Chapter 4 Enjoying This Kind of Life

Even today, when I watch television, I spend as much time on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic as I do watching basketball games.

Why? Why at my age do I remain so curious about animals?

Why do I sit here, wondering who would win in a fight between a coyote and a pit bull, or which is stronger, a tiger or a lion?

I love zoos and watching animals that, despite being caged, still exude the wildness of nature.

That reminds me of how I felt in the locker room, like a wild beast in a cage, sweat dripping off me, occasionally vomiting.

But as soon as the cage door opened, I would rush out to fight, ready for the game.

It was perhaps not until 1967 when the Lakers moved to the Great Western Forum that I truly considered myself a gladiator, because of the Colosseum-like appearance of the arena and owner Cook's insistence that the hostesses wear Roman-style robes.