Know Your History: "Beat LA"

by Jeff Clark on Jun 3, 2008 9:13 AM EDT in Boston Celtics News & Links

Great history lesson here by a blogger named Suldog about the origins of the "Beat LA" chant:

For Celtics fans of that time period, the 76’ers were the team to beat. Crucial to the understanding of this story, however, is the fact that the Celtics and 76’ers respected each other wholly. So did the fans of both. They were enemies, but they were enemies who had earned their due.

In 1980, Philadelphia beat Boston in the semi-finals, earning a trip to meet the Lakers for the championship. In 1981, Boston beat Philadelphia, coming back from a three-games-to-one deficit. In 1982, they met once again in the semi-finals, and here is where the tale becomes more than just your usual sports story.

As always between these two teams, the 1982 series was an all-out tong war. There was little to separate the two squads. The Celtics had Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, Robert Parrish, Cedric Maxwell, Danny Ainge and Tiny Archibald. The 76’ers had Julius Erving, Bobby Jones, Maurice Cheeks, Caldwell Jones, Darryl Dawkins and Andrew Toney. And, again, it came down to a seventh game, this time being played at the old Boston Garden.

The Garden was packed to the rafters, hot and muggy, as it usually was during the later rounds of the playoffs. Both teams battled hard, as they always did. The game went back-and-forth, one team gaining momentum and then the other. In the fourth quarter, as the minutes ticked down and it became obvious that the 76’ers - not the Celtics - were going to The Finals, a wondrous thing occurred. It started softly, but grew to a deafening roar.

The Boston Garden crowd started chanting, with no prompting from a giant scoreboard, or from cheerleaders, or due to any sort of pre-packaged canned marketing.

What they started chanting was "Beat L. A.! Beat L. A.! Beat L. A.! Beat L. A.!"

In the midst of a heartbreaking defeat, they were cheering on their most hated rivals.

They were, at that moment, the classiest fans in all of sport.

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Thank you for that Suldog. I was at that game; three fans paraded around the baseline before the game as ‘Ghosts of Celtics Past’ in white sheets with names like Nelson and Sanders written on them.

Celt fans fully expected to win the game 7 just like we did the year before. When the Beat LA chant went up, you could tell the Philly bench was really touched. Of course the Sixers got waxed in the Finals….

So someone should tell Derek Fisher where the chant comes from. I heard him on the radio this morning talking about how Boston fans chanting Beat LA will just be echoing what every arena does ‘for the last thirty years or so.’ Wrong! We invented it, and we’re going to use it as much as we want on your gutless, overrated team.

by Siggy on Jun 3, 2008 10:24 AM EDT reply actions

And that was my last playoff game attended ever in the Boston Garden. I finished with a 18 and 5 record.

by QuinielaBox on Jun 3, 2008 10:37 AM EDT reply actions

just awesome Bravo ;D

by eddietours on Jun 3, 2008 10:46 AM EDT reply actions

Thanks for linking to me, Jeff. And Siggy, yeah, I was expecting Philly to fold up and fade away. They didn’t, of course.

Funny thing I didn’t mention, and someone else reminded me of: Darryl Dawkins was quoted in The Phoenix as saying, “When I heard that ‘Beat L.A.’ stuff, my dick got stiff.”

by Suldog on Jun 3, 2008 10:46 AM EDT reply actions

I remember some guy on this forum a couple months back telling this story. Not sure if it was Suldog or not. But the poster said his dad had attended the game and had sworn for years that it was the origin of the “Beat LA” chant. A few posters confirmed the story, but then a couple of the big time old school posters mentioned that although the story was true… they claimed to have been chanting “Beat LA” way back in the 60s and that it was nothing new.

Makes sense.

by LarBrd33 on Jun 3, 2008 11:00 AM EDT reply actions

LarBrd33, that could have been me. I signed my dad up for Celticsblog and in his one and only post he told that same story. I didn’t follow the thread afterward, though.

But yeah, my dad was totally at this game.

by Robb @ CelticsBlog on Jun 3, 2008 11:17 AM EDT reply actions

Note to the Garden Staff…

Please don’t bring on these nonsesical forced chants upon the crowd anymore. Don’t show us clips of Will Ferrell telling us we have an important and urgent news story. That’s all just a huge buzz kill. Let the clever intoxicated minds of the Boston fans take on that role by themselves. As you can see, we’ve done a hell of a job in the past.

by dorschrm on Jun 3, 2008 11:34 AM EDT reply actions