Looking Back: Magic Johnson

Magic Johnson is 50 years old and dang, I am old. He-he.

My friends and I grew up watching the Showtime LA Lakers in Bicol. We watched in amazement as Magic weaved his magic on the court with his dribbling skills, his shooting ability and his passing wizardry. That’s why I became a Laker fan because of Magic. And of course, you can add Kareem, Worthy and the rest of the boys.

I remember their epic championship battles with the Boston Celtics in the 80s even if they were on a much delayed basis. You see, we live in a remote town in Bicol and cable TV was unheard of back then. Also GMA and RPN, the two TV stations in the province, did not have the NBA on their regular programming.

Good thing, there were some enterprising people from Manila who visited the town twice a month to deliver the games and other films to the local video center who in turn rented the tapes to us for 10 pesos a pop.

Those were the days. And they were damn good old days.