33 In a Row - 1971-'72 Lakers

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On Friday night the Golden State Warriors were behind the Boston Celtics with just a few minutes left.

I'm not much of a basketball fan these days, but I was a little interested because of the winning streak the Warriors were on. They had won 23 in a row to open the season and 27 straight dating back to the end of last year.

Could they break the record set by the West-Goodrich-Wilt Lakers of my childhood?

As I watched the end of the game a couple of things re-entered my mind.

Like crying when the Lakers finally lost to the Bucks to end that streak when I was a mere 7 years old.

I hated Kareem Abdul Jabbar for a long time because of that game.

But I got back into the present day.

The Celtics had a chance to win before the end of regulation. Sam and Jake entered the room to watch Boston's last ditch attempt fail.

Then we watched the overtime.

Both teams looked tired.

The announcers out of Boston were brutal.

Overtime ended in another tie.

Did I want to see the Lakers record challenged?

Was I actually rooting for the Warriors?

Wilt was the first sports star that I loved.

Dad took us to one of the games during that 33-game winning streak. I was seated mere feet from Wilt as he sat on the bench in a lopsided win over the Braves.

I read back about that team.

Pat Riley, who was a bench player on that team, talked about the $8 a day the players got to buy their food on the road.

Eight dollars a day!!!

My ticket for that game in 1971 was $7.50!

I remember Dad talking about how expensive the tickets were!

Riley also explained that players were responsible for cleaning their own uniforms after a game and that he did it by entering the shower still dressed. Then he would bag up the soaked uni and take it to the hotel room and put it on the radiator so it would dry before the next game.

They used to play back-to-back-to back nights.

They don't do that anymore because the union put a stop to it to save the players.

Riley went on to explain that Wilt wouldn't always wash his uniform and that opposing players hated him for it.

The Warriors pulled out the game on Friday night.

"They're gonna' be undefeated until they play the Cavs on Christmas," Sam announced.

"Who do they play next?" I asked.

"The Bucks, tomorrow," Jake said. "They should beat them."

My mind went back to 7-year old me.

Lakers versus Bucks.

Back to today:

Warriors versus Bucks.

"I don't want them to get to 34 in a row," I said. "I don't want them to break Wilt and West's record."

They didn't.

The Bucks ended the streak on Saturday night!

Some memories are meant to last forever, I guess.

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