One of the proud points of we here at South Bay Events is that we all grew up in the area. It’s actually pretty rare to meet people in Hermosa or Manhatan Beach who were raised there, especially among the younger generations. Amazing weather, a great lifestyle and a solid job market are all very attractive reasons to move here. On any given evening at Sharkeez or Molloy’s, you could take a poll and find that probably 90% of the crowd is from the Midwest or the East Coast. Not that this is a bad thing – you get more culture and outlooks on life than you would in a homogeneous small town elsewhere. It can be frustrating, however, especially if you’re a fan of local sports. There are 2 official Boston Red Sox/Celtics/Patriots bars, an official Pittsburgh Steelers and Chicago Bears bar plus several unofficial New York bars in Hermosa Beach alone. You would never guess you were in Los Angeles at some local watering holes. As a lifelong resident and HUGE Lakers and Chargers fan, there’s nothing more aggravating than getting yelled at or taunted for supporting Southern California sports…in Southern California.
During last year’s amazing Lakers vs. Celtics NBA Finals series, I was shocked when the place I was at (which will remain unnamed) erupted in cheers upon the Celtics’ first made basket. There were maybe 10 Lakers fans and at least 50-60 Celtics fans, and this wasn’t even one of the aforementioned “Boston bars”. Several new transplants tried to educate me about how “pathetic” and “fair-weather” us local fans are, which isn’t the least bit true. Most parts of L.A. have rabid local sports fans and the South Bay is a terrible cross-section of that demographic. If I were to travel to Boston or New York when the Lakers or Dodgers were playing, I think it would be near suicide to vocalize my support in an obnoxious way. I guess the point is this: we’re very happy you moved here and are enjoying your new life, but respect the locals and remember the following -you should probably switch your allegiance because the Lakers will always be the best.