Do Championships and Graffiti Go Hand-In-Hand?

I stayed up and watched all 18 innings of Game 3 of the World Series. And the next day I felt as if I’d taken those at-bats myself! Collectively we went through all the emotions of Game 7, and I could see the fireworks over Figueroa Street start almost immediately from my window when the double play ended the 11th inning.  I haven’t been a Dodgers fan long enough to claim I felt the same way a lot of Angelenos must have felt watching the Dodgers win it all.  I wasn’t at all compelled to hop in my car and do donuts in the intersection even though I was close enough to hear others with less inhibition. 

I’ve been a fan two years, which is long enough to know that we did all this last year! And during the pandemic the Dodgers beat the Devil Rays in the World Series, and fans crashed out in downtown when the Lakers won their 17th NBA Championship. That wasn’t that long ago.  Professional sports teams currently representing Los Angeles have won 40 championships! If any city could embody the sportsmanship mantra of “act like you’ve been there before” it would be Los Angeles. 

I grew up a New Orleans Saints fan, not because they were winners in the 80s or 90s, but because they represented the city I claimed, and that made everything they stood for more than the game. Fandom is a part of culture all over the world in communities as different as Bloomington, Indiana and Mumbai, India. Saturday afternoon football and Tuesday night cricket are not just activities, but they foster norms and behaviors; sport often defines culture, and vice versa. 

When the New Orleans Saints won the Superbowl on February 7, 2010, we celebrated that night in the French Quarter. It was the City’s first championship, and I gravitated to the heart of the community, indulged in all the revelry, hive fived strangers, and watched the sun rise over downtown. It was an awesome night! 

That night there was an estimated 800k people in downtown. The census population of New Orleans was only 343,829. There were no police issued dispersal orders that night, nor was there a need. In the following morning’s assessment, there were very few arrests, no reports of major property damage, and no reports of looting or vandalism. There was no graffiti. 

Winning championships wasn’t part of the culture in New Orleans. That city’s championship number stands at one, and a second doesn’t appear to be on the horizon anytime soon.  But graffiti and property damage in victory, also aren’t a part of the culture.  I wonder, if the Saints won more, would New Orleanians have inevitably embraced the culture of leaving a mess for our neighbors to clean up. 

I respect the cultures of fandom, but I’m genuinely perplexed when it compels some people to show up downtown and leave the place covered in spray paint. The tags left behind after the Dodgers won were crude, crass, illegible and unintelligible. At least there was an element of bravery and artistry required to climb Oceanwide’s abandoned towers when those vandals left their mark. 

Some people celebrate because their favorite team represents the city they claim. Cities are unique and culturally we celebrate differently in all of them.  I do get that. This is a critique wrapped in an effort to genuinely understand, not to bash – even if bashing is my impulse when I woke up to the senselessness of it all. 

A prevailing sociological theory is that a minority of people may feel disconnected from society and feel a lack of perceived or real ownership in community or of public spaces; tagging is then a reflex action that says I was here (in this community) even if you don’t ever see me, or people like me.  And gang tags are obviously ways of claiming turf and warding off the competition.  But the folks in blue and white jerseys I saw Saturday night and after the parade with spray cans in their hands didn’t look like gang members or a forgotten class of Angelenos.  They just looked like sports fans.   

I don’t actively cheer for the NBA or NFL team from New Orleans anymore.  I’ve picked up my roots and planted them elsewhere, and both those teams are insufferable. But I am proud of the city, and when the team’s win, I’m genuinely happy for friends and family that are culturally invested in their success. Over the last two weeks I’ve been just as happy for Angelenos. My Dodgers fandom is every bit about my appreciation and love for my new home and hoping to pass a more successful fandom onto my sons. 

Los Angeles can and likely will win its 50th championship in my lifetime. That’s a mark that should generate enormous civic pride! But I don’t think I’ll ever understand when anyone decides to show pride in their team by disrespecting our community. If some fans can’t seem to act like they’ve been there before, at least they could act like they understand other fans live and work here.