COURTSIDE LAKERS: WHICH CELEBS MAKE THE CUT?

SOURCE: CAROLINE ROMAIN, THE DAILY TROUFFLE

The Cleveland Cavaliers v. the Lakers here in Los Angeles, was one of the most expensive games this year, because of Shaq’s return to L.A. Court side seats that normally go for $2500 were selling at $7500 and $10,000. Who has that kind of money in this recession? Lots of Angelenos – natives and transplants. Let’s take a closer look:

First let’s start calling court side seats by their proper name: you can either say your seats are ”on the wood” or you can say you sat “on the wood”. Either way, you’re ”on the wood.” There are three rows on the wood; court side, Row A and Row B. These chairs are all padded and black and comfy. Then the regular rows start with ”Row 1″, “Row 2″, “Row 3″, etc. The only way to get season tickets is by seniority. Ticket holders have to renew their seats every year or they give them up and the seat behind them gets offered the position.

This process was made famous by people like Jack Nicholson who renews his court side seat every year and Dyan Cannon who famously won Cary Grant’s seat in their divorce. For some one to start raw they would probably get stuck in Row 7 or 8 a couple years, less if we were in a recession, before moving down. Bare this in mind when you look at this list of seat holders on the floor. Some do get leapfrogged because of politics but some are just that dedicated. I got interested in this subject when I started looking around the court at a Lakers game last Christmas. My dad and brother co-own four season seats in Row 7, Section 112 every year.

My brother invited me and our uncle who was in town from Honolulu, to come along with him and his girlfriend. When I got there instead of my brother and future sister, there was our long time friend, Sotheby’s expat-turned-screenplay-writer, David Jurmaine, who went to Harvard Westlake with us, and who’s wife, Lilla Zuckerman, also a family friend is a writer on Fringe – yay!

He was with director David Robertson who got semi well known last year for directing a black and white, silent version of The Call of Cthulhua, spooky-ass H.P. Lovecraft film. (we later went on two dates – he was DAMN sexy). David (Jurmaine) told me my brother invited them at the last minute because one of his clients offered him court side seats, on the Lakers bench. On? Really. We sit across from the Lakers bench and my brother and his girlfriend were just sitting next Kobe Bryant on the the LEFT side of the Lakers bench. I demanded to know how he got the seats and who he got them from. He wouldn’t tell me because he was afraid I would post it on my blog (duh).

Little does he know I can get any information I want in three bbms. But I began to look at the other seats and besides Justin Timberlake, the coaches and Jack, I wondered who everyone else was sitting there, who they were, how they got there, if it was money, a connection, a friend, maybe it was through a company, maybe they were unrecognizable but famous, etc. I HAD to know! I set about making a map which will continue to grow. If you have a legitimate seat holder on the wood – email me at lakers@dailytruffle.net.

CHECK OUT WHO GETS CARTE BLANCHE AT THE DAILY TROUFFLE!