been seven months old, hardly old enough to appreciate the matchup between Johnson and Bird. In fact 10 out of 15 players on the Lakers were born in the 1980s, so while they might remember the history from their childhood, it’s the same as saying every episode of “Sesame Street” is emblazoned in my memory forever because I watched it when I was 5. The Celtics roster is more experienced. Only six players were born in the 1980s. Even so, Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce were all pre-teens in 1987. Still, that means they witnessed the rivalry dying down, not in the throes of the heated hatred.\nWhen the Lakers played in Boston last year, fans chanted “MVP” for Kobe. Celtics fans chanting for Kobe? Forget that the team had just lost their 13th consecutive game. You can’t call it a rivalry if so-called supporters are cheering for the opponent’s star player. These aren’t the same die-hard fans that turned up the heat in the visitor’s locker room in Boston Garden more than 20 years ago to give their hometown team an advantage. \nBoth cities and fans are changed and the same intense and passionate hatred is gone, to be replaced by more of a casual dislike, one that can’t match the fury of the past.\nAnd while this year’s finals may remind some of history and old victories, let’s detach it from the West and Russell era, the Magic and Bird dynasty. This is Kobe and KG, Pau and Pierce, Ray and Radmanovic. Let’s make some new memories.