Just 16 days after the Lakers won an NBA Championship, their city neighbors in the Chavez Ravine followed in their steps, winning a championship of their own. The Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in a best of seven series to be crowned the 2020 World Series Champions after a 32 year drought.
Professional athletes endured many challenges in order to play sports safely in 2020, but this did not stop the Los Angeles Lakers and the Los Angeles Dodgers from achieving their ultimate championship goals.
The Dodgers reached three World Series in the last four years prior to their 2020 victory but were unable to come out on top until now. The Lakers and Dodgers were able to recreate their memorable 1988 seasons by both winning championships in the same year. With Los Angeles only 28 miles away, the CPP community is filled with fans of both franchises.
Fifth-year food science and technology student Cory Lee has been Lakers and Dodgers fan his entire life. He regularly attended CPP baseball games at Scolinos Field, but with the current shut down of Division II athletics, he hasn’t been able to watch live baseball. This year however, he saw one of his dreams come true: both of his teams winning a championship in the same year.
“Never in my life had I thought I’d see the day where I would witness one, let alone two championships” Lee said. “This means so much to us fans, as the entirety of LA had endured so much this year from an invisible enemy called COVID-19.”
The Dodgers also added their eighth straight national league pennant on their way to winning their seventh World Series.
First-year psychology transfer student Noah Calderon is also ecstatic about the dual championships this year. He admired the late Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and believes that his unfortunate death inspired and motivated the entire city of LA to win it all in his honor.
“I feel that by winning the World Series and NBA finals many fans are able to rejoice and temporarily forget the pain from recent seasons and pain that some have felt due to the circumstances of this year” Calderon said. “This allows all of us to come together and celebrate something that we all love.”
In a year of panic, national unrest and a global pandemic, many students felt these championships were much needed. Fourth-year kinesiology student Paula Yang thinks that the Lakers and Dodgers championships are restoring the hope and strength of fans during these challenging times.
Yang has been cheering on the LA teams every year and is thrilled to finally see a championship come out of this amazing city.
“During this time of COVID, the passing of many loved ones, the election and protests we were all in a depressed mood, but MLB and the NBA changed that for a lot of us,” Yang said. “It brought hope and happiness back to our city.”