They say that you do not choose your teams, but rather, your teams choose you. It could be because someone you look up to — a parent, a sibling, etc. — cheers for them, it could be a geographic thing, or it could be that you fall in love with a player or the way a team dominates the rest of the league.
If you’re new Lakers fan Evan Perlmutter, though, you root for the team because some dude on the internet spent $3,450. Perlmutter, age 33, was a lifelong supporter of the New York Knicks, but was recently pushed over the edge, deciding that he was willing to sell his fandom on the web.
The bidding came to a close, and the good news for Perlmutter is that he finally gets to live out the dream every Knicks fan has had since like 2010: Getting to root for LeBron James. According to Ian Begley of ESPN, 23-year-old James Riedel dropped more than three grand to turn Perlmutter into a Lakers fan.
As part of the auction, Perlmutter pledged to attend two games featuring his new team (one home, one away) and to bet $500 that the Lakers will surpass their over/under win total.
Riedel, 23, said he bid on Perlmutter’s auction because he thought it would “provide good content for my YouTube Channel.”
To his credit, Perlmutter seems pretty stoked about the arrangement, telling ESPN in an e-mail that “I’m off to one of the most decorated [franchises] in all of sports, sunny winters, with a destination free agents actually want to go to, Hollywood … and it’s time to Strive For Greatness.”
There’s no word on which games Perlmutter plans on attending, but the good news for him is that the Lakers take a few trips to the greater-New York area. Los Angeles travels to Brooklyn to square off against the Nets on Dec. 18, and will return to New York City on March 17 to take on the Knicks.
(Via ESPN)
